50 greatest college football players this century, ranked

• First-team All-SEC (2012)

In the words of Dr. Eldon Tyrell from Blade Runner, “The light that burns twice as bright burns half as long”. (Thanks James)

Todd Gurley’s only played one full season at Georgia but even with two seasons and a career cut short, he was still one of the best players in college football over the past 20 years. He became the starter during week two and had a stellar, 1,385-yard, 17-touchdown freshman season but would miss 10 games over the next two seasons.

After serving a four-game suspension for collecting money for autographs his junior year, Gurley ran for 149 yards and a touchdown as Georgia demolished No. 9 Auburn. In the fourth quarter, he took a handoff off-tackle, burst through the hole, shook one linebacker, then dove forward for a first down. He stayed down holding his knee on the play before limping off the field accompanied by trainers. An MRI would later show that he’d torn his ACL, making that six-yard run the last of his college career.

Gurley didn’t rack up yards and set records like a lot of guys on this list but he averaged 6.4 yards per carry and scored 44 touchdowns in less than 30 full games. The most impressive thing looking back at Gurley’s career was his performance in big games. Against top-25 opponents, Gurley averaged 120 yards and 1.5 touchdowns per game and 6.1 yards per carry.

Key Stat: As a junior before tearing his ACL, he compiled 911 yards on 123 carries in six games and averaged 7.3 yards every time he touched the ball.