Five star running back Kendall Milton commits to University of Georgia

Kendall Milton (left) with his father Chris Milton (right), has decided to accept a football scholarship to University of Georgia on July 29 at Dave and Busters in Fresno. PHOTO BY MICHAEL FORD/CLOVIS ROUNDUP

After months of speculation, Buchanan High star running back Kendall Milton announced his decision to accept a football scholarship to the University of Georgia on Monday, July 29 at Dave and Busters in Clovis.

Milton, a five-star recruit, had narrowed his choices down to LSU, Ohio State and Alabama before ultimately landing on Georgia.

Fresno State, where many had clamored Milton to play, fell out of the running early on, and Milton said that the school stopped recruiting him.

“Fresno stopped recruiting me probably at the end of my sophomore year,” Milton said.

Milton said that a big factor in his decision to choose Georgia was the history of high-level running backs that played there over the last ten or so years, including NFL superstar running back for the LA Rams Todd Gurley and former NFL starter Knowshon Moreno.

“That’s a big thing. I wanted to go to a school that took my position as serious as possible…It is nickname RBU (Running Back University) and I’m excited to be a part of it,” Milton said.

Milton said that Georgia won him over for good on his official visit to its campus where he got to meet coaches.

“I base a lot of my decisions on the vibe I felt from the coaches and when I was at Georgia, it just felt like a family vibe. Everything here was natural, nothing was forced.”

Although Milton has been highly sought after for years, the star runner did nothing but increase his value by finishing third in the Central Section in rushing yards with 1,337 and an average of 102.8 per game.

But with the recruiting and commitment process complete, Milton still has one more season of high school ball to finish before he takes the leap to the next level of competition.

Buchanan kicks off its regular season schedule against Narbonne High from Harbor City on Aug. 24.

The team comes off a season in which it reached the semifinals of the Central Section playoffs before losing to Liberty-Bakersfield 24-23.

Milton figures to be an even bigger factor in the team’s offense this season after losing its top playmaking wide receiver Jalen Cropper, who committed to Fresno State in late November 2018.

Michael graduated from Fresno State in May 2019 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in print journalism. During his time at the university, he served as sports and managing editor for The Collegian, Fresno State’s student-run newspaper. In addition to the Clovis Roundup, Michael has written for The Fresno Bee, the Kingsburg Recorder and Selma Enterprise. He has a passion for sports and can be found on the sidelines at local games, bringing the citizens of Clovis the athletics news they deserve.