Todd Gurley’s Georgia football legacy is great, but complex
Seeing former UGA running back Todd Gurley at the NFL Combine earlier this week made me ponder something – how will he be remembered by the Georgia Bulldog faithful?
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First off, any Georgia fan who’s seen Gurley play loves him and knows he’s about as good as it gets. The comparisons to Herschel were made when he first burst on the scene in Athens. When he played, he was the best in the country over the past three years. He will forever hold a place in the hearts of current Georgia fans.
But let’s take a look at the youngest generation of Bulldog fans. They have the Gurley’s jersey. They imagine they’re Todd Gurley when they’re playing football in the front yard. They can also probably tell you who No. 34 is.
The number 34 and the person associated with it — Herschel Walker — is something of folk hero and legend status within the Bulldog Nation. Any and all Dawg fans know who Walker is, even if they weren’t alive when he was dominating the college football world, and for good reason. He was a three-time All American, he broke all of the UGA rushing records, won a national title the Heisman Trophy.
The sad truth is, Gurley doesn’t have any records. He didn’t win a national, or even an SEC title. He didn’t win the Heisman either. Now, I fully believe he could’ve accomplished all three of those things, or at least two of them, had he not been suspended.
While Herschel’s legacy is still alive, other very talented Georgia running backs haven’t stood to the test of time. Ask those young Georgia fans in the no. 3 jerseys about Isaiah Crowell, or Knowshon Moreno, or Kregg Lumpkin, or Thomas Brown, or D.J. Ware, or Musa Smith. They probably won’t know most of those names. Why is that? None of those guys won a national title, none of them won a Heisman, and only Musa Smith set a record.
Those who saw TG3 play will never forget him. He’s truly an all-time great. Will this great stand the test of time, though? Will we still talk about him in 30+ years like we do Herschel? Let me know what you think in the comments.