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It is early, real early in the race for the Heisman Trophy but Todd Gurley has been in beast mode since his first carry this season. Some would contend that he is the Heisman favorite. At the very least Gurley is a top candidate along with Alabama’s Amari Cooper, Oregon’s Marcus Mariota and Baylor’s Bryce Petty.
RELATED: Todd Gurley vs Amari Cooper Debate
In Saturday’s win over Tennessee, Gurley had a season high 28 carries, a career best 208 yards and two touchdowns. It included a Heisman highlight run as well. For the season, No. 3 has a total of 610 rush yards and six scores. That’s 8.8 yards a carry and 152.5 yards a game.
It is not outlandish to mention Gurley in the same sentence as All-World Georgia running back Herschel Walker. The numbers don’t lie either. It is only four games in but … Gurley’s numbers through four games this season are better than Walker’s numbers through the four games of his Heisman-winning season in 1982.
GURLEY’S 2014 SEASON
First 4 games:
- vs. Clemson: 15 carries, 198 yards, 3 touchdowns
- at South Carolina: 20 carries, 131 yards, 1 touchdown
- vs. Troy: 6 carries, 73 yards, 0 touchdowns
- vs. Tennessee: 28 carries, 208 yards, 2 touchdowns
- TOTALS/AVERAGES: 610 yards, 6 touchdowns, 152.5 yards a game, 8.8 yards a carry
WALKER’S 1982 HEISMAN-WINNING SEASON
First 4 games:
- vs. Clemson: 11 carries, 20 yards, 0 touchdowns
- vs. BYU: 31 carries, 124 yards, 1 touchdown
- at South Carolina: 32 carries, 143 yards, 1 touchdown
- at Mississippi State: 39 carries, 215 yards, 1 touchdown
- TOTALS/AVERAGES: 502 yards, 3 touchdowns, 125.5 yards a game, 4.4 yards a carry
Incredibly, Walker played the first three games of the 1982 season with a broken thumb that was immobilized in a cast.
For the last seven games of the 1982 season, Walker’s lowest rushing total was 149 yards. It also included back-to-back 219-yard performances against Memphis State and Florida.
WALKER’S 1982 HEISMAN-WINNING SEASON
Last 7 games:
- vs. Ole Miss: 24 carries, 149 yards, 3 touchdowns
- vs. Vanderbilt: 38 carries, 172 yards, 1 touchdown
- at Kentucky: 34 carries, 152 yards, 1 touchdown*
- vs. Memphis State: 33 carries, 219 yards, 2 touchdowns
- vs. Florida: 35 carries, 219 yards, 3 touchdowns
- at Auburn: 31 carries, 177 yards, 2 touchdowns
- vs. Georgia Tech: 27 carries, 162 yards, 2 touchdowns
- TOTALS/AVERAGES: 1250 yards, 14 touchdowns, 178.6 yards a game, 5.6 yards a carry
Of course if Gurley keeps pace with Walker the rest of the season, it doesn’t guarantee him the Heisman Trophy but a 178-yard average in the SEC is more than commendable and will easily get him an invitation to New York City.
Worked in online, print, TV and radio. Bobby Valentine once wore a pair of my socks for 8 hours. In an awkward exchange, he handed them back to me to which they were immediately deposited in a trash can.
