ATHENS — Running the football is a core standard at Georgia.

There is a reason so many great running backs have not only come through the program, but thrived in it.

Last season, the Bulldogs averaged a respectable 182.1 yards per game, good enough for 35th nationally and 4th in the SEC. They also ranked inside the top 20 in rushing touchdowns with 31. It was an encouraging sight considering the down year Georgia had on the ground in 2024, ranking 15th in the SEC after averaging just 124.4 yards per game.

But the positive production appears not to have met Georgia coach Kirby Smart’s standards.

As Smart once said, you’re either elite or you’re not. And no one would make the argument that Georgia was an elite rushing attack last season.

“You can’t get away from that point of emphasis. That’s not going to change ever in our program,” Smart said. “I would say we were coming off a year that we were subpar at that when we really tried to drive that home.”

Smart went on to explain a defining characteristic for championship-caliber teams is their ability to control the running game on both sides of the ball.

“Show me a good team that wins championships that can’t run the football,” Smart said. “Just doesn’t happen.”

While Georgia has routinely fielded a dominant run defense, questions remain whether this rushing attack can find that extra gear that opens up the rest of the playbook.

The Bulldogs have made it clear they want to be more explosive offensively. But to create explosive plays through the air, they first have to do so on the ground. That formula has worked well for Georgia, which ranks third nationally with 840 explosive plays over the past five seasons, according to PFF.

The site credits the work of former quarterback Stetson Bennett IV and current quarterback Gunner Stockton’s ability to make big plays on the ground, feeding into the “deep stable of running backs also contributing to the Bulldogs’ explosive rushing attack.”

Stockton returns for his senior year and is joined by four returning running backs from last season: Nate Frazier, Chauncey Bowens, Dwight “Peanut” Phillips Jr., and Bo Walker. The group combined for 2,035 rushing yards. Frazier leading all running backs with 947 and six rushing scores.

“That room has a lot of Mudita in it. They really care about each other,” Smart said. “The success of each other is more important than the success of one person. And I appreciate the mentality in that room.”

Georgia added Dante Dowdell from the portal this offseason, but a recent ATV accident has left the rusher out for the long term.

Even without Dowdell in the mix, the Bulldogs have the bodies to churn out production on the ground to help create opportunities down the field through play-action — Georgia’s bread and butter.

“Well, explosive plays, especially to a tight end, come from a great running game,” tight end Lawson Luckie said. “A lot of it comes on pass play action stuff, and that’s where you guys see it. That’s where the big plays come from, in my opinion.”

But it starts up front at the line of scrimmage, where linemen like Earnest Greene, who will move back to the left tackle spot this fall, must create success and open up running lanes.

Greene takes pride in building a bond with the entire running back room. He knows how Frazier and Bowens move, making it easier to spring them for massive gains.

“We just got to get on the same page, get our tracks right, move people so they can have career games,” Greene said.