Before Todd Gurley was a dominant running back in the NFL, he was making headlines while playing for the Georgia Bulldogs football team. He wasn’t able to win a national championship while at Georgia, but he was happy to see his team beat Alabama earlier this year to win its first title since 1980. In an exclusive interview with PopCulture.com, Gurley shared his thoughts on Georgia being the best team in college football.
“I love to have multiple National Championships, but hey, we just got one in the last… The first one in like 40 years,” Gurley exclusively told PopCulture. “So I’m okay with that. I would definitely win more, let’s enjoy this moment right now while we’re still the defending National Champions.”
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Gurley played for Georgia from 2012 to 2014. He had his best season in 2012 when he rushed for 1,385 yards and 17 touchdowns. In that season, Gurley helped the Bulldogs reach the SEC Championship, but the team lost to Alabama. They went on to beat Nebraska in the Captial One Bowl, and Gurley was selected to the All-SEC First Team. The next two seasons would be challenging for Gurley as he would deal with multiple injuries and a suspension. In 2013 and 2014, Gurley would play in a total of 16 games but would finish his career with 3,285 rushing yards and 36 rushing touchdowns. Both totals rank in the top five in school history.
With Gurley having success at Georgia, he was selected No. 10 overall by the St. Louis Rams (now Los Angeles Rams) in the 2015 NFL Draft. Gurley was the only Georgia player selected in the first round that year. Compare to 2022, Georgia had five players selected in the first round, and 15 players were drafted overall.
“I mean, once we had that number one pick and [Travon] Walker man, I mean, I was… That was it right there,” Gurley said. “I think they had five guys in the first round. So I definitely felt like a proud alumni for sure, man. It was phenomenal. It was phenomenal. It was great just to see, not to say the program turning around, but I mean we won, it’s the first time we won a National Championship since, whatever, I think 1981. So, it’s definitely a newer dream and just appreciate what Kirby Smart has bought to Georgia and winning program.”
