Tag: Kendall Milton uga

Georgia football RB named SEC breakout player

Georgia football RB Kendall Milton named SEC breakout player

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ESPN and SEC Network analyst Cole Cubelic has named Georgia Bulldogs running back Kendall Milton one of the top breakout players in the SEC.

Cubelic considers Missouri wide receiver Mookie Cooper, LSU tight end Kole Taylor, South Carolina wide receiver EJ Jenkins, and Auburn wide receiver Ja’Varrius Johnson to be his other offensive breakout players in the conference.

Milton is extremely talented. He came to Athens as a five-star recruit in the class of 2020 and impressed after enrolling early as a freshman. Milton grew stronger this spring and may have another level to his game.

He played in seven games throughout his first season in Athens. Milton recorded 193 rushing yards, broke lots of tackles and showed a good burst. However, Milton sprained his MCL against Florida and missed Georgia’s remaining regular-season games.

Milton was available throughout spring practice and was impressive in the spring game, in which he scored a touchdown.

This offseason, Milton has changed from No. 22 to No. 2. The No. 2 jersey fits him quite well.

In order for Milton to break out, he will have to emerge from Georgia’s crowded backfield of Daijun Edwards, Zamir White, James Cook and Kenny McIntosh. Georgia returns all of its leading rushers from last season.

Milton may have the highest potential of any Georgia running back on the roster. He is explosive and difficult to tackle. His receiving skills need polish, but nobody wants to tackle him in the open field.

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Georgia football RB among first to create own logo

Georgia football RB Kendalll Milton among first college athletes to create own logo

Georgia Bulldogs running back Kendall Milton is among the first college football athletes to create his personal logo. The California native is a former five-star prospect who played in seven games throughout his first season in Athens.

Now, Milton is testing the waters of the name, image and likeness bill. College athletes across select states in America can profit off their personal brand. The NIL bill gives athletes the “ability to have endorsement deals, monetize their social-media followings or get paid for signing autographs” after not being permitted to do so in the past.

The NIL bill is not uniform across the states, but is allowed in Georgia.

Last season, Kendall Milton recorded 193 rushing yards and showed an impressive burst before spraining his MCL against Florida. Milton scored a touchdown in Georgia’s spring game and has had a busy offseason.

Milton changed from No. 22 to No. 2 after the 2020 college football season. The No. 2 jersey fits Milton and his new personal brand quite well. Additionally, if Milton makes it to the NFL, then he could continue to wear the No. 2 at the professional level thanks to a recent NFL jersey rule change.

Kendall Milton will compete with Daijun Edwards, Zamir White, James Cook and Kenny McIntosh in Georgia’s stacked running back room. Georgia returns its seven leading rushers from last season and should have one of the most exciting stables of backs in the country.

It looks as though Milton already has some cool designs planned for his brand. It is a new era for college athletes.

Milton may have the highest potential of any Georgia running back on the roster. He is explosive and difficult to tackle. It will be a treat to watch Melton’s personal brand take off as he has success on the football field.

Milton comes from an excellent football background. His brother, Ka’Lonn, played as a defensive back at Fresno State. Kendall’s uncle, Kevin Hardy, won the Butkus Award at Illinois and played in the NFL from 1996-2004 after being a first-round draft pick.

Here are several of the first college athletes who have created their own personal logos:

All of the logos above are pretty awesome. D’Eriq King and Spencer Rattler’s logos really standout. It will be interesting to see how widely adapted personal logos become. They are becoming more and more common across the NBA, NFL, and now the NCAA.

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Georgia football is returning the highest-graded backfield in CFB

According to Pro Football Focus, Georgia is returning the best backfield in CFB for 2021. Details and analysis here.

Georgia is also known as ‘RBU’ and for good reason. The Bulldogs are like a workshop for elite college and NFL running backs.

Guys like Knowshon Moreno, Todd Gurley, Keith Marshall, Sony Michel, Nick Chubb and D’Andre Swift are just some examples of recent Georgia running backs that have either dominated SEC play, or have went on to productive NFL careers

What about the 2021 Georgia Bulldogs?

Things are business as usual in Athens. According to Pro Football Focus, who grades each player on each play in college football, Georgia is returning the highest-graded backfield in all of college football.

The Bulldogs return four running backs who each received a rushing grade of 80 or more this past season. The next closest is Alabama and Texas A&M at two a piece.

