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Kirby Smart: Georgia RB Nick Chubb making ‘really good progress’

By Patrick Schmidt

Nov 7, 2015; Athens, GA, USA; Georgia Bulldogs injured player Nick Chubb lays on the trainers table during the game against the Kentucky Wildcats during the first half at Sanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 7, 2015; Athens, GA, USA; Georgia Bulldogs injured player Nick Chubb lays on the trainers table during the game against the Kentucky Wildcats during the first half at Sanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports /
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First-year head coach Kirby Smart comments on the recovery of star running back Nick Chubb and if he’ll be ready for the Georgia Bulldogs when their season begins.

The Georgia Bulldogs will have a new look without Mark Richt on the sidelines this season, but they are hopeful running back Nick Chubb will bring some familiarity to the Dawgs offense.

Chubb was poised for a run at the Heisman Trophy last year as a sophomore but a left knee injury suffered on the first play from scrimmage against the Tennessee Volunteers ended his season and put his Georgia and his NFL career in serious doubt. He underwent surgery in late October to repair damage to his PLC and other ligaments and cartilage, but his ACL remained intact.

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Doctors were optimistic he will be able to continue his career at Georgia and the fate of Kirby Smart’s first season in Athens could hinge on the recovery of Chubb. The good thing is Smart tells 680 The Fan that Chubb has attacked the rehab process just as he would linebackers trying to tackle him in the open field.

“First of all, he’s an unbelievable kid that really likes working out,” said Smart, via Online Athens. “He already liked all this before this happened. …He’s going to be there every day and he has been. He’s done a great job.

“I think his psyche is he’s really tentative right now. He’s just started to run some and do some things. He trusts our training staff. Ron [Courson] does an unbelievable job with him. Ron gives me a weekly update on Nick. He’s shown really good progress. To say he’s going to be ready day one or he’s going to be ready game one, I think we’re a long way away from that right now. We want to do what’s right for Nick long term.”

It’s understandable Chubb would have some hesitation as he progresses through his recovery process but trusting in the training staff who has his best interests at heart is important. Having Chubb for the start of summer camp, the season opener or the beginning of SEC play is just an arbitrary date that could raise expectations and place too much pressure on Chubb to rush and not trust his body.

Video circulated of Chubb running on a treadmill earlier this week which likely gave a boost to Georgia fans across the southeast that their key piece to an SEC championship is getting closer to being the back that dominated the SEC his first two years on campus.

It’s a long process but it’s a process that Chubb looks determined to see through so he can return to the field and help Georgia win an SEC championship.

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That’s the short-term goal, but the long-term for Georgia and Chubb is to make sure he’ll have a career after Georgia. He’ll be eligible to declare for the NFL Draft after the 2016 season and if he looks like the player who ran for 1,547 as a freshman, he’ll be in the conversation to be a first round pick just like his former teammate Todd Gurley, who also had people wondering if he’d be able to come back from his knee surgery last year.

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