Newspaper Page Text
4B Friday, November 9, 2018
The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Carrying on tradition
Depth at running back keeps No. 5 Georgia going strong
CURTIS COMPTON I Associated Press
Georgia tailback Elijah Holyfield stretches for the goal line for a touchdown
during the third quarter against Kentucky on Nov. 3 in Lexington, Kentucky.
Associated Press
When Elijah Holyfield was ponder
ing where he wanted to go to college,
he certainly took an interest in history.
Specifically, Georgia’s long lineage
of great running backs.
“It was a very big deal to me. I’ve
watched Georgia football for a long
time and I’ve really loved all the Geor
gia backs,” said Holyfield, son of for
mer heavyweight champion Evander
Holyfield . “It had a lot to do with my
decision.”
From Herschel Walker through the
1-2 punch of Nick Chubb and Sony
Michel, the No. 5 Bulldogs might as
well be known as Running Back U.
They’re living up to reputation
again with the cur
rent backfield duo
of Holyfield and
D’Andre Swift.
In last week’s pul
verizing 34-17 vic
tory over Kentucky
, which locked up
Georgia’s spot in
the Southeastern
Conference cham
pionship game, Swift rushed for 156
yards and two touchdowns, Holyfield
tacked on a career-best 115 yards and
a score, and the Bulldogs finished with
a season-high 331 yards on the ground
against one of the nation’s top-ranked
defenses.
Georgia (8-1, 6-1, No. 5 CFP) leads
the SEC in rushing (233.8 yards per
game), carrying on a tradition that
goes back as far as 1942 Heisman Tro
phy winner Frank Sinkwich but really
picked up steam with the arrival of
Herschel Walker.
Walker, who capped his brilliant
career by capturing the Heisman in
1982, is still recognized as the great
est back in school history. But he’s
had plenty of challengers over past
3)4 decades.
Since Walker left school a year
early to play in the ill-fated United
States Football League, seven Geor
gia running backs have been picked in
the first round of the NFL draft — an
esteemed list that doesn’t even include
Terrell Davis, who was only a sixth-
rounder but went on to a Hall of Fame
career with the Denver Broncos. More
recently, Georgia’s pipeline has grown
to include Todd Gurley, Sony Michel
and Nick Chubb — who actually were
on the same team in 2014 and are all
now thriving in the NFL. Gurley stars
for the Los Angeles Rams , earning
All-Pro honors in 2017 and leading
the league in rushing
this season.
Michel is starting
for the New England
Patriots as a rookie,
while Chubb is get
ting significant play
ing time with the
Cleveland Browns.
Coach Kirby
Smart certainly
relies on that heri
tage when he’s trying to persuade a
high school running back to sign with
the Bulldogs.
“I think it helps tremendously to
have the guys, the history of Robert
Edwards, Garrison Hearst, Terrell
Georgia vs. Auburn
When: 7 p.m. Saturday
Where: Athens
TV: ESPN
Davis, I mean Herschel, just back
after back after back after back,”
Smart said.
“Now it’s probably more prominent
than it’s ever been because of the stage
that Todd is on and what he’s been
able to do, and Nick and Sony’s expo
sure last year through the national
championship game.
What does the coach tell prospec
tive backs who are considering
Georgia?
“If you’re a premier back in the
country and you say, ‘I want to go
somewhere that I can learn to play
in a pro style, catch the ball in the
backfield, and I also want to be able
to protect so that I can increase my
value, and I also want to have dura
bility where I’m not going to be beat
up when I come out of there,’ there’s
nowhere better to go,” Smart replied.
Indeed, Georgia has relied on an
abundance of talented running backs
the last few seasons.
Previous coach Mark Richt was
able to land Gurley and Keith Mar
shall in the same recruiting class —
they were dubbed “Gurshall” in a nod
to Walker — though Marshall never
realized his full potential because of
injuries. Richt pulled off another dou
ble-coup when he landed Chubb and
Michel.
Holyfield, a junior, signed with
the Bulldogs even though he knew
he’d spend at least one season play-
Top 25 schedule
Today’s games
No. 13 Syracuse vs. Louisville, 7 p.m.
No. 16 Fresno State at Boise State, 10:15 p.m.
Saturday’s games
No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 18 Mississippi State, 3:30 p.m.
No. 2 Clemson at No. 17 Boston College, 8 p.m.
No. 3 Notre Dame vs. Florida State, 7:30 p.m.
No. 4 Michigan at Rutgers, 3:30 p.m.
No. 5 Georgia vs. Auburn, 7 p.m.
No. 6 Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State, 3:30 p.m.
No. 7 West Virginia vs. TCU, Noon
No. 8 Ohio State at No. 24 Michigan State, Noon
No. 9 LSU at Arkansas, 7:30 p.m.
