ATHENS, Ga. – One of the first questions referenced Herschel Walker. Of course it did, after a summers worth of photos comparing physical specimens past and present. (Photo by Sonny Kennedy/Special to Dawgs247) To this, freshman tailback Nick Chubb barely batted an eye. “Im honored to be compared to him,” Chubb said, “but Id rather be Nick.” Freshmen on the offensive side of the football met with media at UGA for the first time Monday. When Chubb entered the room, there were at least a dozen reporters waiting on this soft-spoken young man from Cedartown, Ga. They crowded around and peppered him with topics, most of which had to do with tailbacks other than Herschel: Todd Gurley, Keith Marshall and Sony Michel, the main contenders in a heavyweight fight in what looks to be one of the most stacked backfields in all of college football. “Im not scared of competition,” Chubb said. “… I knew it was going to be tough, coming here to fight. But its making me a better back right now. I can see it. Im doing stuff that I never have before, and Im feeling very good about myself.” From track meet photos that summon thoughts of comic book superheroes to a recent practice video of him laying out an SEC fullback in a drill, Chubb is kind of an internet star already. Cameras love him in a way that doesn’t reflect his own demeanor at all. Really, Chubb has no desire for the attention he has received. He doesn’t seek it out. He never did as a five-star recruit. Compared to fellow freshman Michel, his camp roommate who is from the Miami, Fla., area, Chubb is a self-described country mouse. “Hes from Miami, a big city,” Chubb said. “Im from a little small town youve never heard of. So its different.” Throw-back might be a fair way to describe it, and that goes for on and off the field. A reporter, for instance, noticed Monday that Chubb lacked tattoos. “I’m not really into that,” he answered simply. And then on the field, Chubb is known as a bruising runner, which he began showing Saturday night during a scrimmage where he reportedly was tough to tackle and led all Bulldogs in rushing yards. Chubb’s first response when asked about Saturday? “I put the ball on the ground. Thats very disappointing,” he replied. “Other than that, it went well.” While some are saying Michel – who says he’s at about 210 pounds right now – is more like Marshall, Chubb is being considered more like Gurley. Chubb says he’s at about 228 pounds right now, but it’s still early in the process. He cites pass-catching and pass-protection as being among the things he has to work on while in a backfield with Gurley and Marshall. “Theyre very good running backs,” Chubb said. “I mean, I came in here and Im trying to envision myself as what theyre doing. ... Im seeing if I can do what they can do and see how we match up and see how good I am, because I know theyre very good.”
Posted on: Mon, 11 Aug 2014 21:23:04 +0000