ATHENS, Ga. — From a commitment party at a restaurant in Fresno, California, Class of 2020 five-star running back Kendall Milton made his pledge to attend the University of Georgia, a school located nearly 2,500 miles away.
The nation’s No. 3-ranked running back, Milton is the Bulldogs’ first commit at the position for 2020 after signing just one running back in 2019 (Kenny McIntosh of Fort Lauderdale, Florida). For Georgia, Milton’s commitment was much needed, according to Jake Reuse of UGASports.com.
“It would be huge for them because they only took one back in the last class and they want two in this class. To kick it off with a guy like that is massive,” Reuse said. “He also brings something into Georgia’s running back room that they don’t necessarily have with his combination of size and speed.”
At Buchanan High School in Clovis, California, Milton gained nearly 110 rushing yards per contest, averaged more than eight yards per carry, and scored 52 touchdowns—50 rushing and two receiving—in the 26 games of his sophomore and junior years.
Measuring around 6'2" and 225 pounds, Milton’s 40-yard dash time has been clocked in the 4.5s. He combines size and speed with tremendous shiftiness on the field, uncanny for someone with his large stature.
Choosing the Bulldogs out of a top four - which also included Alabama, LSU, and Ohio State - Milton is confident his unique set of skills should lead to early playing time at Georgia.
"I’d have a lot of opportunity to come in and be a great player, and that’d probably be the biggest thing for me in choosing out of the top four. Can I get in early and get that playing time?” Milton informed UGASports.com approximately three weeks ago. “Depth chart is a big thing. I don’t want to be one of those dudes riding the bench ‘til junior year and then having a last year. I want to come on, make an immediate impact, and get to the league in three years. Athens is a good opportunity.”
Notably, Milton would be only Georgia’s third signee beginning in 2002 to hail from the state of California. More so, as the nation’s No. 20 overall recruit, he would rank as the fourth-highest prospect at running back the Bulldogs had signed during the same time period, trailing only Zamir White (No. 10 in 2018), Sony Michel (No. 13 in 2014), and Kregg Lumpkin (No. 19 in 2003).
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