Georgia Bulldogs running back Todd Gurley was looking like a sure-fire first round draft pick this season but an ACL injury has derailed not only his final games in college but could ruin his NFL career.
When Marcus Lattimore tore his knee to shreds in his final season at South Carolina in 2012-13, it set what was looking to be a pretty decent NFL career back to what could amount to a non-existant one. A different season has brought a similar story as Georgia standout Todd Gurley –widely regarded as the best player in college football this season — has torn his ACL and is down for the count.
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The question is, how down for the count is his NFL career?
After missing a large chunk of this season due to a suspension stemming from an NCAA violation over writing his name down on sports memorabilia, Gurley returned on Saturday night and tore his ACL. This is more than just devastating for Gurley, it’s seemingly unfair considering how highly regarded he was in terms of being an NFL prospect.
No running back has been taken in the first round since 2012 when Alabama’s Trent Richardson was selected by the Cleveland Browns. Gurney was supposed to change that, but his torn ACL will force everyone to wait until 2016 at the earliest for a running back to be taken in the first round.
Even as good as he was, Gurley is damaged goods, and he’s not a first-round prospect anymore. ACL injuries aren’t nearly as serious as they were before, but Gurley is just a college student who doesn’t have the financial means that Adrian Peterson, Derrick Rose or Robert Griffin III have had to get them back from their famous ACL injuries.
He could return to Georgia, but he’s not expected to see action for 7-8 months which would mean he’s going to be out until July before he even thinks about going for contact again. The smart move is to still enter the NFL Draft where he can probably expect to be a second round pic at best and nothing less than a fourth rounder at worst.
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