Some players at the collegiate level play as if they are a man among boys. Todd Gurley is one of those players. Players of that caliber leave a lasting impression with a single play, much like Jadeveon Clowney’s play against Michigan. For Gurley, in my eyes, that play came against Florida during his freshman year. He had been a workhorse throughout the course of the drive and Georgia was now in the red zone. Unsurprisingly, Gurley received a hand-off, broke multiple tackles, and scored. Following the touchdown, he did a mocking “gator chomp” that has been trademarked by the Florida Gators. Florida could do nothing about it because Gurley was simply dominant. To this day, Gurley has continued to dominate.
After two years of terrorizing the SEC, there is plenty of hype around Gurley to match or improve on his previous seasons. That being said, Gurley can not control the environment around him. Georgia’s entire starting offensive line in 2013 were seniors, as was Aaron Murray, the starting quarterback. With Murray gone, the offense will be forced to be more based upon rushing production, yet the offensive line will lack experience and will struggle to be effective as a group. Either Gurley will be ran into the ground (hopefully that is not the case) or Georgia will run more by committee than being dependent on Gurley.
Amount of touches aside, Gurley will play at a high level once again. Gurley’s sheer power is terrifying. Both at the line of scrimmage and in the open field, he can plow a defender over like they are the pin to his bowling ball. Gurley can take a hit, recover his balance, and continue to drive his legs to pick up as many yards as possible. As if his power were not enough on its own, Gurley shows incredible agility and ankle flexion to compliment his power. Of course, that is not to say Gurley has LeSean McCoy’s quickness, but his lateral ability is much like Marshawn Lynch’s, who is also a power back with a surprising amount of agility.
(Above, Gurley plows through a defender behind the line, another tackler, and his own lineman for a first down.)
To top off Gurley’s skill set, he has proven receiving ability and functional speed. Gurley amassed 37 receptions for 441 yards and 6 touchdowns in 2013 alone. To be fair, most of Gurley’s receptions came as swings and screens, which are more of an extension of the running game than a real passing play. Regardless, Gurley can be relied on as a receiving threat.
Once the ball is in his hands, whether that be from a hand-off or a reception, Gurley’s top speed is impressive for his size. He does not have the blazing speed to fly past every defender, but he has enough speed to take advantage of large openings. Defenders with average speed will likely be outran by Gurley, meaning that Gurley can separate from a fair amount of collegiate defenders.
Gurley is a top notch running back and is arguably the best player at his position in the NCAA. There is a lot of pressure on Gurley to perform, both from the media and from the team. But do not fret because his combination of size, speed, agility, versatility, and power will once again allow Gurley to take the SEC by storm. Assuming Gurley does not battle minor injuries like he did in 2013, 1,600 total yards and 15 total touchdowns is a fair prediction for Gurley’s 2014 season. Regardless of numbers, Gurley will be one of the most entertaining and dominant players in college football.