Chubb, Michel, Bellamy, Carter all returning for senior seasons

It seemed improbable not too long ago. It’s suddenly a reality.

Four of Georgia’s top pro prospects — Nick Chubb, Sony Michel, Lorenzo Carter and Davin Bellamy — are all returning for their senior seasons. This is huge news for a Georgia program that just finished a 7-5 regular-season campaign and appeared poised to lose its two best skill-position players.

Head coach Kirby Smart has won plenty of recruiting battles since taking the Georgia job last December. This might have been his best work yet.

During his first media availability since the season ended, Smart was asked halfway through if these players had reached a decision. A slight smile broke out on his face as he said some news would come soon.

Once the final question of his allotted time was answered, which is generally after 12 minutes, Smart then asked for the four players to enter and make a brief statement on their decision to return. Smart expressed his happiness with each player’s decision, which will only raise expectations for the 2017 football season.

“When you have guys who are committed to the process of what we’re going to do and getting better, they have confidence in the direction we are headed,” Smart said. “When you have that, you’ve got something special.”

All season, it seemed Chubb was a lock to take his talent to the NFL draft. While Chubb didn’t put up the statistics he was accustomed to — 988 yards and seven touchdowns — the lack of production wasn’t seen as his fault due to an offensive line adjusting to a new scheme.

Chubb had plenty of spectacular moments throughout the year, which included shredding North Carolina in the season opener for 222 yards and two touchdowns. He also had good games against South Carolina (121 yards, two touchdowns) and Auburn (101 yards).

Chubb also played this season after sustaining a serious knee injury against Tennessee in 2015, which involved tearing the PCL, LCL and MCL in his left knee. Chubb worked diligently to rehab from the injury and gained clearance prior to the start of the season.

“We love it here, we’re so thankful, we’re five points away from being a whole different team,” Chubb said. “With everyone else coming back this offseason, we feel like we can get it done and improve by a small percentage every day and hopefully get those five points back that we needed.”

Michel, who has 753 yards and three touchdowns, was arguably Georgia’s best runner down the stretch and put on a show in games against Kentucky (127 yards, one touchdown) and Georgia Tech (170 yards, one touchdown).

With Georgia bringing both running backs to the 2017 roster, it will be expected to see an uptick in rushing production. But the Bulldogs will have to replace three senior offensive linemen, as Greg Pyke, Tyler Catalina and Brandon Kublanow are all graduating.

Georgia did land four-star junior college offensive tackle recruit D’Marcus Hayes earlier in the week and will be among the top contenders for five-star lineman Isaiah Wilson, of Brooklyn, New York, who is set to decide his college destination Friday.

“I think we will have a great team next year, a young team,” Michel said. “A lot of guys who have played with each other. Most of all, even now, having these guys now, to know that we’re staying as we approach practice (Friday and Saturday) to work on our craft, we become a better team.”

On defense, getting Carter and Bellamy back are huge for a program that will now be expected to return seven seniors. Carter has totaled 49 tackles and four sacks, with Bellamy tallying 37 tackles and four sacks this year.

Earlier in the season, CBSSports.com projected Bellamy as a third- or fourth-round selection if he turned pro following the season. He has since been moved to the 2018 group and is considered the sixth-best option at outside linebacker. Carter is ranked eight spots lower at 14.

“I think I did a lot of growing this season, especially toward the second half of the season,” Bellamy said. “The first half of the season I was still a little rusty. Not playing the bowl game last year, it kind of took me a while to get going. It started getting fun. I just can't wait to come back for another one with a long ride with these boys.”

After Georgia’s loss to Georgia Tech, Carter spoke about the possibility of seeing a young defense get better over the course of a year being a motivating factor in his final decision.

“This season didn’t go the way we planned or the way we wanted, but from day one to walking off the field the last game we never stopped fighting. I never saw any of my teammates lay down or feel sorry for themselves,” Carter said. “We kept swinging, kept fighting, and even though the ball didn’t roll our way all the time I could see how much growth we have.”

This story was originally published December 15, 2016 at 4:43 PM with the headline "Chubb, Michel, Bellamy, Carter all returning for senior seasons."