Sony Michel
| New England Patriots | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Running back |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | February 17, 1995 Orlando, Florida |
| Height: | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
| Weight: | 215 lb (98 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Plantation (FL) American Heritage |
| College: | Georgia |
| NFL draft: | 2018 / round: 1 / pick: 31 |
| Career history | |
| |
| Roster status: | Unsigned Draft Pick |
Sony Michel (born February 17, 1995) is an American football running back for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Georgia.
Early years
Michel's parents emigrated from Haiti a year after his older sister Lamise was born.[1] Michel attended American Heritage School in Plantation, FL. Michel was the starting running back for the American Heritage Patriots, beginning in his eighth grade year there. As a senior, he rushed for 1,833 yards and 24 touchdowns. Over three years playing on varsity, he rushed for 4,758 yards and 63 touchdowns. He was rated by Rivals.com as a five-star recruit and was ranked as the third best running back and 13th best player overall.[2] Michel committed to the University of Georgia on April 26, 2013 to play college football.[3][4] Michel's older brother Marken Michel is a receiver for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League, and was the 2017 West Division Most Outstanding Rookie.[5]
Michel also competed in track and field at American Heritage; as a sophomore in 2011, he earned first-place finishes in both the 100-meter dash (10.99s) and 200-meter dash (21.91s) at the FHSAA 2A District Meet.[6] He posted a personal-best time of seconds in the 100-meter dash at the 3rd Annual Miramar Invitational, where he placed first.[7]
College career
As a true freshman at Georgia in 2014, Michel played in eight games and made one start. He missed five games due to a fractured shoulder blade.[8] He rushed for 410 yards on 64 carries with five rushing touchdowns.[9] Michel entered 2015 as a backup to Nick Chubb, but earned extensive playing time.[10][11] After Chubb was injured in a game against the Tennessee Volunteers, Michel took over as the starter and ran for 145 yards.[12]
In 2017, with true freshman Jake Fromm starting at quarterback for the Bulldogs, the team relied heavily on its senior running backs, Chubb and Michel, to carry the load. Despite remaining second in the depth chart behind Chubb, and receiving only two-thirds as many carries as Chubb, Michel had a breakout year, finishing with 1,227 rushing yards (156 carries), only 118 yards fewer than Chubb's 1,345 (223 carries). In a blowout game against Vanderbilt on October 7, Michel rushed for 150 yards and a score on only 12 carries.[13] Three weeks later, in an October 28 rout of Florida, Michel rushed for 137 yards on only 6 carries, scoring twice on runs of 74 yards and 45 yards.[14]
Michel's biggest game of the year came on New Year's Day against Oklahoma in the Rose Bowl, Georgia's first-ever College Football Playoff game. Carrying the ball only 11 times, Michel ran for 181 yards and three touchdowns, including a walk-off 27-yard scamper from the "Wild Dawg" formation (direct snap to Michel) to end the game in double overtime.[15] He also added four receptions for 41 yards and a fourth touchdown. For his performance, Michel was named Rose Bowl Offensive MVP.[16]
Chubb and Michel's 326 combined rushing yards in the Rose Bowl put them at 8,259 career rushing yards, surpassing Eric Dickerson and Craig James' FBS record of 8,192.[17]
Statistics
| Year | Rushing | Receiving | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Att | Yards | Avg | Long | TD | Rec | Yards | Avg | Long | TD | |
| 2014 | 64 | 410 | 6.4 | 75 | 5 | 7 | 106 | 15.1 | 33 | 1 |
| 2015 | 219 | 1161 | 5.3 | 66 | 8 | 26 | 270 | 10.4 | 48 | 3 |
| 2016 | 152 | 840 | 5.5 | 42 | 4 | 22 | 149 | 6.8 | 33 | 1 |
| 2017 | 156 | 1227 | 7.9 | 75 | 16 | 9 | 96 | 10.7 | 32 | 1 |
| Career | 591 | 3638 | 6.3 | 75 | 33 | 64 | 621 | 9.7 | 48 | 6 |
Professional career
Michel was selected by the New England Patriots in the first round, 31st overall, of the 2018 NFL Draft.[18]
References
- ^ Press, ed. (8 October 2015). "Sony Michel: Born To Play". Georgia Dogs. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
- ^ "Rivals.com". sports.yahoo.com.
- ^ "Georgia adds No. 2 RB Michel to backfield".
- ^ "American Heritage RB Sony Michel commits to Georgia".
- ^ "Shaw CFL Awards Reel: Most Outstanding Rookie - CFL.ca".
- ^ "FHSAA 2A District 14 Championships - Day 1 - Track & Field Meet". Athletic.net.
- ^ "3rd Annual Mirimar Invitational - Track & Field Meet". Athletic.net.
- ^ "Georgia's Sony Michel confirms twice fractured shoulder blade, but now healthy".
- ^ "Georgia's Sony Michel hoping for healthier second season".
- ^ "Georgia's Sony Michel more than just Nick Chubb's backup".
- ^ "Georgia figuring out ways to get Sony Michel on the field".
- ^ "UGA RB Sony Michel carries the load at Tennessee, but fumble haunts him".
- ^ "Georgia vs. Vanderbilt - Game Recap - October 7, 2017 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2018-01-10.
- ^ "Georgia vs. Florida - Game Recap - October 28, 2017 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2018-01-10.
- ^ "Georgia vs. Oklahoma - Game Recap - January 1, 2018 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2018-01-10.
- ^ "Georgia survives Oklahoma in classic, back-and-forth Rose Bowl in double overtime". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2018-01-10.
- ^ "Georgia's Nick Chubb, Sony Michel surpass FBS rushing record in Rose Bowl win". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 2018-01-10.
- ^ "2018 NFL Draft: Day 1 quick-snap grades for all 32 teams". NFL.com. Retrieved 2018-04-27.
