Georgia's Todd Gurley, Texas A&M's Kenny Hill share SEC offensive honor

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

photo Georgia's Todd Gurley, right, runs the ball in their game against Clemson, Saturday, Aug. 30, 2014, in Athens, Ga. Georgia won 45-21.

It was too close to call.

Georgia junior tailback Todd Gurley and Texas A&M sophomore quarterback Kenny Hill had outstanding performances on the opening weekend of college football and Monday night shared the first Southeastern Conference offensive player of the week award.

In Saturday night's 45-21 whipping of Clemson, Gurley rushed 15 times for 198 yards and three touchdowns and added a 100-yard score on a kickoff return. Two nights earlier, Hill smashed Johnny Manziel's single-game school mark by throwing for 511 yards on 44-of-60 passing to lead the Aggies to a 52-28 surprise dismantling of South Carolina.

Gurley had a pass reception lose yardage, but his 293 all-purpose yards broke the school mark of 290 set by Rodney Hampton in 1987. The 6-foot-1, 226-pounder had only four carries for 44 yards in the first half to go along with his kickoff return, but his second half included 11 carries for 154 yards.

"We felt like we were starting to wear them down and kept running the ball," Gurley said after the game. "The coaches said everyone was going to play and that we were going to keep rotating guys to keep everyone fresh. This was a game we were fit for."

Georgia senior inside linebacker Amarlo Herrera won the inaugural SEC defensive player of the week after tallying 12 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and two sacks against the Tigers. He helped hold Clemson to 15 second-half yards.

The Bulldogs, who don't play this week, did not practice Monday but will resume workouts today.

Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.