Zamir White and James Cook poised for a breakout season

With the first scrimmage in the books for Georgia, a potential breakout season for Zamir White and James Cook may be in order.

The Georgia Bulldogs' first fall practice scrimmage has come and gone, and there's plenty of different aspects of this team to be excited about- position battles, a new offensive scheme, emerging wide receivers, etc. 

One regard that has been somewhat overlooked though is the running back committee, specifically Zamir White and James Cook.

It's hard to believe that it has almost been two years since the 5-star duo signed on to team-up at Georgia. Having had to play behind the talented D'Andre Swift, it's been tough to find them sufficient carries. Now in their third year with the program, they're poised for a breakout season in the lead role.

From what it sounds like, White and Cook are already making big plays happen.

After the scrimmage yesterday, Coach Smart mentioned, "There were several long runs. James (Cook) and Zamir (White) both had long runs, mostly against the second-team defense, but the defensive guy made a mistake...They went untouched for 50 or 60 yards."

Coach Smart also mentioned in yesterday's presser that the "explosive plays" made in the scrimmage came on the ground versus through the air.

With White and Cook already making big plays, it's hard not to get excited. Sure the defense might have made a mistake that led to their big runs, but it's tough to play perfectly given the abilities of Georgia's offense.

According to a team source, White also had two 20+ yard TDs against the No. 2 defense as well as some nice runs on the No. 1s. The source also indicated that Zamir White is back to looking like the nation's No. 1 running back coming out of high school. 

It can't be easy to have to be the successors of guys like Nick Chubb, Sony Michel, and D'Andre Swift. Those names alone have created some lofty expectations for White and Cook. 

We know how talented they are in addition to their familiarity with the system. Now that this tandem will be getting the majority of the carries- there's no telling what they're capable of doing this season. 

The running back position is expected to be used at a much higher rate out of the backfield as a receiving option under Todd Monken in 2020. If you go back to his days as an offensive coordinator at Southern Miss, his last stop in college football, you will find that Ito Smith and Jalen Richard combined for 79 receptions in 2015. For reference, all of Georgia's running backs a year ago combined for 50 receptions. 

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