ATHENS, Ga. — Scotland High grad and Georgia freshman running back Zamir White has been cleared for practice.
Head coach Kirby Smart made the announcement Friday before the Bulldogs’ first practice of fall camp and said White will practice with a protective brace on his knee.
“We’ll just have to monitor his volume,” Smart said. “But he’s not going to be limited in any way. He should be able to do all drills, and he’s just gaining confidence on that thing, on his knee. But the brace will just help him with that.”
The former Fighting Scot torn his ACL in November during the second round of the state playoffs. During his senior season at Scotland, White rushed for 2,085 yards and 34 touchdowns on 148 carries. He also had six catches for 208 yards and three touchdowns.
According to DawgNation, Smart implied White’s attention to detail in the spring session — even though he was physically limited — could pay immediate dividends.
“He was able to get a lot of mental reps in the spring,” Smart said, “but now he’s cleared to do everything.”
The key, Smart said will be how much of a workload White can handle in fall drills.
“I think the big issue there is not necessarily (being) cleared, it’s what kind of volume can he handle,” Smart said. “Can he handle 7,000 yards on our GPS at practice? I don’t know, we have to monitor that and see where he gets each day and make sure we bring him back at the right pace.”
White joins a well-stocked backfield for the Bulldogs, led by sophomore D’Andre Swift.
Swift is Georgia’s leading returning rusher with 618 yards last season. Elijah Holyfield and Brian Herrien (265 yards) also return. The duo combined for 558 yards for the Bulldogs last season. Fellow freshman James Cook joined the team for the second half of summer workouts.
One change Scotland fans will notice is White has hung up his signature No. 34 jersey and will wear No. 3 for the Bulldogs.
Georgia, ranked No. 4 in the pre-season coaches poll, opens its 2018 season on Sept. 1 against Austin Peay. The Bulldogs open SEC play on Sept. 22 on the road against Missouri.
Amber Hatten-Staley can be reached at 910-506-3170 or [email protected].
