Georgia Football: Keith Marshall, Sony Michel Are Keys to Nick Chubb's Success

"Twenty-seven left and 27 right sounds pretty good to me. So as long as we’ve got that we’re gonna be all right." 

Those were the words of Georgia offensive tackle Kolton Houston after Saturday's scrimmage, according to Seth Emerson of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

He's not wrong.

That game plan helped Georgia go 6-2 down the stretch last year, including a Belk Bowl win over Louisville that saw "27"—star running back Nick Chubb—rush 33 times for 266 yards and two touchdowns.

"Not until he really had to start carrying the load did I realize how much stamina he could have in a game, in an SEC game, at times carrying it 25, 35 times in a game," head coach Mark Richt said at SEC media days in July. "That's pretty impressive."

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Pretty impressive, indeed.

In a pinch for suspended star Todd Gurley and in place of banged-up reserves Sony Michel and Keith Marshall, Chubb—a 5'10", 220-pounder with track-star speed and a bruiser's mentality—proved that he could be a home run hitter, a workhorse and one of the best closers in college football.

That wasn't Plan A for the 2014 Georgia Bulldogs, and it won't be Plan A in 2015, either.

"That's not our goal for our back," Richt said. "I don't want a guy to carry 35 times a game his whole career all season long. We want to share the load."

As he should, despite the success Chubb had last year.

John Bazemore/Associated Press

While Chubb was awesome for a half-season last year, replicating that success for a full season and absorbing twice as many carries (or more) is a lot to ask. Because of that, senior Keith Marshall and sophomore Sony Michel are huge keys to Chubb's success and the success of the 2015 Bulldogs.

Marshall came to Georgia in the same class and with more hype than that of Gurley. But the 5'11", 212-pounder with enough wiggle to shake leaves off a tree has been hampered by injuries throughout his career. Now healthy, Marshall has been the talk of fall camp, according to Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports:

Michel, the 5'11", 212-pound home run hitter from Plantation, Florida, was the freshman sensation in 2014 long before Chubb. Michel rushed for 206 yards and three touchdowns over the first three games of the season, while Chubb earned just 12 carries over the same span. Michel earned SEC Freshman of the Week honors with his 155-yard performance against Troy, but a shoulder injury derailed his freshman campaign and opened the door for Chubb to shine.

As Logan Booker of Cox Media Group noted on Twitter, Richt and new offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer could get creative with how they use Michel this season:

Michel and Marshall are vital to the success of Chubb and the Bulldogs offense.

They'll not only take pressure off Chubb but also give Schottenheimer the option to be diverse within the running game. That could take on extra meaning if the new quarterback—whoever wins the job—can't stretch the field and/or the wide receiving corps doesn't progress like it needs to.

A solid, diverse, deep running back corps will help Chubb stay fresh for a full season and keep opposing defenses from keying on Chubb too much.

If that happens, all the quarterback needs to be is a game manager—just like Hutson Mason was last year.

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports. Statistics courtesy of cfbstats.com. Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and national college football video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on SiriusXM 83.

Follow Barrett on Twitter: @BarrettSallee.