Falcons Todd Gurley ‘Accidentally’ Qualified for Team USA in HS

Getty Todd Gurley #21 of the Atlanta Falcons runs with the football.

It’s NFL Week 10 which means the Falcons are on a bye, making it the perfect time to share a fun fact about running back Todd Gurley.

Going back to Gurley’s high school days, he was more than a football star, he was a track star too. In fact, Gurley accidentally qualified for Team USA Track and Field at one point.

He shared his story with NFL stars Cam Jordan and Mark Ingram on their “Truss Levelz” podcast on The Players’ Tribune earlier this week.

Todd Gurley Taught Himself

While attending Tarboro H.S. in North Carolina, Gurley taught himself to jump hurdles. Football players are known to run track in the spring to keep themselves in shape for the fall, but you never hear of any incredible stories like this one.

Gurley got better and better, to the point where one of his track coaches asked him to travel a bit south to Myrtle Beach, SC to run in a heat.

“I’m like, ‘All right, cool,'” Gurley said.

Well, come to find out, the race was a qualifier for Team USA Track and Field. Gurley ended up winning the race with little preparation for it.

“I guess that was like the pre-trial for the USA team,” Todd said of the race. “Bro, I did not know! And, I end up winning. And they was like, ‘All right, you got your passport? All right, we ’bout to go to Italy for a whole week.'”

“I’m like, ‘What?! Why y’all didn’t tell me this?!'”

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Gurley Heads to Italy

Soon enough, Gurley was on his way to Italy. Unfortuntaley the story gets cut a little short because Gurley didn’t place in any of his heats with Team USA.

He did note that the trip was memorable and he still remains pen pals with his teammates today.

And for his track career, the natural-born athlete received Gurley offers from Cornell and Princeton to give up football to run track. Gurley said he “seriously” considered it.

Instead, Gurley took the full ride to play for the University of Georgia and it obviously worked out pretty well for him since the NFL pays a lot better than track would have.

TG  Is Proving Doubters Wrong

Heading into the season, fans and analysts, heck even coaches, questioned whether or not Gurley would be a valuable asset to the team. He struggled last season after the arthritis in his knee worsened, but he still managed to throw up 14 touchdowns.

The NFL heads into Week 10 and Gurley has yet to miss a game this season. The Falcons do, however, give him plenty of rest days but he doesn’t disappoint. Of course, there was that one touchdown he shouldn’t have scored but I bet it’s hard to stop when you’re that fast

So far, in the 2020 season, Gurley has rushed for nine touchdowns, ranking second in the league, and has accumulated 587 yards. He’s not done yet.

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