Todd Gurley said he didn’t mind coming to Birmingham to be run through the gauntlet known as SEC Media Days. He wasn’t thrilled what he had to do to get here.
“I’d never been on that plane before,” Gurley said in a brief break-out interview session with beat reporters upon first arriving at the Hyatt Regency Wynfrey Hotel early Thursday morning. “It was a little small. It was fun though. We just talked the whole way.”
And Gurley was doing a lot of talking after arriving. As has become evident during his three years at Georgia, being interviewed by reporters is not among his favorite things to do. But as the Bulldogs’ starting tailback and arguably the biggest offensive star in the SEC this year, UGA felt Gurley should be among its three allotted student representatives at this annual preseason college football event. Wide receiver Chris Conley and linebacker Ramik Wilson, both seniors, also made the trip.
Gurley said he didn’t mind doing it.
“They talked to me about like back in January or something like that,” said Gurley, a 6-foot-1, 232-pound junior. “I thought it’d be pretty cool. You know, it’s a once in a lifetime chance, so I took them up on that offer. We’ll see how it goes.”
Georgia head coach Mark Richt said he sat down with Gurley briefly on Wednesday to encourage him to enjoy the experience.
“I think it’s important,” Richt said. “… We talked about just embracing it and understanding that if he’s going to continue with his football career, which we all think he will, it’ll be great experience for him and a chance to grow as a pro and bless the university hopefully with his presence here.”
As it is, Gurley is probably the biggest “star” to grace the event this week and maybe the only legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate. Auburn’s Nick Marshall is on that level but was scratched after being cited for marijuana possession this past Friday. Alabama wide receiver Amari Cooper is on the agenda for later Thursday.
Gurley has been a consensus pick as a first-team All-American and All-SEC player in the preseason and was selected for the SEC media’s preseason all-conference first team on Thursday. He has recorded 12 100-yard rushing performances in 24 games his two seasons at Georgia and logged more than 1,400 total yards and 16 touchdowns depite playing in only 10 games due to injuries last year.
