Georgia running game finally emerges

ATHENS, Ga. --- Washaun Ealey has led Georgia in rushing in each of the past three games, breathing new life into a running game that ranked dead last in the Southeastern Conference.

Among SEC freshman running backs, only Vanderbilt's Warren Norman (65.8 yards per game) and Auburn's Ontario McCalebb (58) average more than the former Emanuel County Institute standout's 56.2 yards per game.

Norman and McCalebb each have two 100-yard rushing games.

Ealey came close to his first, rushing for a career-high 89 yards and two touchdowns on seven carries in Georgia's 38-0 win over Tennessee Tech on Saturday.

"I've been trying to work on that ever since they brought me out of my redshirt, just trying to get a 100-yard game," said Ealey, who made his Bulldogs debut against Louisiana State on Oct. 3 and now leads Georgia at 5.1 yards per carry and is its second-leading rusher.

Ealey already received plenty of national attention last week. Replays of linebacker Brandon Spikes trying to gouge Ealey's eyes in Florida's Oct. 31 win were shown repeatedly on television. Spikes served a one-game suspension Saturday against Vanderbilt.

"It was kind of a weird thing," Ealey said. "People have been going around asking me questions about it. I saw it a lot on ESPN. It just came up and up about his suspension."

The Bulldogs (131.2 yards per game) are no longer last in the SEC in rushing. They moved ahead of South Carolina (121.6) into 11th and are closing in on Arkansas (134.9) and LSU (136.3).

Georgia achieved three of its top four rushing outputs in the past three games: 173 yards against Vanderbilt, 121 against Florida and 304 against Tennessee Tech, a Football Championship Subdivision team.

Ealey hasn't done it alone. Branden Smith ran for 72 yards on three carries and Caleb King had 71 on 12 attempts against Tennessee Tech.

"I believed the first week we would be able to run the ball, it's just that all the running backs needed to get the confidence like I believe we have now to try and showcase what we can do," said King, a redshirt sophomore.

On Saturday, Georgia goes up against an Auburn team that ranks 10th in the SEC in rushing defense at 169.8 yards per game.

"We've got a lot to prove," Ealey said. "If we get a chance, we can run the ball on all the teams. When the offensive line blocks good, we run good."

The running resurgence has come with Georgia moving to its fifth different starting combination on the offensive line. Cordy Glenn brought a more physical presence to the run game by moving his 6-foot-5, 328-pound frame inside from left tackle to left guard.

"We kind of had to reinvent our offensive line a little bit," coach Mark Richt said of a unit that has dealt with injuries to Trinton Sturdivant, Tanner Strickland and Josh Davis.

"Part of it was just trying to get the right combination there and then also these backs maturing a little bit and learning how to use them better, but also read things better, learning how to finish runs better. I think it's all starting to come together."

Ealey is the first true freshman to lead Georgia in rushing in three consecutive games since Thomas Brown was the top rusher in the final four games of the 2004 season.

"I think we're seeing him mature very quickly as a runner," Richt said. "I'm sure he's gaining some confidence as he goes, and we'll keep banging away at that pass protection and he'll become a guy we won't worry about a bit."

Reach Marc Weiszer at marc.weiszer@morris.com.