Tag: Nick Chubb college stats

Checking in on Nick Chubb’s cousin, Harlem Diamond – a rising Cedartown star

An interview with former Georgia football RB Nick Chubb’s first cousin Harlem Diamond, who is a rising star at Cedartown High School.

Nick Chubb will be a household name with Georgia Bulldog football fans for the rest of eternity.

The former Bulldog great trails just one other running back in the all-time Georgia rushing rankings, and that man is Herschel Walker. Chubb is second in yards (4,769) and touchdowns (44) in the school’s history.

The kid out of Cedartown, Georgia blew away expectations, helping the Dawgs win an SEC Championship and a Rose Bowl and becoming one of the greatest Georgia Bulldogs of all time.

Chubb, who currently plays for the Cleveland Browns, is now the highest graded PFF running back in the NFL, but the family’s football blood doesn’t stop with Nick.

Chubb’s first cousin Harlem Diamond is a rising sophomore at Cedartown High School in Chubb’s hometown, where he is a three sport athlete.

“I play football, basketball and baseball.  I started playing football at the age of 5.” Harlem told me in a phone interview.

I asked Harlem which sport was his favorite and the answer was clear.

“Football. I love football, it’s not an easy sport, you really have to work hard at it. Not anyone can play football. You have to be tough and may be a little crazy.”

Harlem is a two-way player, playing running back just like his cousin, in addition to playing defensive back. Apparently ball carrying style and his work ethic resemble that of his role model’s.

“Nick Chubb is my role model, he is a great person.” Harlem said. “I look up to him. He works hard in the weight room and is very humble, so I try to copy his work ethic… My vision at running back is something I have heard (that mimics Nick’s game). I would say just bringing a winning attitude to the game overall.”

And just like Nick, Harlem is not to be messed with in the weight room. At 15 years old, standing at 5-foot-6, 145 pounds, Harlem is benching 205, power cleaning 200 and squatting 305 pounds. Those are some legit numbers for a rising sophomore in high school.

Harlem’s performance in the classroom is also something not to be overlooked, as he currently has a 3.7 GPA.

I spoke with Harlem about his expectations for next year as well as his personal goals for the season.

“I’m just ready to prove myself. Our team’s mindset is to play hard every game, win regions and go to states. The goal I have set is to work hard, encourage my teammates and rush for 1,000 yards or have 100 tackles.”

Harlem has had incredible support from his family his entire life, with his father being the ultimate sports dad. Harlem’s father, James, is the all-time tackle leader at Cedartown High.

“Just knowing that he is on my side is motivation.” Harlem said.  “He believes in me regardless of the sport.  He was the defensive player of the year in high school in 1999 and holds the tackle record at Cedartown High School so I listen when he talks. He just wants to see me be successful in life, on or off the field. I have great support from my entire family.”

Harlem reminisced on his favorite memory with his cousin.

“I was at a football all-star game in Athens and Nick came over to the dorms, picked me up and gave me a private tour of the UGA facilities during the All-Star week.”

Harlem is just as good a baseball player as he is a football player, but you can just refer to him as the Bass Master from now on.

“I love to fish.  I consider myself a Bass Master, my biggest bass weighed 8.5 pounds.”

From the looks of it, the two have an unbreakable bond through family and football.  Harlem is now trying to make a name for himself in the football world and hopes to get recruited by a top program soon, as it is still early in the recruiting process for him.

Dawgs fans would love the idea of having Nick Chubb’s cousin Harlem taking over as the next great Georgia running back, and we hope that becomes a reality.

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Nick Chubb wants to show small-town kids that you CAN make it big time

Cedartown native and Georgia football RB Nick Chubb, now of the Cleveland Browns, wants to show small-town kids that you can make it to NFL.

Nick Chubb came to Georgia as a five-star recruit in the class of 2015 out of Cedartown, Georgia, a small town with a population of around 10,000.

Chubb wasted no time putting his hometown on the map, rushing for 1,547 yards during his freshman year at UGA. Within months, Cedartown was featured in ESPN segments, was written about in nearly every article discussing Chubb and was receiving plenty of recognition.

Chubb’s stellar career continued, and eventually he finished as the school’s second all-time leading rusher. Trailing only Herschel Walker.

He went on to become the 35th overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns. After a solid rookie season in which he did not receive nearly enough touches, Chubb again put Cedartown in the national spotlight, tallying 1,494 rushing yards during the 2019 NFL season. He came 46 yards shy of leading the league in rushing.

Chubb wants to be an example for kids not only from Cedartown, but from small towns all across the country.

“Now, I use myself as an example for the kids who still go there. No matter if we do come from a small town, you can still fulfill your dreams. You can still play college at a D-1, and you can still go to the NFL,” Chubb said to CBS Sports’ Jim Rome.

Chubb also mentioned that growing up in Cedartown, people would tell him that he needed to move to a bigger city where he can garner more national recognition.

But Chubb stayed put and perfected his craft in his hometown.

“Just coming from the small town I came from, older guys that lived there said I should move away,” Chubb said. “I’d never get attention there. College coaches never come looking in this small town. I’d never make it. That just motivated me to go harder in high school.”

So he stayed, and he signed with Georgia as the fifth ranked running back in his class.

“So, I’m using myself as an example for them to keep their head on straight and not listen to the outside world. Just keep focusing on what’s important.”

