About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 9, 2018)
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 I HH ► NorthCeorgia I HomeHubeEj Your Source for Property in North Georgia. LOCAL. RESIDENTIAL. COMMERCIAL. ALL AT YOUR RTIPS. I northgeorgiahomehub.com offers you the very best of real estate. You can browse local homes, connect with local agents, and streamline your search. To advertise contact: Debra Cates at 770-535-6332 or dcates@gainesvilletimes. 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