The question is starting to annoy Mark Richt more than a little.
Georgia’s head coach was asked once again whether he was absolutely certain that Todd Gurley intended to play again for the Bulldogs this season.
“I don’t know why we keep bringing that up,” Richt snapped. “He’s there, he’s practicing, he can’t wait to play.”
Gurley, a 6-foot-1, 226-pound junior tailback from Tarboro, N.C., on Saturday is serving the fourth and final game of his NCAA suspension for accepting more than $3,000 in improper benefits. As a draft-eligible junior and projected Top 10 NFL pick, Gurley could choose to forego the rest of the season to begin training for the next level and becoming a multi-millionaire without the risking injury while completing his junior season.
But UGA Athletic Director Greg McGarity on Tuesday said the Bulldogs were essentially assured by Gurley and his attorney, William King of Birmingham, that he fully intended to return to the field before they applied for his reinstatement.
“Otherwise, why restore one’s eligibility if Todd didn’t want to get back on the field?” McGarity asked. “He wanted to get back out there with his buddies and we were going to support that and we were going to fight to the end.”
Meanwhile, Gurley continues to practice with the Bulldogs and remains upbeat, according to Richt.
“I don’t think Todd was sitting there expecting to be reinstated right away,” he said. “I think he had a wait-and-see kind of attitude. I’m sure it hurt when he heard that news because I’m sure there was some hope in there. I don’t think he was getting his hopes too high, but just like yesterday he’s practicing really hard with the reps that he’s getting.”
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