Gurley, whom many felt was Georgia's to lose, up until yesterday's published ESPN Diary, will be the second big-time tailback in Georgia's 2012 class. Keith Marshall, a good friend of Gurley's, was the first and is already enrolled and, according to Gurley, was not a factor at all in his decision on whether to sign with Georgia or not.
He said in the end it came down to his relationship with both coach Mark Richt and running back's coach, Bryan McClendon both of whom he stated made Georgia feel "like home" to home.
As for when Gurley knew it would be Georgia, he said he knew it as early as yesterday and when he woke up this morning, he knew Georgia would be his pick—location never was a factor in his decision.
If not for the scandal at North Carolina, Gurley feels he would have ended up a Tarheel but felt that "God closed those doors for a reason".
Gurley was happy to get the recruitment process over and is excited to get to campus and compete and will, hopefully, make it down for the spring game this year. He's also going to try and see if he can sway other prospects to the Dawgs as well.
According to Gurley, he and Keith Marshall are "like brothers" and he's already developed a relationship with Georgia kicker, Marshall Morgan as well.
Since Gurley has stated that he has no plans to redshirt, what can Georgia fans expect to see from the confident, highly talented, young tailback? Well, to be honest, what Gurley brings to the table should be clear to any one who has watched his film or seen him play in person. He's got power, speed, and great vision and will be tough to bring down once he's got a good head of speed.
Just take a look at this quick clip:
And while some may debate whether he or Mike Davis would be the better fit for the Bulldogs, it's very clear that the Georgia staff was serious about bringing Gurley into the fold and made him their top priority from day one.
Running backs coach Bryan McClendon did a brilliant job of staying in touch with Gurley and never once waivered in the message that Georgia wanted him to be there and, despite the late charge by Clemson, it became clear today that Gurley received that message loud and clear.
Now, Bulldog fans need only wait and see how the rest of the class fares. Gurley is committment No. 17 for 2012, but Richt has stated the Dawgs intend to sign the maximum (27)—and there are plenty of big names still left on the board.
Today was another good recruiting win for the Bulldogs and, very likely, the end of the tailback search for this class—unless Mike Davis suddenly decides to bring that photo he tweeted to life (see link below).
Anything is possible, right?
