Georgia’s football team had a historic season in 2017, and DawgNation was along for the entire ride. The Bulldogs’ season will be celebrated March 15 with DawgNation Appreciation 2018, and some of the stars of the 2017 team ― running backs Nick Chubb and Sony Michel and linebackers Roquan Smith and Davin Bellamy ― will be on hand for the celebration. Chubb finished his Bulldogs career with 4,769 rushing yards and 44 rushing touchdowns. He is second in rushing yards in SEC history behind Herschel Walker, rushing for more than 1,100 yards in three of his four Georgia seasons. In preparation for DawgNation Appreciation 2018, Chubb wrote this letter to thank Georgia fans for their support during this career:

Dear Dawg Nation,

I never really thought about leaving. It just wasn’t right. My family created a legacy in Chubbtown, Ga., and I wanted to make them proud. And do it in Georgia.

My career in Athens had high highs and an injury that was low … and hard … real hard. I never let myself doubt that I would come back even stronger than before. And neither did my coaches, or my teammates, or my family, or the strongest fan base in this nation. Your support, and love, and encouragement impacted me more than you could imagine.

I never really thought about leaving. It just wasn’t right. We had unfinished business and didn’t want to imagine future regrets of declaring early. My family always finished what they started and it is ingrained in me.

UGA fans deserved a championship and we wanted to do all we could to give it to them. Because those fans gave all they had to us. With Sony (Michel), Davin (Bellamy) and Lorenzo (Carter) coming back, too, I knew it would be special. And it was.

The season truly felt magical. After the Auburn loss and heading into the SEC Championship Game as underdogs, it just made us that more hungry. Redemption was incredible as we won that championship.

And Pasadena felt like a dream. Stadium packed with UGA red. An atmosphere that may never be topped in my career. Wow. And we were a play or two away from winning it all back in Atlanta.

A lot of what we accomplish in this life is defined by how we treat others and the memories we take with us. Thank you, DawgNation, for how you treated me and we all have memories together we will never forget.

― Nick Chubb