Todd Gurley was a top-10 National Football League draft pick after all.
Despite a tumultuous junior season at Georgia that included a four-game suspension and a torn anterior cruciate ligament in November, Gurley was selected 10th overall Thursday night by the St. Louis Rams. The 6-foot-1, 222-pounder became the first tailback picked in the first round since 2012, when Alabama's Trent Richardson went third overall to the Cleveland Browns.
"It's been a couple of years, and for me to be the first running back taken means a lot," Gurley said on the ESPN telecast. "I'm definitely looking forward to camp, but I'm not going to rush anything. I'll be getting back right soon."
Gurley rushed for 3,285 yards and 109.5 yards a game in his three-year Bulldogs career, finishing second in Georgia history behind 1982 Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker. Gurley rushed for 773 yards and was averaging 8.2 yards per carry through five games last season when he was suspended for receiving $3,000 for signed memorabilia.
After returning to the field, Gurley rushed 29 times for 138 yards against Auburn before tearing his ACL.
"There is not a spot too high to draft Todd Gurley," former Buffalo Bills general manager Buddy Nix said Thursday afternoon as a guest on "Press Row" on ESPN 105.1 FM. "I'm going to put him in this category: He's the kind of athlete like Bo Jackson was. He's a big, good, athletic guy, and if you need a running back, you take him as high as you can in the first round."
Gurley became Georgia's first offensive player picked in the first round since receiver A.J. Green went fourth overall to Cincinnati in 2011.
Thursday night's draft, which was held in Chicago after a 50-year run in New York, began with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers selecting Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston and the Tennessee Titans nabbing Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota. There had been widespread speculation leading up to the draft that another team could trade up to take Mariota, but the 6-4, 219-pounder was still property of the Titans as the evening wore on.
"I believe this will be the greatest night in Titans history since they got Steve McNair out of Alcorn State," ESPN analyst and former Oakland and Tampa Bay coach Jon Gruden said.
Winston and Mariota made history Thursday by becoming the first Heisman Trophy winners to go 1-2 in the same draft.
The Jacksonville Jaguars had the third overall pick and took Florida defensive end Dante Fowler. The Oakland Raiders went fourth and selected Alabama receiver Amari Cooper.
Cooper set an SEC record last season with 124 receptions and set a school mark with 1,727 yards.
The SEC, after producing eight of the first 20 picks in both the 2012 and 2013 drafts and seven last year, had just three of the first 20 Thursday night. Not since the 2006 draft, when Vanderbilt quarterback Jay Cutler went 11th to Denver and Tennessee defensive back Jason Allen went 16th to Miami, had the league produced so few.
But Texas A&M offensive tackle Cedric Ogbuehi went 21st overall to Cincinnati, and Kentucky defensive end Bud Dupree went 22nd to Pittsburgh, Missouri defensive end Shane Ray 23rd to Denver and Florida offensive tackle B.J. Humphries 24th to Arizona. Ray was cited earlier this week for marijuana possession.
Winston, Mariota and Cooper skipped Thursday's event, and among the players interviewed on ESPN, Gurley appeared to be the most emotional.
"It's been a lot of hard work," he said as his voice began to quiver. "With the suspension and the ACL, it's been a long journey."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.