Rex Burkhead

He thus became the first player to both catch a touchdown pass and block a punt in the same NFL game since 1977.

Rex Burkhead (born July 2, 1990) is a former American football running back.

As a freshman at the University of Nebraska in 2009, Burkhead played in nine games, rushing for 346 yards on 81 carries with three touchdowns.

As a sophomore in 2010, Burkhead was second on the depth chart behind senior Roy Helu.

Burkhead played in all 14 games as the backup, and rushed for 951 yards on 172 carries and seven touchdowns.

In 2011, Burkhead took over as the starting running back as a junior.

Nebraska had little experience at running back that season, and Burkhead got the majority of the carries, including a school-record 38 carries against the Iowa Hawkeyes.

He ended up rushing for 1,357 yards on 284 carries with 15 touchdowns and was named a first team All-Big Ten selection.

He earned repeated scholar-athlete awards throughout his career, including first-team CoSIDA Academic All-American in 2011 and 2012, and recognition as one of 15 National Football Foundation Scholar Athletes in 2012.

In 2012, with expectations high, Burkhead sprained his knee in the season opener and missed two games before re-injuring the knee four games later.

Burkhead missed six games total in the season, but still finished with five touchdowns and 675 yards on 98 carries for a 6.9 yard average.

He played college football at Nebraska and was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the sixth round of the 2013 NFL Draft.

After four seasons with the Bengals, Burkhead spent his next four seasons with the New England Patriots, where he appeared in consecutive

Super Bowls and won Super Bowl LIII.

Burkhead joined the Houston Texans in 2021 spending two seasons with them before retiring in 2024.

Burkhead was born in Winchester, Kentucky, and raised in the Dallas-Fort Worth area of Texas.

He attended Plano Senior High School in Plano, Texas, where he played high school football for the Wildcats.

Burkhead was on the varsity team for all four years of his high school career and even played in the division 5A basketball playoffs his senior year.

As a junior, he rushed for 1,762 yards and 28 touchdowns, leading the school to a state semifinal appearance in the Texas 5-A football playoffs.

He earned first-team all-district honors in basketball as a junior and senior, and as a freshman he was part of Class 5A state championship basketball team.

He was considered the ninth or tenth best running back prospect for the 2013 NFL Draft and was ranked in the top 150 overall.

He graduated from Nebraska in three-and-a-half years with a bachelor's degree in history.

After being selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the sixth round of the 2013 NFL Draft with the 190th overall pick, Burkhead signed with the team on May 13, 2013.

Burkhead played in all four preseason games, rushing 28 times for 130 yards with one touchdown, and five receptions for 39 yards.

However, plagued by a hamstring injury all season, he was active for only one of the team's 16 games, making his NFL debut on November 10 playing on special teams in a 20–17 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

In 2014, Burkhead played in nine games for the Bengals, mainly on special teams.

On offense, he had nine rushes for 27 yards and his first career touchdown (against the Cleveland Browns) and seven receptions for 49 yards.

He had the most productive game of his career in the Bengals' Wild Card Round loss to the Indianapolis Colts, in which Burkhead started at wide receiver and totaled three receptions for 34 yards and one rush for 23 yards.

Burkhead played in all 16 regular season games for the Bengals, seeing action primarily on special teams.

As a running back, he rushed four times for four yards, while catching 10 passes for 94 yards and a receiving touchdown.

Burkhead appeared in all 16 regular season games for the Bengals, including one start at running back.

With regular playing time on offense, he rushed 74 times for 344 yards and two touchdowns.

He also caught 17 passes for 145 yards.

In the Bengals' Week 17 game against the Baltimore Ravens, Burkhead carried the ball 27 times for 119 yards.

On March 14, 2017, Burkhead signed a one-year contract with the New England Patriots worth up to $3.15 million.

On September 7, on Thursday Night Football, Burkhead made his debut as a member of the Patriots.

He was in the starting lineup and had three rushes for 15 yards and one reception for eight yards in the 42–27 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

On September 17, against the New Orleans Saints in Week 2, he recorded his first touchdown as a member of the Patriots when he hauled in a 19-yard pass from quarterback Tom Brady in the first quarter of the 36–20 victory.

He finished the game with three receptions for 41 yards.

On November 12, 2017, during Week 10 against the Denver Broncos, Burkhead had 10 rushes for 36 rushing yards, three receptions for 27 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown, and a blocked punt.