Todd Gurley's Legacy Will Go Down as the Best Big-Play RB in Georgia History

Barring an unlikely decision to return for his senior season, Georgia running back Todd Gurley’s collegiate career has ended.

Gurley’s time as a Bulldog ends without a Heisman Trophy and (as of this moment) without an SEC Championship.  He’ll go down as second in Georgia history in a host of statistical categories—rushing yards, rushing touchdowns, all-purpose yards, total touchdowns, etc.  But his legacy as the greatest big-play running back in Georgia history is what cements him as one of college football’s all-time greats.

On paper, Gurley shouldn’t be in such high-profile conversations.  Coming out of high school, Gurley was not even the most celebrated running back recruit of Georgia’s 2012 class.  According to ESPN, Scout and 247Sports, that distinction belonged to fellow North Carolina native Keith Marshall.  Of the major recruiting services, only Rivals listed Gurley ahead of Marshall.  To be sure, his commitment was celebrated, but Marshall was the running back of the future.

Once he arrived on campus and former SEC Freshman of the Year Isaiah Crowell departed, that story changed.  But even with Gurley’s rapid and unexpected (if not downright shocking) rise to stardom, his overall output still exceeds what seems feasible given his input.  Put more bluntly: Todd Gurley didn’t play all that much football at the University of Georgia.

John Amis/Associated Press

As a freshman, Gurley played in all 14 of Georgia’s contests, but his playing time diminished in 2013 and 2014. His sophomore year was plagued by leg injuries and as a result he missed large chunks of the Clemson and LSU games and the entirety of three midseason conference games.  This year, Gurley played just one offensive series as Georgia dismantled Troy, and he famously missed four games due to suspension.  Now, he’ll miss the remainder of the season with a knee injury.

Though the Bulldogs currently trail Missouri in SEC East standings, there’s still a hope for Georgia to sneak into the SEC Championship Game.  If that scenario comes to fruition the Dawgs will play 14 games this season, which means Gurley will have appeared in just 30 of 41 possible games over the course of his three-year career.  But despite that low appearance rate, he’s fully worthy of comparison to the greatest running backs in college football history if for no other reason than his ability to make big plays in big games.

Category	Attempts	Yards	Average	Touchdowns
Rushing	510	3285	6.4	36
Receiving	65	615	9.5	6
Passing	1	50	50	0
Returning	11	422	38.4	2
Total Touches	587	4372	7.4	44

Saying that Gurley burst onto the scene in 2012 would be giving bursts too much credit. 

In his first career game against Buffalo, Gurley came off the bench (Ken Malcome, now with Southern Illinois, started) and turned eight carries into 100 yards and two touchdowns while adding a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.  By comparison and in hindsight, Buffalo was hardly a big game for the Bulldogs.  But that type of performance in a significant game for a true freshman set the tone for Gurley’s career.

Later that season he gashed Tennessee for 130 yards and three scores in a 51-44 shootout.  He topped the 100-yard marker against Florida and in doing so helped Georgia win consecutive games against the Gators for the first time since the 1980s. 

In his inaugural appearance in the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry, he ran for 116 yards on just 11 carries against Auburn.  Later, in the SEC Championship Game he ran for 122 yards, the highest total surrendered by the Alabama Crimson Tide all season.  True to big-game form, Gurley ran for 125 yards in a bowl game victory over Nebraska.

John Bazemore/Associated Press

His sophomore campaign, injury-riddled as it may have been, was still defined by big plays against big competition.

Against two powers from the Palmetto State, Clemson and South Carolina, Gurley combined for 295 yards of offense and four touchdowns.  Against highly ranked LSU he racked up 86 yards of offense on just nine touches before going down with injury. 

His huge first-half performance against Florida propelled Georgia to victory and his 156-yard offensive output against Auburn kept the Dawgs in the game.  In a 41-34 victory over Georgia Tech, Gurley accounted for both scores and all 50 yards of offense in the two overtime periods.

Even in his ill-fated junior campaign, Gurley provided enough highlights to hide the darkness of his suspension and injury.

He set a school record for all-purpose yardage and notched four touchdowns in the season opener against Clemson.  He ran resiliently in defeat against South Carolina.  He took over the Tennessee game late with 129 yards, five first downs and a touchdown in the fourth quarter alone as Georgia held on for a 35-32 victory. 

Even in a blowout win over Vanderbilt, Gurley stood out thanks in no small part to a 50-yard completed pass to tight end Jeb Blazevich (to date, the longest pass of the season for Georgia).

Opponent/Scenario	Games	Average Yards	Average Touchdowns
Clemson	2	224	3
Tennessee	2	209	2.5
Florida	2	164	1.5
Auburn	3	152	1
Season Openers	3	225	3
SEC Championship Games	1	125	2
Bowl Games	2	156	1

As fans, particularly college football fans, we know all too well that all good things come to an end.  But Todd Gurley wasn’t a good thing; he was a great thing.  In some regards, that greatness is magnified by the unaligned way with which his fantastic career came to such a heart-wrenchingly ugly end.

As news of Gurley’s ACL tear spread this week, Georgia head coach Mark Richt told Chip Towers of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Gurley was a pleasure to coach.  “Todd has been fantastic,” he said.  “Without a doubt one of the best running backs I’ve ever seen or ever coached.  Practiced hard, played hard, loved the big games and played his heart out for Georgia.”

Richt poignantly encapsulated this intricately brilliant career in just a few short words.  Gurley practiced hard.  He played hard.  He was one of the best.  But no one so consistently provided big plays in the biggest moments. That’s what Todd Gurley will be remembered for at the collegiate level, and that’s what he’ll do as a professional.

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes obtained firsthand and all stats courtesy of sports-reference.com.