Memo to ESPN: UGA football legends Trippi and Sinkwich need to be included on any all-time greats list

After we reviewed ESPN’s major blunder in relegating Georgia legend Herschel Walker to runner up in their 150 Greatest College Football Players poll, I started searching the list for Georgia Heisman Trophy winner Frank Sinkwich and the finest …

After we reviewed ESPN’s major blunder in relegating Georgia legend Herschel Walker to runner up in their 150 Greatest College Football Players poll, I started searching the list for Georgia Heisman Trophy winner Frank Sinkwich and the finest athlete in Bulldog football history, Charles “Charley” Trippi.

As I continued scrolling down the list, expecting to soon see the two football legends, I was quickly losing faith in the ESPN panel of 150 media members, administrators and former coaches….ok, I already had lost faith. How could they fail to include Trippi and Sinkwich, who in 1942, teamed to comprise one of the most dynamic backfields in history?

Even more surprising, in 2007 ESPN published an account of the Top 25 College Football Players of All Time. The list was headed by Red Grange (Barry Sanders was second, Herschel Walker was third. Jim Brown was 18th) and Charley Trippi came in at 20th. So what happened in the ensuing 12 years that saw Trippi fall off the list. I have seen Trippi and Sinkwich on several other publications’ all-time top greats. They both deserved to be included on the ESPN 150 list.

Frank Sinkwich is the first Georgia Bulldog to win the Heisman, the first Heisman winner to be born outside the United States and the first Heisman winner from a southern school.

He led the “Point-A-Minute” Bullpups freshman team of 1939 to an unbeaten season. As a sophomore in 1940, he made All-Southern first team.

As a junior in 1941, “Flatfoot” Sinkwich set an SEC rushing record with 1,103 yards which stood for eight years, and gained 713 yards passing for a new SEC total offense record of 1,816 yards. He led Georgia to a 40-26 victory over TCU in the Orange Bowl with a performance still considered by many as the best in all bowl history. He gained 139 yards, completed 9 of 13 passes for 243 yards and three touchdowns — a total offensive effort of 382 yards. And he accomplished all that despite playing from the third game on with a broken jaw protected by a custom-made facemask. For his efforts, he was an All-America selection and finished fourth in the Heisman voting.

In his record setting senior season with the Bulldogs, Sinkwich gained 795 yards rushing and set the SEC passing record with 1,392 yards, a mark that stood for eight years. He set the SEC total offense record of 2,187 yards that same season. He led Georgia to another SEC record — 4,725 yards of team total offense. Although playing with two sprained ankles, he scored Georgia’s only TD in 9-0 victory over UCLA in the Rose Bowl. He was named a unanimous All-America choice and won the Heisman Trophy. The Associated Press overwhelmingly voted Sinkwich the “Number 1 athlete for 1942” over second-place finisher Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox, a year in which Williams hit for baseball’s triple crown.

In his three-year career, Sinkwich rushed for 2,271 yards, passed for 2,331, and accounted for 60 touchdowns—30 rushing and 30 passing. Sinkwich was the No.1 draft choice of the Detroit Lions, where he earned All-Pro honors in 1943–1944, as well as being named as NFL MVP in 1944. Sinkwich was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1954. His number 21 is one of only four Georgia jerseys retired.

All one needs to know about the career and place in history of  Charles Louis Trippi comes from these impeccable sources. Possibly three of the 20th century’s most knowledgeable college football authorities, Alabama head coach Paul “Bear” Bryant, Arkansas head coach, athletic director and long-time ABC Sports analyst Frank Broyles, and the legendary voice of college football, ABC play-by-play man Keith Jackson, each is on record of having stated that Charley Trippi was the greatest college football player they had ever seen play. Mighty high praise indeed.

The “Scintillating Sicilian” posed a triple threat on the field. Although primarily a running back, his versatility allowed him to fill a multitude of roles over his career, including quarterback, defensive back, punter, and return specialist. As a sophomore, he played alongside that season’s Heisman Trophy winner Sinkwich and guided Georgia to victory in the 1943 Rose Bowl and was named the game’s most valuable player. Georgia finished the season with a record of 11–1 and was named the consensus national champion.

Despite missing Georgia’s first five games of the 1945 season, Trippi was named a first-team All-Southeastern Conference back.

In 1946, Trippi led Georgia to its first undefeated season and a 20-10 victory over North Carolina in the Sugar Bowl. Against rival Georgia Tech, Trippi compiled 544 combined yards rushing, passing, and returning kicks, and scored three touchdowns in Georgia’s 35–7 victory.

Trippi was awarded the Maxwell Award as the most outstanding college player in the nation,the Walter Camp Memorial Trophy as the nation’s best back, was named the Southeastern Conference’s player of the year and was a unanimous choice for the All-America team. He finished as runner-up in Heisman Trophy voting behind Glenn Davis of Army.

Drafted first overall by the Cardinals in the NFL Draft, Trippi was also pursued by multiple professional baseball teams. He won an NFL Championship in 1947, was a five-time pro bowl selection, was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1959 and was enshrined in Canton in 1965. His No. 62 was retired by Georgia.

When ESPN produces its next milestone list of greatest college football players, hopefully they will heed the advice of “Bear” Bryant and take a good look at the outstanding accomplishments of these two Georgia teammates and legends.