SUPER BOWL LIII: Where players ranked as prospects | From five-stars to the Super Bowl | Two-stars that slipped through the cracks | Breaking down former three-stars | Who we regret not making a five-star
Todd Gurley finished outside the five-star ranking in the 2012 recruiting class, but he was actually pretty close to that highest level at No. 42 nationally, only 10 spots from the last five-star, offensive tackle Andrus Peat.
Looking back, that was clearly an error. Gurley had a phenomenal career on both sides of the ball at Tarboro, N.C., and then shined for three seasons at Georgia before becoming the No. 10 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft.
In his first four seasons with the Los Angeles Rams, Gurley has had a stellar career rushing for more than 1,000 yards and scoring double-digit touchdowns in three of those years. So far this season, Gurley has rushed for 1,376 yards and 19 touchdowns entering Sunday’s Super Bowl. Both of those numbers are career-highs.
In those 2012 class rankings, there were five other running backs ranked higher than Gurley with Johnathan Gray, T.J. Yeldon, Trey Williams, Duke Johnson and Mario Pender leading the class. All of them were five-star prospects except for Pender.
None of them have even come close to having the NFL career of Gurley, who has already been a three-time Pro Bowler and has amassed more than 6,400 offensive yards in his pro career.
We ask Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell what went into Gurley’s ranking and whether he regrets not moving the Tarboro standout up to five-star status?
FARRELL'S TAKE:
"Gurley is one of the biggest regrets of my career because I knew he was a five-star talent but just didn’t pull the trigger. I saw him twice during the rankings process and of course saw him on film many times, but when he dominated the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas I should have made him a five-star.
"I was on the selection committee for the US Army All American Bowl at the time and wanted to add him to the roster after the Shine Bowl, but there was no room. Had he played in that or the Under Armour Game, he would have easily cemented his five-star status, but I shouldn’t have relied on that. Gurley was a freak, much better than Keith Marshall, who was the No. 1 guy in the state at running back for everyone else and I blew it.”
