ATLANTA — For all the talk surrounding Gunner Stockton this week, Georgia coach Kirby Smart took a far more stern tone when discussing a different aspect of the Georgia offense.

At multiple points during his various availabilities on Tuesday, Smart stressed that Georgia had to improve as a rushing team.

“I think the first thing you have to measure, and I’m not in a defense mechanism here, because that’s not what today’s about,” Smart said. “We have to get better at running the ball, better (at) stopping the run.”

The Bulldogs will have to do so with Trevor Etienne now a member of the Carolina Panthers after being taken in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL Draft.

Etienne missed time last year with a rib injury, which allowed sophomore Nate Frazier to lead the team in rushing. He is back this season and figures to be Georgia’s top option.

But Georgia went into the transfer portal to add Illinois transfer Josh McCray.

McCray played his high school football in the state of Alabama, so Georgia was familiar with him prior dating back to his time as a high school recruit. A season ago, he rushed for 601 yards and 10 touchdowns for a team that won 10 games a season ago.

“I like his physicality,” Smart said. “He’s got toughness. He’s got size. He’s a different type of runner than we have.”

Smart is excited about the potential of the running back room this season, though that’s common this time of year for all positions. He was probably excited about Georgia’s rushing attack a season ago, before Georgia finished 102nd in the country in rushing yards per game. The Bulldogs also ranked 86th in the country in rushes of 10 yards or more. Those are the worst finishes for a Smart team in those categories since he became the team’s head coach.

Smart, as was the case during last season, points to the opponents that Georgia had to face for some of the lackluster numbers. Specifically in games against Ole Miss and Alabama, the Bulldogs were trailing for the entire second half and didn’t have many opportunities to run the football.

This spring, Georgia put a greater emphasis on running the ball during practice. That continued into the summer, though Smart declined to go into specifics about how that looked.

“Some of it is blocking. Some of it’s the runner,” Smart said. “Some of it’s a scheme. But it’s everybody involved in that together.”

Much will be riding on an offensive line that has to replace three NFL draft picks from last season’s team. Tate Ratledge, Dylan Fairchild and Jared Wilson were all selected in the first 100 picks of the 2025 NFL Draft.

Having a strong running game would help Georgia in a variety of ways. It would ease the burden on Stockton’s shoulders to carry the offense. It also keeps the defense fresh, with the Bulldogs being able to grind out successful runs.

Smart’s first few teams at Georgia were known for a punishing run game. It was a critical part of the program’s culture

Georgia is still trying to figure out its identity for the 2025 team. Smart hopes that a commitment to running the football will have a significant impact on whatever this team ends up becoming.

“We’re saying, OK, how do we get better at running the ball? We’ve got to run the ball more,” Smart said. “We’ve got to practice running the ball more. So that’s a big point of emphasis for us.”