Kirby Smart, Bulldogs excited to have Todd Gurley back in their midst

Like everybody else with Georgia ties, Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart is thrilled to hear that Todd Gurley will play for the Falcons. Mostly, though, he’s glad that he won’t have to figure out how to stop him.

That was Smart’s primary responsibility in 2012 when Alabama played Georgia in the SEC Championship game in the old Georgia Dome. Smart was the Crimson Tide’s defensive coordinator.

Gurley was, of course, Georgia’s primary offensive weapon.

“He was ferocious,” Smart recalled of Gurley, then a 220-pound freshman running back. “He ran over one of our linebackers down on the goal line. ’Bout knocked him out. Just a tremendous player. I prayed every time he got the ball. I thought we were blessed every touch he didn’t get in that game."

Gurley touched the ball a lot, but probably not enough. He carried the ball 23 times for 122 yards and two touchdowns and had three catches for three yards.

But that was, of course, a Georgia loss for the ages. The Bulldogs lost 32-28 in a game that ended with them at the Alabama 5-yard line as time expired. The Crimson Tide would go on to beat Notre Dame for the national championship.

Fortunately for Smart, he no longer has to go against Gurley. In fact, the All-Pro running back is very much a part of Smart’s team.

Since Smart became the Bulldogs’ head coach in 2016, he said Gurley has been ready and willing to help him when it comes to assisting the program or just showing up to be a presence on the Georgia sideline. Whenever his schedule would allow while playing for the Rams the past five years, first in St. Louis, then in Los Angeles, Gurley would show up for the Bulldogs’ games.

Gurley was a notable presence on the UGA sideline when the Bulldogs were in Pasadena, Calif., for the Rose Bowl during the 2017 College Football Playoff.

Gurley likely will be around much more often now that he’ll be only an hour’s drive away.

"It’s awesome having him back,” Smart said this week. “No. 1, he is a great player. But he’s also a great ambassador for our program. I can’t tell you how many times he has been at large events, whether it’s the ESPYs or wherever, and he represents Georgia so well. He has done so much for our program.”

Gurley had been with the Rams since becoming the No. 10 overall pick in the 2015 NFL draft. Despite suffering a torn-ACL knee injury in his last game with the Bulldogs in November 2014, Gurley rushed 1,106 yards his rookie season and was voted 2017 offensive rookie of the player and NFL offensive player of the year after scoring 19 touchdowns.

Gurley made three Pro Bowls and a Super Bowl appearance with the Rams, but has been slowed by leg injuries of late. After accounting for 3,924 yards and 40 touchdowns in 2017 and ’18, Gurley managed a relatively pedestrian 1,064 total yards and 14 TDs last season.

But now, just shy of his 26th birthday, the Falcons believe Gurley has a lot left in him. On March 20, less than 24 hours after Gurley was released by the Rams, the Falcons signed him to one-year contract.

Smart believes that helps the Bulldogs as well as the Falcons.

“The brand he has is just incredible,” Smart said. “So many kids in recruiting associate with Todd, not even just running backs, but every position. He's a premier player and to have him in Atlanta, I know (Falcons coach) Dan (Quinn) is super excited to have him on the team.”

Gurley’s launching pad to NFL riches was indeed UGA. He signed with the Bulldogs as a 4-star prospect out of Tarboro, N.C., in 2012. Despite playing only three seasons and sharing the backfield load with Keith Marshall, Nick Chubb and Sony Michel, Gurley finished his career ranked fourth on Georgia’s all-time rushing list with 3,285 yards. He had 18 games of 100 or more yards on the ground. Only Chubb (24) and Herschel Walker (28) had more.

“That’s kind of how it all started out for me, going to Georgia,” Gurley said on the Chris Long podcast last week. “Most of the celebrities in Georgia are Georgia fans. Then I move to L.A., the land of the stars. But I know a bunch of people down there. Quavo, 2 Chainz, Wocka, Yachty. It’s going to be fun.”

So far, Atlantans haven’t heard that much from Gurley. Not only is he readying himself for a cross-country move from California, but he’s having to do so amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Gurley is expected to hold a teleconference with local media in the coming days and should be relocating to the Atlanta area soon.

As one might imagine, he, too, is excited about coming “home.”

“I’m going to just keep quiet and do my part,” Gurley said. “When I get the ball, I’m going to do good with it for the most part. … All I know is that I’m with the Falcons now. (Football) goes by fast. Five years.”

As for Smart and the Bulldogs, they hope Gurley is around at least that long.