No. 10 Washington State at Colorado, 3:30 p.m.
No. 11 UCF vs. Navy, Noon
No. 12 Kentucky at Tennessee, 3:30 p.m.
No. 14 Utah State vs. San Jose State, 4 p.m.
No. 15 Texas at Texas Tech, 7:30 p.m.
No. 19 Florida vs. South Carolina, Noon
No. 21 Penn State vs. Wisconsin, Noon.
No. 23 Iowa State vs. Baylor, 3:30 p.m.
No. 25 Cincinnati vs. South Florida, 7 p.m.
Associated Press
ing behind Chubb and Michel (and it
wound up being two when both stayed
through their full eligibility). Swift
came aboard last season, even with
all those talented backs on the roster.
Zamir White, touted as the nation’s
top prospects, signed with Georgia
coming into this season but was side
lined by a knee injury.
Holyfield said the competition for
playing time makes everyone better.
He leads the Bulldogs with 674
yards rushing, but Swift, who has
battled injuries and finally seems
to be at full strength, has gained 622
yards. Swift has also been an effective
weapon in the passing game with 17
receptions for 161 yards.
“When you have somebody who’s
just as good as you playing next to
you, it pushes you every single day,”
Holyfield said. “I know I can’t take a
day off because he’s not going to take
a day off.”
Smart
DON PENNOCKI The Associated Press
Shepherd University kicker Ruan Venter drop kicks an extra
point during a college football game against West Virginia
Wesleyan during a game Oct. 27 in Shepherdstown, W.Va.
West Virginia
school brings
back dropkick
style of punting
Ruan Venter learned how
to dropkick playing rugby in
his native South Africa and
sometimes would do it for
fun during football practices
at NCAA Division II Shep
herd University in West
Virginia.
Until a couple weeks ago,
he wouldn’t have fathomed
dropkicking in a game.
In scenes harkening to a
bygone era, Venter success
fully dropkicked three extra
points to the delight of team
mates, fans, game officials
and even opposing West Vir
ginia Wesleyan on Oct. 27.
Venter, whose first name is
pronounced Roo-On, hopes
to get another opportunity in
his senior day game against
Virginia-Wise on Saturday.
A standout punter who
has drawn the attention of
NFL scouts, Venter is the
first player known to have
scored on a dropkick since
Matt Newman of Division III
Illinois College did it against
Grinnell in September 2013.
“I had no idea about the
history of it,” Venter said. “I
did dropkicks my whole life,
and by doing them again I
thought about back home,
being outside and doing the
dropkicks with friends in my
home country. Maybe I miss
it a little bit. But it also made
me excited I could bring that
kind of kicking back into the
game and, with that, making
the people happy and mak
ing some history for them as
well.”
The dropkick was a sta
ple of football back in the
days of leather helmets.
The kicker takes the snap,
holds the ball waist high and
drops it straight down as he
strides with his non-kicking
leg. He strikes the ball as it
touches the ground or just as
it bounces up.
The popularity of the for
ward pass led to the evolu
tion of the ball in the 1930s,
from more rounded to
sleeker and pointed on the
ends. That made it easier to
throw but more difficult to
dropkick because bounces
off the drop became unpre
dictable. Thus, the dropkick
became a novelty.
Shepherd coach Ernie
McCook knew about Ven
ter’s special talent and had
the team practice extra
points and field goals with
Venter dropkicking in case
an emergency came up.
Venter’s time came after
the team’s regular kicker,
who had struggled with back
tightness for a week, missed
two straight extra points.
McCook wanted to preserve
the freshman backup kick
er’s redshirt year, so Venter
was the next option.
Venter is a capable
place-kicker, but he is the
team’s regular holder, and
McCook wasn’t comfortable
with anyone else doing the
holding.
“At that point,” McCook
said, “the dropkick was the
best option for us.”
McCook had given the
officials a heads-up a drop-
kick might be coming. Ven
ter split the uprights to give
Shepherd a 32-7 lead in what
would be a 58-35 win.
“As the officials were
jogging up the field to set
the ball for the kickoff,”
McCook said, “they said,
‘Hey, Coach, thanks for that
one, man. That’s off my
bucket list. I always wanted
to see one.’”
WVW coach Del Smith
said that first dropkick came
as a big surprise. He and his
team saw four more, and
blocked one. Venter pushed
another one wide right.
“Kudos to them for having
that in their back pocket,”
Smith said. “In general,
when I see guys get creative
schematically, when you’re
in this business, of course
you enjoy it. You just hope
it’s not at your expense. ”
Venter said he planned
to ask McCook to give him
another chance if Shepherd
(7-2) gets a comfortable lead
against Virginia-Wise (3-6).
Associated Press
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