Those Bulldogs are junior Zamir White, junior James Cook, sophomore Kenny McIntosh and freshman Kendall Milton. 

White, the leading rusher from a year ago, will most likely be the No. 1 option with Cook, Milton and McIntosh cleaning up the rest of the touches equally. We may even see a second-year surge from Milton, who earned Freshman All-SEC honors and showed flashes of greatness in limited carries before missing time with a minor knee injury. He should be back and ready to go against Clemson in the Sept. 4 season opener.

Here’s a look at each Georgia rusher in 2020 by the numbers:

Zamir ‘Zeus’ White:  10 games played. 144 carries for 779 yards and 11 touchdowns with a 5.4 yards per carry average.

James Cook:  Eight games played. 45 carries for 303 yards and three touchdowns with a 6.7 yards per carry average.

Kenny McIntosh:  Eight games played. 47 carries for 251 yards with one touchdown and a 5.3 yards per carry average.

Kendall Milton:  Seven games played. 35 carries for 193 yards and a 5.5 yards per carry average.

 

A new episode of “UGA Football Live with J.C. Shelton” is streaming now! J.C. talks the latest college football news and breaks down Georgia’s 2022 recruiting class and more. Listen here:

UGA Football Live with J.C. Shelton: S1, Ep. 11 – D’Wan Mathis, Vanderbilt preview and special guest Chris Milton

In this episode I talk with Chris Milton, the father of star UGA running back Kendall Milton, about Kendall’s experience at UGA and more!

Your friends at “UGA Football Live” and UGA Wire present your one-stop shop for all things Georgia football!

We are releasing episodes and interviews each week during the 2020 college football season, with a little bit of everything sprinkled in between.

In this week’s episode I talk about Georgia’s 45-16 win over South Carolina, preview the senior-day matchup with Vanderbilt on Saturday and break down what UGA quarterback D’Wan Mathis’ transfer means for the program moving forward.

Also, I’m joined by US Air Force veteran Chris Milton, father of Georgia freshman phenom running back Kendall Milton. We talk about Kendall’s progression through a knee injury suffered vs. Florida, as well as his experience as a recruit transitioning from high school during the pandemic and more!

Listen here on Spotify:

Or here on Apple Podcasts:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/uga-football-live-with-j-c-shelton/id1533295384#episodeGuid=Buzzsprout-6662726

 

Also I talk:

Vanderbilt Preview

  • I break down the Dawgs’ matchup with Vanderbilt this Saturday, including key stats and players to watch.

CFB Roundup

  • I recap my favorite games of the college football weekend and where we head into championship season.

Dawgs in the NFL 

  • My top performing former Bulldogs from NFL week-12 action.

Spread vs. J.C. 

  • I update my picks vs. the spread from last week and pick five new games in an attempt to look like I know what I’m doing – I’m on a hot streak!

Make sure to subscribe, rate and review! And check out our other episodes featuring former Georgia greats like Tavarres King (Ep. 3)  Keith Marshall (Ep. 4) Arthur Lynch (Ep. 6) Malcolm Mitchell (Ep. 7) Aaron Murray (Ep. 8) and Drew Butler (Ep. 9).

Georgia Bulldogs get positive injury update on star RB

The Georgia Bulldogs got a positive injury update on freshman running back Kendall Milton after the loss to Florida.

The Georgia Bulldogs lost against the Florida Gators in more ways than one. The entire UGA team seemed to suffer an injury throughout the game or before it. The conference-only schedule is weighing on the Dawgs and they’ll have to rely on depth in several key positions from here on out.

Fortunately for the Bulldogs, freshman running back Kendall Milton only suffered a slight MCL sprain in the defeat. Milton, a former five-star recruit out of California, went down following a first down run in the second half.

Kendall Milton’s father, Chris Milton, has the scoop on his injury:

A sprained MCL is much preferable to a torn ACL, torn MCL, and other serious knee injuries. Milton could possibly return during the season or for the upcoming bowl game. Milton has 31 carries for 183 yards on the season. He’s broken a lot of tackles in the limited touches he’s received.

Zamir White and James Cook are Georgia’s healthiest running backs at the moment. The duo will look for more carries this Saturday against the Missouri Tigers. Georgia out-rushed Florida 165 yards to 97, however the Gators dominated with their aerial attack.

