Just a year ago, Todd Gurley without question would have been the first running back off the board in the NFL Draft but Gurley was only a sophomore and not eligible for NFL yet. Gurley entered into his junior season for the University of Georgia with the spotlight on him but things didn’t go as planned. Gurley started the season on fire and was the early favorite to win the Heisman Trophy until he was suspended on October 10th for a total for 4 games while the NCAA investigated if he violated NCAA rules. Gurley returned to action in November only to tear his ACL in his first game back in action.
Gurley decided to forgo his senior season, signed with Roc Nation agency and entered the NFL draft. During this weeks combine, Gurley raised a lot of eyebrows after refusing to allow the combine doctors to examine his knee. It was later learned that it’s just to early for Gurley to have his knee tugged and pulled on.
Being told about Gurley. It is common not to pull or twist on a knee that was repaired 3 months ago. Teams understand this and are okay.
— Bryan Broaddus (@BryanBroaddus) February 20, 2015
Now his has more backup which might even carry more weight than Gurley’s own words. Dr. James Andrew received word of the questioning of Gurley’s knee and came running to his rescue.
“I heard some fuss that Gurley wouldn’t let teams examine him and that’s just totally misleading, The team physicians I have spoken with who are there — and I have spoken to a bunch of them — were all happy about what they saw. I mean, they’re smart enough to know you can’t have 32 teams pulling and tugging on a knee just 3½ months removed from surgery. But the doctors I spoke with said he looked great and I’d say he’s probably six weeks ahead with his recovery. Gurley’s quad muscle is way ahead of what you would expect even at this stage and that’s vital to a good recovery.”
Gurley will be one of the most interesting players to following during the draft process. There is no doubt before injury he was 1st round quality but what role will his surgically repaired knee play in his draft stock. Will a team be willing to take a chance on him without knowing how his knee will hold up?
HT: BleacherReport