Todd Gurley
Todd Gurley II (born August 3, 1994) is an American football running back for the St. Louis Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of Georgia. He was taken 10th overall by the Rams in the 2015 NFL draft.
Early years
Gurley attended Tarboro High School in Tarboro, North Carolina, where he was a three-sport star in football, track and basketball. He played as a running back and defensive back during his junior season, totalling 1,472 rushing yards and 26 touchdowns, as well as 79 tackles, an interception, and a forced fumble. He was named Rocky Mount Telegram All-Area Offensive Player of the Year for the 2010 season. As a senior in 2011, he was the North Carolina Associated Press Player of the Year after totalling 2,600 yards and 38 touchdowns.[1] Gurley helped his team win the 2A North Carolina state championship, rushing for 242 yards and four touchdowns in the championship game against Lincolnton High School.[2] In the semifinals, Lincolnton had shut down the state's leading rusher, Thomasville's Shaquan Johnson, who entered the game with 3,083 rushing yards.[3]
Gurley was also a world-class hurdler and sprinter for the school's track & field team. He competed for Team USA in the 110-metres hurdles at the 2011 World Youth Championships in Athletics, where he placed 3rd in the prelims with a career-best time of 13.66 seconds,[4] but finished 15th overall in the semifinals.[5] Also a top competitor in the 100-meter dash, he ran a personal-best time of 10.70 seconds in the prelims of the 2011 NCHSAA 2A State Track Meet, placing 2nd.[6]
Gurley was rated as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com and was ranked as the fifth best running back in his class.[7] He committed to the University of Georgia to play college football.[8]
College career
2012
Gurley began his freshman season backing up redshirt sophomore Ken Malcome. In his first career game he rushed for 100 yards on eight carries with two touchdowns and also returned a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.[9] Gurley took over as the starter the second game of the season and rushed for 65 yards on 10 carries.[10]
Overall Gurley started 12 of 14 games and rushed for 1,385 yards on 222 carries with 17 touchdowns.[11][12] Against Georgia Southern, Gurley became the second true freshman in Georgia history to rush for 1,000 yards, the only other being Herschel Walker in 1980.[13] After the season, Gurley was named First-Team All-SEC by the Associated Press.[14] He was one of two true freshman running backs to accomplish this in 2012, the other being T. J. Yeldon of Alabama.
2013
In Georgia's season opener (which was played on August 31) at Clemson's Memorial Stadium, Gurley lead the Bulldogs with 154 rushing yards, a career high, on 12 carries and 2 touchdowns. Even though the Bulldogs lost the game 38-35, Gurley had an impressive performance against Clemson which included a 75-yard touchdown run that happened early in the first quarter. In 10 games, he rushed for 989 yards on 165 carries with 10 touchdowns.
In the spring of 2013, Gurley joined the Georgia Bulldogs indoor track team. He competed in the 60-meter hurdles, and recorded the seventh-fastest time in school history at 8.12 seconds, to take sixth at the VT Elite Meet.[15]
2014
On October 9, 2014, Gurley was indefinitely suspended by the University of Georgia over Gurley's alleged violation of NCAA rules.[16][17] It was reported by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on October 10, 2014, that the impending investigation could have cost Gurley his season.[18] However, it was reported on October 29 that Gurley would sit out two more games until the suspension will be lifted, which made him eligible to play against Auburn.[19] In his first game back from suspension in November, Gurley tore his ACL, ending his junior season. He finished the year with 911 rushing yards and nine touchdowns.
Statistics
| Rushing | Receiving | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | TD |
| 2012 | Georgia | 222 | 1,385 | 6.2 | 55 | 17 | 16 | 117 | 0 |
| 2013 | Georgia | 165 | 989 | 6.0 | 75 | 10 | 37 | 441 | 6 |
| 2014 | Georgia | 123 | 911 | 7.4 | 51 | 9 | 12 | 57 | 0 |
| Career | 510 | 3,285 | 6.4 | 75 | 36 | 65 | 615 | 6 | |
Professional career
NFL Draft
St. Louis Rams
Gurley was drafted 10th overall to the St. Louis Rams in the 2015 NFL Draft.
References
External links
- Georgia Bulldogs bio
- IAAF profile
- DyeStat profile for Todd Gurley
Vorlage:College Football Freshman of the Year Vorlage:2015 NFL Draft Vorlage:RamsFirstPick Vorlage:St. Louis Rams roster navbox
- ↑ Ryan Welch: Tarboro High School Senior named NC player of year In: Time Warner Cable News, Time Warner Cable Enterprises, December 21, 2011. Abgerufen im 13 October 2014
- ↑ Gurley, Tarboro defeat Wolves for state title
- ↑ Thomasville faces formidable Lincolnton in state semifinals
- ↑ http://nc.milesplit.com/athletes/1401572-todd-gurley/feed#.VBEM-fmSwrk
- ↑ Tim Stevens: Gurley competing in junior world track championships In: newsoberver.com, July 6, 2011. Abgerufen im 13 October 2014
- ↑ NCHSAA 2A State Track Championship. In: NC Runners. MileSplit, abgerufen am 13. Oktober 2014.
- ↑ https://sports.yahoo.com/footballrecruiting/football/recruiting/rankings/rank-2886
- ↑ Gurley commits to Dawgs
- ↑ Georgia 45, Buffalo 23. In: Chicago Tribune. 1. September 2012, abgerufen am 16. Juli 2013.
- ↑ Georgia recovers to spoil Missouri's SEC debut
- ↑ Todd Gurley stats. In: ESPN College Football. ESPN, abgerufen am 13. Oktober 2014.
- ↑ On pace for 1,000-yard season, Todd Gurley ‘doesn’t seem like a freshman’
- ↑ http://blogs.ajc.com/uga-sports-blog/2012/11/17/notebook-todd-gurley-gets-1000-yards-gurshall-runs-past-herschel/
- ↑ http://blogs.ajc.com/uga-sports-blog/2012/12/03/jarvis-jones-named-secs-defensive-player-of-year-todd-gurley-1st-team-all-sec/
- ↑ Todd Gurley Bio, Track and Field. In: Georgia Dogs. CBS Interactive, abgerufen am 13. Oktober 2014.
- ↑ ESPN News Services: Georgia suspends RB Todd Gurley. ESPN.com, 9. Oktober 2014, abgerufen am 9. Oktober 2014.
- ↑ Michael Weinreb: Todd Gurley Signs His Life Away. The Rolling Stone, 10. Oktober 2014, abgerufen am 10. Oktober 2014.
- ↑ Chip Towers: Source: NCAA violation may end Gurley’s season. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 10. Oktober 2014, abgerufen am 10. Oktober 2014.
- ↑ Chip Towers: Suspension of UGA’s Todd Gurley extended 2 more games by NCAA. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 29. Oktober 2014, abgerufen am 29. Oktober 2014.