Florida defensive back Brad Stewart Jr. (2) breaks up a pass intended for Georgia running back Kendall Milton (22) during the annual Florida Georgia rivalry game held at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville Fla. Nov. 7, 2020. Photo per The Gainesville Sun

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UGA football player card: RB Kendall Milton

Georgia Bulldogs running back Kendall Milton comes to Athens as a five-star recruit out of California.

Running Back Kendall Milton (No. 22):

Class: Freshman

Height: 6-1

Weight: 220 pounds

Hometown: Clovis, California

High School: Buchanan High School

Georgia Bulldogs running back Kendall Milton comes to Athens as a five-star recruit. He’s a member of the class of 2020. The California product was rated pretty much universally as a top ten running back recruit in his class.

Milton be competing with Daijun Edwards, Zamir White, James Cook, Kenny McIntosh, and more for playing time. With the departure of D’Andre Swift, fans should expect a lot of competition at the running back position.

James Cook is the most explosive returning player and is an excellent pass catcher, but he isn’t as polished between the tackles as Zamir White. Both Daijun Edwards and Kendall Milton are touted recruits and have the talent to earn significant carries or even start as freshmen.

Kendall Milton comes from an excellent football background. His brother, Ka’Lonn, is a senior defensive back at Fresno State. Kendall’s uncle, Kevin Hardy, won the Butkus Award at Illinois, was a first round draft pick, and played in the NFL from 1996-2004.

Milton will look to be the next great running back at the University of Georgia.

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A look at Georgia’s 2020 running back room

A breakdown of Georgia football’s running backs for the upcoming 2020 college football season.

It seems like every time an elite running back leaves the University of Georgia, there is another one ready to step in the very next year.

This offseason headlines the departure of running backs D’Andre Swift and Brian Herrien.

Swift was selected 35th overall by the Detroit Lions in the second-round of the 2020 NFL Draft, while Herrien signed an undrafted free agent deal with the Cleveland Browns.  Herrien finished with 1,413 yards and 13 touchdowns during his career at UGA. Swift finished with 2,885 yards and 20 touchdowns in a year less.

Georgia’s offense will lose a lot of production with these two gone, but now it’s time to look at who will be carrying the load for the Dawgs in 2020 and beyond.

1. Zamir White (RS So.) –

Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

Nobody has dealt with adversity as well as Zamir White has. Coming in as the No. 1 running back in the 2018 class, White endured two knee surgeries in under two years. White redshirted his freshman year and has begun to show why he was the top running back recruit in the country.

White was the third back in 2019, playing behind D’Andre Swift and Brian Herrien. He showed glimpses of greatness in this year’s Sugar Bowl, getting 18 carries for 92 yards and a touchdown. Hopefully White will be able to maintain his health and have a breakout year for the red and black as RB1.

2. James Cook (Jr.) –

Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

James Cook has had it tough during his time in Athens.  With a seriously talented backfield ahead of him for the past two years, the former five-star could see his opportunities increase drastically this season.

Cook is a great receiving back and could be used perfectly outside of the backfield with the Dawgs’ new offensive coordinator Todd Monken.  Monken was known to use his running backs as receiving threats during his time as OC on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Cleveland Browns, which will be fun to watch with Cook. Cook averaged 9.2 yards-per-reception, capitalizing on his few opportunities. Look for Kirby Smart and Monken to get creative with the way they use Cook in 2020.

3. Kenny McIntosh (So.) –

Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Kenny McIntosh could potentially take the No. 2 spot behind White this season over Cook. Now entering his sophomore season, McIntosh was ranked as the #11 running back prospect in the country for the 2019 recruiting class. He didn’t get that many touches last season, but made them count when he did. McIntosh eluded an Arkansas State defender this year on his way to a 61-yard touchdown.

4. Kendall Milton (Fr.) –

Kendall Milton is an incoming freshman that could make a huge difference for Georgia’s offense this year.  Milton is listed as the 7th running back in the country, per 247Sports.  Milton is the ideal all-around back with power, size, speed, vision and elusiveness. The Clovis, California native was at the top of many teams’ wishlists, but Milton chose the Dawgs.

If you watch Milton’s high school film, he plays with amazing vision and poise that you typically see out of elite college and NFL backs. His patience and his power are his two strongest attributes. Milton is expected to make a big splash in the SEC this season.

Watch Milton’s senior highlights here: