Tyrone Hughes

Tyrone Christopher Hughes (born January 14, 1970) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL) for the New Orleans Saints, Chicago Bears, and Dallas Cowboys.

He played college football for the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

Hughes attended Epiphany and Bradley elementary schools, as well as, Mcdonough 28 and Bell Junior high schools.

He graduated from THE PROMINENT ALL MALE BLACK HIGH SCHOOL IN THE STATE, ST. AUGUSTINE.

Where he played football, basketball, baseball and ran track.

He played as a cornerback until his senior season, when he was switched to offense and was named the Louisiana Offensive Player of the Year and the Athlete of the Year.

He had 62 carries for 845 yards, 20 receptions for 601 yards and 22 touchdowns from his Wingback position.

He averaged 40.4 yards on kickoff returns and 14 yards on punt returns.

Hughes accepted a football scholarship from the University of Nebraska.

As a freshman, he appeared in 11 games and played as a backup Wingback in a run-oriented offense.

He registered 5 receptions for 72 yards and 2 touchdowns, 12 carries for 13 yards.

He ranked fourth in the Big Eight Conference in punt returns (15), second in return yards (227) and first in punt return average (15.1).

As a sophomore, he posted 10 carries for 113 yards and one touchdown, 17 carries for 59 yards, while leading the conference in kickoff return yards (523).

His 503 punt return yards broke the team record of 436 yards set by Jeff Groth in 1986.

He was the first player in franchise history to return 2 punts for touchdowns in a season and a career.

He became the fourth rookie in franchise history to earn Pro Bowl recognition.

He became the first Nebraska player in 26 years to play offense (Wingback) and defense (cornerback) in the same game (against the University of Missouri), when he was designated the spy safety for quarterback Charlie Ward in the 1993 Orange Bowl.

Hughes was a special teams standout, leading the Big Eight Conference in kickoff returns in each of his last three years and his team in each of his four seasons.

He finished as the school's record-holder in kickoff returns and second all-time in career punt returns.

He finished his college career with 31 receptions for 451 yards, 33 carries for 81 yards, 5 receiving touchdowns, a 12.3-yard average on 68 punt returns, a 23.4-yard average and a touchdown on 65 kickoff returns.

Hughes was selected by the New Orleans Saints in the fifth round (137th overall) of the 1993 NFL Draft, with the intention of playing him at cornerback.

As a rookie, he played mostly on special teams and only saw time on defense until the season finale, when he was forced into action because of injuries.

He had four special teams tackles in the season.

In the fifth game against the Los Angeles Rams, he returned a punt 74 yards for a touchdown and his 128 total punt return yards were third-most in Saints history.

Against the Minnesota Vikings, he returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown to tie the game, that the Saints won 17-14.

Against the Philadelphia Eagles, he set a club record with an 83-yard punt return.

He led the league in punt return yards (503) and punt return average (13.6), while being ranked second in kickoff returns with a 25.1-yard average.

In 2000, he was named to the Nebraska Cornhuskers All-Century team.

He ran track for one season as a senior, running the leg of the 4 × 100 metres relay en route to a second-place finish in the Big Eight Conference.

He ranked second in the conference and 16th in the NCAA in punt returns at 12.4.

He was seventh in the conference in all-purpose yards with 92 yards a game.

He led the conference, ranked third in the NCAA and set a school single-season record with a 29.1-yard average on 18 kickoff returns.

Against Kansas State University, he set a school single-game record with 3 returns for 1,515 yards, including a 99-yarder for a touchdown and tied the NCAA single-game record with 247 total kick returns yards.

As a junior, he opened the season as a starter at Wingback, but suffered a broken wrist in the eighth game against the University of Colorado Boulder.

The injury forced him to switch to cornerback for the final 4 games.

He tallied 12 receptions for 208 yards and 2 touchdowns, while ranking third in the conference in kickoff returns (16) and second in return yards (338).

As a senior, he started 4 games at Wingback,while seeing time at cornerback and free safety.

He had 4 receptions for 58 yards.

He was the team's top returner averaging 21.9 yards on kickoffs and 10.4 yards on punts.

He ranked second in the conference in kickoff returns (19) and first in return yards (424).