ATHENS — Nick Chubb has progressed well enough that he’s running. He’s not far enough, however, that Kirby Smart is ready to fix a date on his return to the field.

Chubb, who tore his knee last October, is not yet being ruled in or out for Georgia’s opener against North Carolina on Sept. 3. Smart made it sound like that’s ancillary to Chubb’s long-term future.

“To say he’s going to be ready Day 1 or he’s gonna be ready Game 1, I think we’re a long way away from that right now,”Smart said Wednesday morning in a radio interview. “We wanna do what’s right for Nick long term. And that’s the most important thing. He feels comfortable with that, (head athletic trainer) Ron (Courson) feels comfortable with that.”

Smart was sitting in with 680 The Fan, which was broadcasting from the Butts-Mehre complex on Wednesday  morning.

Chubb has been rehabbing every day, according to Smart, something made easier by the fact he already enjoyed working out.

“His psyche is he’s still a little tentative right now,” Smart said. “Because he’s just started to run some and do some things. He trusts our training staff. Ron does an unbelievable job with him. Ron gives me a weekly update on him. He’s shown really good progress.”

Asked how good Chubb could be, Smart opined that Chubb could “be great again and be even better.” Then he cited former Georgia teammate Robert Edwards, who Smart said was better his second year after returning from an ACL tear, rather than his first year.

“We’ve gotta remember that,” Smart said. “We’ve gotta be smart about that.”