ATHENS — Perhaps no one benefited more from Georgia’s re-emphasis on running the football than sophomore Nate Frazier.
He ran for 947 yards while scoring six touchdowns in 2025, emerging as the team’s leading running back. He earned third-team All-SEC honors this season, in no small part because of how important he was to the Georgia offense.
“One thing I’ve known and I’ve seen throughout my two years of college football is the majority of times a team that has the most rushing yards in a football game wins the game,” Frazier said. “If you can run the ball and stop the run — that’s something that Coach (Kirby) Smart has been emphasizing a lot during this season. If you can run the ball and stop the run, you have a higher chance of winning the game. It’s really a big deal for sure.”
With Frazier re-upping with Georgia for the 2026 season, the Bulldogs ensure Frazier will continue to be a big part of Georgia’s success.
Frazier wasn’t the only Georgia running back to make news Monday, as Chauncey Bowens announced his return to the program. The Bulldogs made an addition via the transfer portal, bringing in Kentucky’s Dante Dowdell.
But the Frazier news has the most sizable impact on Georgia’s 2026 season. Especially with how Frazier ended the 2025 campaign for Georgia.
Frazier once again battled fumbling issues in the early part of the season, losing one against Austin Peay and another against Alabama. Bowens emerged as a stabilizing force in the Georgia backfield with Frazier working through his fumbles.
If there was a turning point in Frazier’s season, it came when he rushed for a career-high 181 yards in a win over Mississippi State. He displayed the full range of his powers that day, ripping off multiple explosive runs for the Bulldogs.
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Georgia will need him to do more of that in 2026, as the Bulldogs weren’t the most explosive offense this past season. Georgia had only 16 rushes of 20-plus yards this season.
Frazier has shown he can get the tough yards that come between the tackles. If it gets the big yards on longer runs, he should become Georgia’s first 1,000-yard rusher since D’Andre Swift did so in 2019.
“He definitely runs the ball hard,” quarterback Gunner Stockton said. “He’s trying to get every inch for the team. He puts his body on the line. That’s who Nate is, he’ll do everything for the G.”
Given the transfer portal rumors that stuck to Frazier this past weekend, some questioned his commitment to the program. How could someone with a Georgia G tattoo consider playing elsewhere?
One should consider the economic market forces at play when it comes to the running back position. Texas was desperate for help at the position, which drove up the price for proven players such as Florida’s Jaden Baugh, Louisville’s Isaac Brown and now Frazier.
Frazier is worth paying for Georgia, especially with the turnover among the wide receivers this offseason. Georgia has to replace six of its top seven pass catchers from last season.
The 2025 season came to a premature end for Frazier. He suffered an ankle injury on Georgia’s penultimate drive against Ole Miss in their College Football Playoff quarterfinals game. He led the team in rushing even with an early exit. Maybe if he hadn’t gotten hurt, he could’ve run in the game-winning score, as opposed to Georgia having to settle for a tying field goal.
When Frazier scores a touchdown, he drops to his knees and raises his arms to the sky. He’s deliberately doing so as a way to thank and call attention to God.
“You know, you go through trials and tribulations in life,” Frazier said before the Sugar Bowl. “And one of the things I felt like at that given moment through my life, I mean, going through those times, was I always just felt like I was fading away from Christ a little bit. So I wanted to make sure everything happened for a reason, and the reason I feel like things are happening and going good, anytime things go good in your life it’s because of the man above.
“So I wanna give all the credits to him, all the credit that’s due not just in private, but I wanna do it in public as well so I can try to influence the youth and trying to be a positive impact in the world. I know a lot of people are watching.”
Frazier will have plenty of eyes on him next season. Heavy is the head for the lead Georgia running back. One who should be the best skill player on one of the top teams in the country.
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