Mr. Invisible’s been found… When I say that you can count on me, it’s true.
– Thank You Scientist, Band
It’s not every day that a five star RB who’s committed to UGA goes under the radar, but 2024’s Nate Frazier seems to have done just that. The Mater Dei star’s prospect ranking has one of the large disparities I’ve seen amongst prospects in the current cycle, with his ranking ranging from 32nd nationally (1st RB) to 140th (9th RB).
ON3 is the one that’s the highest, while 247 Sports is the lowest. ESPN and Rivals each have him in the 60-80 range. It’s this disparity in ranking that has probably led to Frazier’s name going under the radar somewhat amongst the wider audience.
That’s going to change very soon. One might even say Mr. Invisible’s been found. Frazier put together a strong performance in the All-American Bowl, most notably showing that his future QBs can count on him as a receiver in addition to his running, catching a wheel route along the sideline for a long TD. RBs with that combination of speed and hands are rare, especially in a 5’10″, 210-lb. frame. 247 Sports is going to be issuing a major bump for our friend in California in the updated rankings later this month, me thinks.
Side note: how sick would it be for an RB to be nicknamed Mr. Invisible? I say we make it happen (your NIL pockets will thank me later when you read this, Nate).
Another reason Frazier might have gone under the radar is that his high school production is low. But, those of us who read Campus2Canon and VolumePigs are savvy enough to know that the context around statistics is just as important as the numbers themselves.
Frazier played in a backfield with two other high-end P5 RBs in younger classes. Jordan Davison, who is one of the highest-rated recruits in the class of 2025, was the main bellcow of the team. Another rusher in the class of 2026 soaked up a lot of the targets on passing plays. Some might look at that and wonder, well, why wasn’t Frazier the bell cow or the primary pass-catching back? Wouldn’t that show a deficiency? The answer to that is no.
High school coaches are trying to win as much as they’re trying to get their guys offers. With a player like Frazier, whose recruitment was wrapped up midway through his senior year, there was nothing more to prove, and I’m sure Frazier appreciated having less tread on his tires coming out of high school.
What’s important is the skill set. There are all kinds of productive high school players who won’t make good CFB players. Just like (as we CFF guys know) there are many productive CFB players who won’t translate to the NFL.
Oh, and by the way, he’s an elite track and field runner. He unfortunately does not arrive to UGA’s campus as an early enrolee, but this is due to his track obligations in the spring.
Georgia OC Mike Bobo / NFL Upside
Even though the Dark Lord Bobo is known for his passing attacks, he’s always been good to the RB position when he’s the OC or HC. UGA RB Daijun Edwards not only finished the 2023 season with a solid PPG average (16.5 in 1PPR formats), but he cleared 16.5 points seven times in 11 games. He went over 20 points four times. All in all, he averaged over 16 touches per game.
In 2021, Tank Bigsby finished with a lovely 223 carries for 1099 yards and 10 scores. He also averaged 18.7 touches per game.
In 2020, CFF stud and second-ballot VP-HoF’er Kevin Harris steamrolled through the regular season on his way to leading the SEC in rushing. In ten games, Harris rushed 185 times for 1,138 yards and 15 TDs. He caught another 21 passes for 159 yards and a score. Overall, he averaged 20.6 touches per game.
Prior to coming back to the SEC, Bobo spent four seasons as the HC of the MWC program at Colorado State (2016-2019). I’ll admit, it wasn’t pretty for the majority of that time. Of the four seasons, he only had one RB clear 200 carries— but(!) at least he had one. Dalyn Dawkins in 2017 rushed 226 times for 1,399 yards and eight scores. He also caught 26 passes for 310 yards and a score. All in all, that’s an RB with over 250 total touches by the season’s end.
But in this article, we’re interested in Frazier’s C2C/Devy value long term. This means that, even if UGA deploys a committee each year that Frazier is with them, what you’re really drafting Frazier for is the NFL upside. His skill set as a pass catcher and runner is exactly what the NFL values. His size profile suggests he fits the RB1 workhorse mold.
Scoping Out The Room
Trevor Etienne transferred into the UGA RBs room in the 2024 offseason. He’s most likely a one-and-done player. That’s not a big deal, given that Frazier was unlikely to play a big part in the offense as a true freshman. Especially one who didn’t early enroll.
Then there’s the Robinson bros (they’re not actually related). Branson Robinson was a five-star, according to at least one service in the 2022 class out of MS. He suffered a horrific knee injury in camp last offseason, and I wouldn’t expect much from him this season either. His injury is the type where you wonder if he’s ever going to be the same player again, unfortunately. He looked good, though, in the 2022 season.
Roderick Robinson is the biggest back in the room, weighing in at 235-240 lbs. He’ll have to shed some weight to be the RB1 of the program.
Andrew Paul, like Branson, suffered a bad knee injury the offseason before last (August 2022). He had rave reviews in camp and spent the 2023 season slowly working back. The jury is still out on him for whether he’ll ever return to form and live up to the promise he had as a recruit.
So that’s a lot of bad luck in the RB room for UGA. It’s no wonder that they opted to take three this cycle.
The aforementioned Frazier is joined by Chauncy Bowens from Florida and Dwight Phillips from Georgia. Bowens is intriguing. He’s got some SaQuon Barkley thigh action going on. Phillips is more of a utility player with elite, elite speed.
Frazier is the most complete of the three and the most likely to be a guy who is considered an RB1-type prospect entering into the NFL.
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