Georgia football: 30 greatest players of the Mark Richt era

• First-Team All-SEC (2012)
• Second-Team All-SEC (2013)
• 3,285 rushing yards for 36 touchdowns

Todd Gurley is now the superstar running back for the Los Angeles Rams. Only a few short years ago was Gurley running train all over the SEC as the best running at Georgia of the Mark Richt era. Gurley rightfully comes in at No. 6 on this countdown.

Somehow only a three-star recruit out of Tarboro, North Carolina, Gurley would fill a massive need at running back for the Dawgs as a true freshman in 2012. He and fellow North Carolinian five-star recruit Keith Marshall were expected to carry the weight in the Georgia ground game after former running back Isaiah Crowell had been dismissed from the university that summer.

As a true freshman, Gurley rushed for 1,385 yards and 17 touchdowns on 222 carries in 14 games. He would be named First-Team All-SEC, as the Dawgs made it back to the SEC Championship for the second consecutive season. Though “Gurshall” certainly filled the void left by Crowell’s dismissal, Georgia came up five yards short of beating the Alabama Crimson Tide in Atlanta.

While Gurley shockingly never rushed for over 1,000 yards in a season again for Georgia, his status as a Bulldogs legend only grew with every snap he took in the Georgia backfield. In only 10 games in 2013, the true sophomore rushed for 989 yards on 165 carries for 10 touchdowns. Georgia would stay in the SEC East race that season up until the “Prayer at Jordan-Hare” game versus the cross-divisional rival Auburn Tigers down on The Plains.

With significant Heisman hype entering his true junior season in 2014, Gurley returned a kickoff for a touchdown in a huge home-opening victory versus the Clemson Tigers. While Marshall struggled with injuries in most years of his Georgia career, Gurley absolutely dominated on the gridiron every time he took the field for Georgia.

However, Gurley’s junior season would be mired with both controversy and injury. After his first five games of the season, Gurley would be suspended for four games due to an autograph scandal. True freshman Nick Chubb would take over for the suspended Gurley, and thus be on his way to becoming a Georgia football legend.

Sadly, after missing four games in the prime of what would be his last season with Georgia, Gurley would tear his ACL at home against Auburn. That would be all she wrote for Gurley’s time at Georgia. Even though he only appeared in six games for the 2014 Bulldogs, Gurley rushed for 911 yards on 123 carries for nine touchdowns. That’s remarkable for only half a season’s worth of games.

Overall, Gurley would finish his Georgia career with 510 carries for 3,285 yards and 36 touchdowns. He made two All-SEC teams and would go on to be the No. 10 pick by the then St. Louis Rams in the 2015 NFL Draft. Most importantly, Gurley first demonstrated his superstar potential with Georgia before becoming an NFL MVP candidate in Sean McVay’s Rams offense.