Todd Gurley

Todd Gurley

refer to caption

Gurley with the Georgia Bulldogs in 2013
No. 30 Los Angeles Rams
Position: Running back
Personal information
Date of birth: (1994-08-03) August 3, 1994
Place of birth: Baltimore, Maryland
Height: 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight: 227 lb (103 kg)
Career information
High school: Tarboro (NC)
College: Georgia
NFL draft: 2015 / Round: 1 / Pick: 10
Career history
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
NFL
College
High school
  • North Carolina HS Player of the Year (2011)
Career NFL statistics as of 2015
Rushing attempts: 229
Rushing yards: 1,106
Rushing average: 4.8
Rushing touchdowns: 10
Player stats at NFL.com

Todd Gurley II (born August 3, 1994) is an American football running back for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Rams tenth overall in the 2015 NFL draft. He played college football at Georgia.

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 Northside High School.[2] In the semifinals, Northside had shut down the state's leading rusher, Northside'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 led 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 early in the first quarter. In 10 games, he rushed for 989 yards on 165 carries with 10 touchdowns. After the season, Gurley was named Second-Team All-SEC by the Associated Press.[15]

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.[16]

2014

On October 9, 2014, Gurley was indefinitely suspended by the University of Georgia over Gurley's alleged violation of NCAA rules.[17][18] It was reported by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on October 10, 2014, that the impending investigation could have cost Gurley his season.[19] 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.[20] 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

Pre-draft measurables
Ht Wt 40-yd dash 10-yd split 20-yd split 20-ss 3-cone Vert Broad BP
6 ft 2 in 222 lb 17 reps
All values from NFL Combine

St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams

Gurley was drafted 10th overall by the St. Louis Rams in the 2015 NFL Draft.[21] Gurley's rehabilitation went ahead of schedule and during the team's preseason, while he did not play, he practiced without pads on. Soon after, Gurley was medically cleared for full contact by St. Louis team physicians. On Sept 27, 2015, he made his NFL debut against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was eased into action and finished the game with 6 rushes for 9 yards. The following week, the Rams visited the undefeated Arizona Cardinals for an NFC West divisional matchup. Again Gurley started slow with just 2 yards at halftime, but rushed for 144 yards in the second half as the Rams edged the Cardinals 24-22. The next three games against the Green Bay Packers, Cleveland Browns, and the San Francisco 49ers would see Gurley rush for at least 128 rushing yards per game. He scored his first NFL touchdown on Oct 25th, 2015 against the Browns. With 566 yards in his first four NFL starts, Gurley became the most prolific rusher in his first four NFL games since the AFL-NFL merger.[22] Following the 27-6 win over the 49ers in week 8, Gurley's jersey and cleats were inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. [23]

In Week 9, Gurley was held to just 89 yards in the Rams' 21-18 overtime loss at Minnesota against the Vikings. In Week 10, Gurley was contained to just 49 rushing yards in the Rams 37-13 loss to the Chicago Bears. In Week 11, Gurley rushed for 66 yards in the Rams vs Ravens game and scored 1 touchdown in the team's 13-16 loss. In Week 12, Gurley ran just 19 yards in the Rams 7-31 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. The following week, he was held to just 41 rushing yards on 9 carries in a blowout loss at home against Arizona. In Week 14, Gurley rushed 140 yards in the Rams 14-21 win over the Detroit Lions. In Week 15, Gurley rushed for 48 yards, scored a touchdown and became the third rookie in Rams history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season after Jerome Bettis and Eric Dickerson in the Rams 31-23 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (in what was the franchise's last home game in St. Louis before moving to Los Angeles for the 2016 season) In Week 16, Gurley rushed for 85 yards in the Rams 23-17 victory over the Seattle Seahawks and becoming the second Rams rookie to rush for 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns since Eric Dickerson in 1983.

On December 22, 2015, Gurley was selected to be part of the 2016 Pro Bowl along with fellow Rams players Aaron Donald and Johnny Hekker. Gurley was one of the five rookies to be selected to the Pro Bowl, along with Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Marcus Peters, Seattle Seahawks wide receiver kick returner Tyler Lockett, Oakland Raiders wide receiver Amari Cooper and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston

NFL statistics

Season Team Games Rushing Receiving Fumbles
GP GS Att Yds Avg Lng TD Rec Yds Avg Lng TD FUM Lost
2015 St. Louis Rams 13 12 229 1,106 4.8 71T 10 21 188 9.0 31 0 3 1
Total 13 12 229 1,106 4.8 71T 10 21 188 9.0 31 0 3 1

References

  1. ↑ Welch, Ryan (December 21, 2011). "Tarboro High School Senior named NC player of year". Time Warner Cable News (Time Warner Cable Enterprises). Retrieved 13 October 2014.
  2. ↑ Gurley, Tarboro defeat Wolves for state title
  3. ↑ Thomasville faces formidable Lincolnton in state semifinals
  4. ↑ http://nc.milesplit.com/athletes/1401572-todd-gurley/feed#.VBEM-fmSwrk
  5. ↑ Stevens, Tim (July 6, 2011). "Gurley competing in junior world track championships". newsoberver.com. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
  6. ↑ "NCHSAA 2A State Track Championship". NC Runners. MileSplit. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
  7. ↑ https://sports.yahoo.com/footballrecruiting/football/recruiting/rankings/rank-2886
  8. ↑ Gurley commits to Dawgs
  9. ↑ "Georgia 45, Buffalo 23". Chicago Tribune. Sep 1, 2012. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  10. ↑ Georgia recovers to spoil Missouri's SEC debut
  11. ↑ "Todd Gurley stats". ESPN College Football. ESPN. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
  12. ↑ On pace for 1,000-yard season, Todd Gurley ‘doesn’t seem like a freshman’
  13. ↑ http://blogs.ajc.com/uga-sports-blog/2012/11/17/notebook-todd-gurley-gets-1000-yards-gurshall-runs-past-herschel/
  14. ↑ http://blogs.ajc.com/uga-sports-blog/2012/12/03/jarvis-jones-named-secs-defensive-player-of-year-todd-gurley-1st-team-all-sec/
  15. ↑ http://collegefootball.ap.org/article/2013-associated-press-all-sec-football-team
  16. ↑ "Todd Gurley Bio, Track and Field". Georgia Dogs. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
  17. ↑ ESPN News Services (October 9, 2014). "Georgia suspends RB Todd Gurley". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 9, 2014.
  18. ↑ Weinreb, Michael (October 10, 2014). "Todd Gurley Signs His Life Away". The Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 10, 2014.
  19. ↑ Towers, Chip (October 10, 2014). "Source: NCAA violation may end Gurley’s season". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved October 10, 2014.
  20. ↑ Towers, Chip (October 29, 2014). "Suspension of UGA’s Todd Gurley extended 2 more games by NCAA". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  21. ↑ Burke, Chris (April 30, 2015). "St. Louis Rams select Todd Gurley No. 10 in 2015 NFL draft". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
  22. ↑ Wagoner, Nick (November 2, 2015). "Todd Gurley sets mark for most yards in first four starts". "ESPN". Retrieved November 4, 2015.
  23. ↑ Wagoner, Nick (November 5, 2015). "Todd Gurley's jersey, cleats now on display at Hall of Fame". "ESPN". Retrieved January 19, 2016.

External links

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