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What Herschel Walker's Georgia teammates think about the Todd Gurley comparisons

There are those who say there will never be another Herschel Walker, and that modern-day collegiate running backs shouldn't ever be compared to the greatest of all time.

Then there are those who don't mind the comparison at all – especially when it comes to current Bulldog rusher Todd Gurley.

"Gurley, what he does out there just dazzles you. The combination of size and speed reminds you of Herschel."

That statement happens to come from the man who handed the ball off to Walker: former Georgia quarterback Buck Belue.

"Gosh, I think the thing that's similar is there's nothing these two guys can't do in that running back spot," Belue told Yahoo Sports. "Great hands. Pass protection. Run inside, outside, run by you."

It does feel a little unfair to compare anyone to Herschel Walker. "Hercules" is as impervious in memory as he was on the field, even as a freshman in 1980. Gurley, a junior, is only the latest to step into his enormous shadow, and even the better Georgia running backs over the years, like Knowshon Moreno, just seem like kids at the foot of the giant.

Gurley, though, may be different. He ran for more than 1,000 yards as a freshman, which only Walker had done before at Georgia. And Gurley already has a Herschel-like performance already this season, with 198 yards and three touchdowns against rival Clemson – not including a 100-yard kick return. Now comes a trip to South Carolina to face a team and a coach that has consistently broken Bulldog dreams. Another show from Gurley against Steve Spurrier will really get the comparisons going full tilt.

Georgia's Todd Gurley eludes tacklers during a run. (USA Today)
Georgia's Todd Gurley eludes tacklers during a run. (USA Today)

Old Bulldog fans will remember Walker's sideline gallop against the Gamecocks in 1980, which is still one of the better rushes in college football's long memory. Walker was a freight train, and tackler after South Carolina tackler began pursuit with the proper angle and ended up flailing in his wake.

"I remember like it was yesterday," said another Walker teammate, receiver Lindsay Scott, on Thursday. "I was blocking. You only had to give him a little bit. He just flat-out outran everybody. Gurley is certainly not slow, but I don't know if he's got that gear. He's got a gear, but I don't know if he's got that gear.

"Hell, I was trying to catch him."

What made Walker special to watch (among other things) was the sense that he was the only player on the field. When he got the ball, it was a breath-held moment for everyone in the stadium. That kind of rusher is almost extinct in football today.

Defenders are bigger, stronger, faster. And there are almost always other options. Moreno, for example, had Matthew Stafford back there with him.

Gurley is an attention vortex. He's the kind of player who draws a television viewer's eyes away from the quarterback even before the ball is snapped. "It's the way he affects his ball club," Scott said. "When push comes to shove, they'll hand it to Gurley. When push comes to shove, we handed it to Herschel."

Statistically, Gurley has a surprising advantage. Bleacher Report compared the two backs over their first 402 carries and found Gurley averages nearly one full yard per carry more than Walker did. Gurley also leads in rushing touchdowns (30 to 18), rushing first downs (103 to 87) and rushes of 10 yards or more (92 to 57). And all this leaves out Gurley's pass-catching ability. Walker, as a straight-line rusher, was just about unstoppable. Yet Gurley might have better vision.

"As running backs go, I think he's a little shiftier," Scott said. "I don't think he has the burst Walker had. Walker was just power and speed, man. But this kid's got power and speed and he's shifty."

This is a trait that may well help Gurley have a better pro career than Walker. Gurley is both dynamic and hard to tackle, while Walker's bull-in-a-china-shop style didn't work quite as well when the china turned into titanium.

Walker was made of his own brand of titanium, and that's what will keep his legend pristine as much as his highlights and stats. His crowning moment came in the 1981 Sugar Bowl, which pitted the upstart Bulldogs against favored Notre Dame.

Will Todd Gurley continue his Heisman campaign with a solid performance against South Carolina? (USA Today)
Will Todd Gurley continue his Heisman campaign with a solid performance against South Carolina? (USA Today)

"Notre Dame, they had some beef," said Scott. "These were the biggest guys I ever seen in my life, man!"

Walker dislocated his shoulder on his very first rush. Doctors told him his evening was over, yet the freshman asked for his arm to be put back into its proper socket.

He went back into the game, rushing for 150 yards and two touchdowns. The rest of the Georgia offense was held to negative total yardage. Georgia won the game and the national title.

"He played that national championship game with a separated shoulder, and he wasn't running out of bounds, either," Belue said. "Most amazing thing I ever saw."

To be in the same breath as Walker, Gurley needs to rush Georgia to a national title. After the impressive win against Clemson, and with a full SEC schedule ahead, he has the platform for a legendary year. He has the chance to bowl over all the doubters, just like Herschel did.

"They just smell the end zone, from 70 yards and five yards," Belue said. "No run to the sideline and outrun everybody. See that lane, hit it, full acceleration. That's demoralizing to a defense."

And fuel for more comparisons across generations of Georgia lore.