Sony Michel (born February 17, 1995) is an American football running back for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted 31st overall by the New England Patriots of the 2018 NFL Draft. He played college football at Georgia.

Michel's parents emigrated from Haiti a year after his older sister Lamise was born.^[1] Michel attended American Heritage School in Plantation, Florida.^[2] Michel was the starting running back for the American Heritage Patriots, beginning in his eighth grade year there.^[3] 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.^[4] Michel committed to the University of Georgia on April 26, 2013 to play college football.^[5][6] Michel's older brother Marken Michel is a receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League, and was the 2017 West Division Most Outstanding Rookie with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League.^[7]

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.^[8] He posted a personal-best time of seconds in the 100-meter dash at the 3rd Annual Miramar Invitational, where he placed first.^[9]

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.^[10] He rushed for 410 yards on 64 carries with five rushing touchdowns.^[11] Michel entered 2015 as a backup to Nick Chubb, but earned extensive playing time.^[12][13] After Chubb was injured in a game against the Tennessee Volunteers, Michel took over as the starter and ran for 145 yards.^[14] In the 2016 season, Michel totaled 840 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns to go along with 22 receptions for 149 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown.^[15]

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.^[16] 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.^[17]

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 rushing touchdown from the "Wild Dawg" formation (direct snap to Michel) to end the game in double overtime.^[18] He also added four receptions for 41 yards and a fourth touchdown. For his performance, Michel was named Rose Bowl Offensive MVP.^[19]

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.^[20]

Michel was selected by the New England Patriots in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft with the 31st overall pick.^[23] He was the third running back to be selected that year.^[24] In addition, he was the third of six Georgia Bulldogs to be selected that year.^[25] Michel and Isaiah Wynn were the first pair of college teammates selected by the same team in the first round since Auburn players Jason Campbell and Carlos Rogers were taken in the 2005 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins.^[26]

Michel suffered a knee injury in training camp causing him to miss the entire preseason and the season-opener against the Houston Texans.^[27] Michel made his NFL debut in Week 2, against the Jacksonville Jaguars. He rushed 10 times for 34 yards and had a six-yard reception in the 31–20 loss.^[28] In a Week 4 victory over the Miami Dolphins, Michel had a breakout game with 26 carries for 112 yards and a touchdown.^[29] He became the first rookie to top 100 rushing yards in a game for the Patriots since Brandon Bolden in 2012.^[30] In a Week 5 victory over the Indianapolis Colts, Michel rushed for 98 yards and a touchdown.^[31] In Week 6 against the Kansas City Chiefs, he had 106 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns in the 43–40 victory on Sunday Night Football.^[32] He became the first New England rookie to score on the ground twice in a game since Laurence Maroney in 2006.^[33] During a Week 12 victory against the New York Jets, Michel ran for a career-high 133 yards and a touchdown, the most rushing yards by a Patriot rookie since Brandon Bolden ran for 137 yards in 2012.^[34] This game was his third time breaking the century mark, making him the first Patriots rookie since Robert Edwards did so in 1998.^[35] In a Week 16 victory against the Buffalo Bills, he had 18 carries for 116 yards and a touchdown.^[36] Overall, he finished his rookie season with 931 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns.^[37]

The Patriots won the AFC East and earned the No. 2 seed for the AFC Playoffs.^[38] In the Divisional Round against the Los Angeles Chargers, he had 24 carries for 129 rushing yards and three touchdowns in the 41–28 victory.^[39] During the AFC Championship against the Kansas City Chiefs, he had 29 carries for 113 rushing yards and two touchdowns in the 37–31 overtime victory.^[40] Michel broke the NFL record for most playoff rushing touchdowns for a rookie, scoring five between the divisional and conference championship games.^[41] On February 3, 2019, Michel scored the lone touchdown in Super Bowl LIII against the Los Angeles Rams, carrying 18 times for a game-leading 94 yards. The go-ahead touchdown occurred late in the fourth quarter in the 13–3 victory. He was the leading rusher in the game^[42] and extended his rookie postseason rushing record to six touchdowns in three games; he scored six touchdowns in 13 regular-season games.^[43] Only Hall of Fame running back Terrell Davis has rushed for more touchdowns in a single postseason than Michel; Davis scored eight touchdowns in four games in the 1997 postseason.^[44] Michel is the first player since Davis with more than four rushing touchdowns in one postseason.^[45]

In week 2 against the Miami Dolphins, Michel rushed 21 times for 85 yards and his first rushing touchdown of the season in the 43-0 win. ^[46]