To read much of the national media, you’d think Todd Gurley has struggled with injuries throughout his Georgia career. That’s not entirely accurate, but you can tell Mark Richt is sensitive to that perception when he discusses how he’ll use Gurley in the running game this season.
“So are we gonna give it to (Gurley) 30 times a game and wear him to a nub, no. But there may be a game or two where he’s feeling in, and we’ve got momentum, and he’s pounding, we’re gonna let him pound. But Douglas pounds pretty good too. Keith Marshall can hit a home run at any moment. So we’ll use all those guys.”
The thing is, that’s not really a departure from how he’s been deployed so far. Looking at Gurley’s career rushing stats, here’s how his number of carries per game breaks down (he was out three games last season):
- Less than 10: 3
- 10-19: 13
- 20-29: 7
- 30 or more: 1
As those numbers indicate, Keith Marshall’s made it pretty easy for Richt and Bobo to manage Gurley’s workload. With Chubb and Michel being added to the mix this season, there’s no reason to think that won’t continue.
Interestingly, there is one area of Gurley’s workload that’s increased dramatically. He has 53 career receptions. 26 of those came in his last four games. (Ten versus Auburn.) I don’t know whether Richt counts that as part of the pounding or not.
Get The Picture 
I bet the defense counts it as part of the “pounding” while a few DBs might actually count it twice.
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“Keith Marshall can hit a home run at any moment.”
After that brutal injury, KM must be a bionic man (h/t KM, his surgical team and his rehabilitation team)
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He’s young. At that age those joints still had some natural growing to do. The next one might not be so easy though.
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I bet Gurley has 30+ catches this year easy, especially with Mason’s game tailoring more to getting the ball out fast and letting playmakers do the rest. If he plays 12 games or more, I’d expect Gurley to have at least 350 receiving yards.
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I’ve never understood the idea that Gurley is “injury prone”. I know he strained a quad against Clemson but didn’t miss many carries as a result of that. The ankle against LSU was one that can happen when you get rolled on. It was ugly to see his ankle bent backwards so to me missing only three games was a sign of toughness, not a tendency to be injured.
Have to be excited about the backfield if Marshall is near full speed. With Douglas showing hard running last year, Chubb looking like a stud and Michel’s speed they could form one formidable group. No reason to think Gurley will be overused.
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The media loves to DAWG grade our players. The meme is like Murray can’t win the big games. I am sure Gurley will shut the up.
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I can’t remember, did Gurley miss any playing time due to injury his freshman year? I know he got winded in the opener for a while, but can’t remember any injuries.
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I’m really concerned about who the small back will be for the 3rd & long draw plays.
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Well played, sir!
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Pretty sure they’ll use a position switcher for that role. Probably Tramel Terry, maybe bring Green back over to the O.
“…and we never failed to fail, it was the easiest thing to do.”
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Agreed.everything I read says that it he’s injury proned or says “if he can stay healthy”. Are these people watching Georgia games? He’s missed 3 in 2 years and averages 6yds/carry. He’s a football playin Jesse. Did they see the screen pass in the cocktail party? A 2 week old High ankle sprain and he ran away from everyone including Hargraves on the Gators defense. Injury proned my ass. You better hope he’s injury proned if you’re playing us.
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2,374 yards rushing with 27 touchdowns in his two seasons with the Bulldogs…. What’s a healthy Gurley look like?
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What about AJ Turman? Wasn’t he a big time recruit we redshirted last year? What’s word on him?
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Yeah, you are right. I forgot him. Guess he will be hard pressed to get playing time. Or he can transfer to Louisville or Auburn.
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Turman was a great get when we recruited him and got chipped up last August and took a shirt. No one ever mentions him in any articles. I really would like someone to give us some information on his status.
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