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Alex Scarborough, ESPN Staff Writer
Georgia running back Branson Robinson, the former No. 1-ranked back in the 2022 class who rushed for 341 yards as a freshman, will miss the season with a ruptured patella tendon, coach Kirby Smart announced Wednesday.
Robinson suffered the injury in a noncontact drill at practice Tuesday, Smart said.
“It won’t affect our run-pass ratio,” Smart said. “We have capable backs. He was one of our better backs. When healthy last year, we think he was kind of coming into his own. He was learning how to pass protect. He had a really good spring while he was going, so we were really excited about where he was headed. He was explosive, twitchy, could do some things in pass pro and running the ball that maybe some of the other guys couldn’t do.”
Robinson had recovered from a turf toe injury during the offseason and was “looking good” in recent days.
Kendall Milton, the projected starter who rushed for 592 yards and eight touchdowns last season, has been bothered by a hamstring injury during preseason camp. Smart said Milton has taken more reps of late but still isn’t 100 percent healthy.
Andrew Paul, a former four-star prospect who could add depth at the position, is coming off a torn ACL suffered last August.
“It’ll be done by committee like it always has here,” Smart said of the running backs.
Georgia, which is coming off back-to-back national championships and is ranked No. 1 in the AP preseason poll, will have a new-look offense this season with former starting quarterback Stetson Bennett and former coordinator Todd Monken both off to the NFL.
On Saturday, Smart revealed that Carson Beck, Bennett’s top backup, will open the season as the starting quarterback against UT Martin on Sept. 2.
Mike Bobo, who played quarterback for Georgia from 1994-97 and has been an assistant on staff for more than a decade in total, was promoted from analyst to offensive coordinator in February.