Zamir White

Zamir White Heisman Trophy Odds & Analysis For 2020 Season

Written by on May 18, 2020

Zamir White was a very touted recruit but hasn’t had a chance to do much at Georgia yet. However, he should be the primary ball-carrier this year. Here are two props available to wager at Mybookie on White’s Heisman Trophy chances and Georgia’s 2020 college football season – assuming there is one – and an overview.

White was the top-ranked running back recruit in the nation out of Scotland County High School in Laurinburg, North Carolina, in the class of 2018. He picked Georgia over Alabama, Clemson, North Carolina and Ohio State.

In a very class move, he announced his decision on his mother Shanee’ White’s birthday. His mother, who has a master’s degree in criminal justice and works as a corrections officer, has had a tremendous influence on her son’s life.

The 6-foot-1, 225-pound White averaged more than 8.5 yards per rushing attempt in his prep career – he scored on his first carry in high school in 2014. As a senior, he was named the winner of the Sam B. Nicola Award, presented annually by the Touchdown Club of Columbus to their chosen national player of the year. Previous winners of that award include Emmitt Smith, Josh Rosen and Jacob Eason. White averaged over 14 yards per carry as a senior, totaling 2,038 yards and 34 touchdowns.

However, White tore his ACL in the state playoffs as a senior. He worked his way back from his first ACL tear only to suffer another one, this time in his right knee two weeks before the Bulldogs’ first game in 2018.

“Definitely the first one, yeah, it was tough, but the second one, I was just like ‘why me? Why’d this happen to me?'” White said. “But my family, God, and my teammates just lifted me up and my coaches were there for me. I was alright and I worked and worked to get it back.”

Last year for the Dawgs, White played in 13 of 14 games and had 408 yards on 78 carries, third-best among all rushers. He had a career-best 92 yards on 18 rushes in first starting assignment vs. Baylor in the Sugar Bowl. White was the co-winner of David Jacobs Award (overcoming injury), given at team’s postseason awards gala.

White should be the clear-cut featured back in 2020 because D’Andre Swift left for the NFL and was a second-round pick of the Detroit Lions. Swift finished with 2,885 rushing yards for his career, good for seventh place on UGA’s all-time list.

Pro Football Network projects White as a potential first-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft if he can stay on the field: “White is a blend of size and speed but has never been healthy for a full season. The best thing for his draft stock is simply staying healthy. Don’t be surprised if White ends the season as the consensus RB1, or if the injuries were too insurmountable.”

Coach Kirby Smart had this to say about White: “When he gets the opportunity to come out there and gain some confidence and success, I think everybody is pulling for him. And for the defensive players, it’s not easy to pull for him because he’s not easy to tackle him. He’s a full-grown man when he’s out there running the ball.”

Georgia is scheduled to open on Sept. 7 vs. Virginia in Atlanta in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff game. Georgia has a 9-7-3 edge in the overall series between the two schools. Virginia and Georgia have played each other in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl twice before. Georgia won the first game in 1995, 34-27, and Virginia won the second matchup, 35-33, in 1998.