Georgia Football Running Back Finally Gets Big Moment

Junior running back Dwight Phillips Jr. finally had a huge moment in a Georgia football game on Saturday against the Oklahoma Sooners. He took a handoff from Gunner Stockton in the fourth quarter, bounced it to the right sideline and then outran the entire Sooner defense to score a 54-yard touchdown.

Phillips Jr. got extra opportunities against Oklahoma with starting running back Nate Frazier, listed as a game-time decision, unable to suit up after suffering a leg injury in the prior game against Arkansas. He took full advantage, and ended up being Georgia’s leading rusher in the game with 84 yards and that score on just eight carries.

He was the only Georgia ballcarrier to post a run of 10 or more yards in the contest - he did it twice. He was also the reason why Georgia's rushing totals didn’t look awful by the end of the game. Georgia would have only ran the ball for three yards per carry without that run.

Head coach Kirby Smart thinks his character is what stands out the most in this situation. Phillips Jr. has waited two years to get these types of touches.

“Well, it says something about his character. Last year he flashed and had some really good plays and he's gotten some opportunities when guys have been dinged up. But he's one of the consistent guys in the room in terms of work ethic,” Smart said.

Phillips Jr. scored the first touchdown of Georgia’s 2025 season against Marshall and then sort of disappeared. The running back room was crowded with Frazier and Chauncey Bowens ahead of him still, along with the presence of Josh McCray and Cash Jones who each had carved out roles.

Phillips Jr., known inside the program as “Peanut,” is the fastest player on the team. That helped him become Georgia's most explosive player in spring according to Smart. The head coach said after Georgia’s spring game that he and Jaden Reddell were the two most consistent playmakers for the Dawgs’ offense during spring practice. In turn, his opportunities were on the way this season, especially with less competition in the backfield.

His speed is what got him the score, but Smart was more impressed with a tackle he made on special teams.

“He has an elite trait, which is speed. He works really hard at special teams. I was more proud of the tackle than even the run because he's worked really hard on that. He got opportunities in the past on special teams that he wasn't maybe ready for or he didn't capitalize on and it bothered him, and he worked really hard,” Smart said.

Phillips Jr. may have limited reps on game days, but he gets thousands of valuable practice reps, according to Smart.

“He's taken thousands of reps to get that one rep that he covers down there and makes a tackle on the best punt returner, you know, probably in the country or maybe in the conference, and he makes a big play. But the run, we've seen those things before. We've seen those at scrimmages. We've seen those against our defense and we know the caliber of player and even better person that Dwight is,” Smart said.

Sources have said that Peanut’s development probably wouldn’t have happened the way it has at Georgia. He has his chance now to show it.

Add us as a preferred source on Google