Marshall Faulk

Faulk left San Diego State University with many of the school's offensive records, among them 5,562 all-purpose yards and 62 career touchdowns, which is the 8th most in NCAA history.

Marshall William Faulk (born February 26, 1973) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts and St. Louis Rams.

He is widely regarded as one of the greatest running backs of all time.

Faulk played college football for the San Diego State Aztecs, with whom he was a two-time unanimous All-American.

One of the best performances of his career was against the University of the Pacific on September 14, 1991, in just his second collegiate game.

In 37 carries, he amassed 386 yards and scored seven touchdowns, both records for freshmen (the 386 yards were a then-NCAA record).

"Faulk had scoring runs of 61, 7, 47, 9, 5, 8 and 25 yards."

That performance sparked one of the greatest freshman seasons in NCAA history, gaining 1,429 yards rushing, with 1,630 total yards froom scrimmage, 23 total touchdowns (21 rushing), and 140 points scored.

At the end of the year, Faulk joined Tony Dorsett and Herschel Walker as one of just three true freshmen ever selected to the College Football All-America Team by the Associated Press.

Faulk went on to better 1,600 yards rushing in his sophomore year.

Faulk was a Heisman finalist as well in 1991 (9th) and 1993 (4th).

After his 1992 season at SDSU, Faulk finished second in the Heisman Trophy award voting, losing to quarterback Gino Torretta in what was considered a notable snub in the history of the award.

Torretta's 1992 Miami Hurricanes football team was undefeated in the regular season and ranked No. 1 in the country before the Heisman balloting, Faulk's team finished with a middling 5–5–1 record, continuing a trend of the Heisman going to the most notable player on one of the nation's best teams.

ESPN analyst Lee Corso led a campaign supporting Torretta for the Heisman and left Marshall Faulk off of his ballot.

In 1992, Faulk was named Arthur Ashe Sports Scholar Jr. by Diverse: Issues In Higher Education.

Along with defensive tackle Dan Wilkinson and quarterbacks Heath Shuler and Trent Dilfer, Faulk was regarded as "one of the four players who rank well above the others in this draft".

and on March 31, he ran a 4.35 forty-yard time at the San Diego State Pro Day.

In Faulk's junior season in 1993, he was finally able to showcase his all-purpose ability by catching 47 passes for 640 yards and 3 touchdowns to go with 1,530 yards and 21 touchdowns on the ground.

These numbers put Faulk 3rd in the nation in all-purpose yardage that year, and 2nd in scoring.

He was selected by the Colts as the second overall pick in the 1994 NFL draft; he was with the Colts for five seasons and played the last eight seasons of his career with the Rams.

He was a member of the Greatest Show on Turf, a name given to the St. Louis Rams team that appeared in two Super Bowls and won Super Bowl XXXIV.

The Bengals had the No. 1 pick in the 1994 NFL draft, and contemplated combining their heavy-duty runner Harold Green with the explosive Faulk, but picked Wilkinson, leaving Faulk for the Indianapolis Colts.

Faulk was drafted in the first round with the second overall pick in the 1994 NFL draft by the Indianapolis Colts, who were in desperate need of a running game.

On July 25, 1994, Faulk signed a seven-year $17.2 million contract and received a $5.1 million signing bonus.

Faulk responded by rushing for 1,282 yards, 11 touchdowns, and one receiving touchdown.

In 2000, he was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the NFL.

Faulk is one of only three NFL players to reach at least 10,000 rushing yards and 5,000 receiving yards and the only one to amass 12,000 yards rushing and 6,000 yards receiving.

He was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2017.

Faulk was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana.

He attended Carver High School in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans, where he played for the Carver Rams high school football team.

Also a standout track sprinter, Faulk was timed at 10.3 seconds in the 100 meters, 21.74 over 200 meters, and 49.4 in the 400 meters.

While growing up he sold popcorn at New Orleans Saints games in the Louisiana Superdome.

During his final two years playing for Carver High, Faulk rushed 1,800 yards and scored thirty-two touchdowns.

In his senior season, he also played defensive back, intercepting 11 passes and returning six of them for touchdowns.

Faulk was heavily recruited by several major colleges, but due to his standout performance on defense, most of them recruited him to play the cornerback position.

However, Faulk strongly desired to play the running back position in college.

"I didn't love playing cornerback, so I knew I wouldn't be as successful in that position," Faulk told Sports Illustrated Kids.

"You have to really love what you do to be a star."

Ultimately he accepted an athletic scholarship to attend San Diego State University, because they were the first team to offer him a scholarship to play running back.

He was also an analyst for various programs on the NFL Network until December 2017.