The town of Tarboro, N.C., has a population of just under 12,000, and it's a safe assumption that almost all of them know who Todd Gurley is.
The current Los Angeles Rams running back won three consecutive state titles at Tarboro High (one famously earned despite being hobbled by two sprained ankles). He went on to a standout collegiate career as a Heisman hopeful at the University of Georgia before being drafted by the then-St. Louis Rams with the 10th pick in the 2015 NFL draft.
While Gurley was cracking pads in the Los Angeles sunshine in early October, Hurricane Matthew cracked down on Tarboro and its neighboring communities, including Princeville, N.C. According to a CNN article, most of Princeville's 2,000-odd residents escaped the flooding from the storm by heading across the river to Tarboro and were unable to return until waters began to recede. Still, the damage has been hard for the area to move past.
"This is a disaster area. It's not going to recover in 24 hours, and it's still going on as we speak, not only in Princeville but 150 miles from here," Gov. Pat McCrory told reporters at the time. "People are playing golf 20 miles from here, and yet we have a whole town under water."
Gurley knew that, too.
With the Rams having a bye last week, he traveled back to North Carolina to serve those in need at Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina.
"I kind of rode through the town," said Gurley on a conference call this week. "It was bad. It was like a ghost town. A lot of people _ some people could go back into their house, some people, they'd have to rebuild their whole house.
"You just see everybody's stuff on the side of the roads, furniture and all types of stuff. I definitely want to keep everybody in prayers and know they'll get through it. Most people have been staying in a hotel the last three weeks to a month."
