No. 44 | |||||||
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Position: | Running back | ||||||
Personal information | |||||||
Born: | Barnesville, Georgia, U.S. | February 1, 1973||||||
Died: | February 2, 2024 51) Thomaston Medical Center, Thomaston, Georgia, U.S. | (aged||||||
Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||
Weight: | 190 lb (86 kg) | ||||||
Career information | |||||||
High school: | Robert E. Lee (Thomaston) | ||||||
College: | South Carolina State | ||||||
NFL draft: | 1996 / round: 7 / pick: 253 | ||||||
Career history | |||||||
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Career NFL statistics | |||||||
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Player stats at PFR |
Michael Hicks (February 1, 1973 – February 2, 2024) was an American professional football player who was a running back for two seasons with the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). [1] He then played one year with the Barcelona Dragons of NFL Europe. [2]
Before joining the NFL, Hicks played college football for the South Carolina State Bulldogs. [3] At South Carolina State, he held the record for most rushing touchdowns in a single-season (22) and in a career (51). He was also the career rushing leader in yards per game (127.9). [1] As of 2024, these records still hold. In 2014, Hicks was inducted into his alma mater's hall of fame. [2]
Hicks died in Thomaston, Georgia, on February 2, 2024, one day after his 51st birthday. [4]
Emmitt James Smith III is an American former professional football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, 13 as a member of the Dallas Cowboys and 2 seasons with the Arizona Cardinals. Among other accolades, he is the league's all-time leading rusher.
Julius Frazier Peppers is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end and linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the North Carolina Tar Heels, where he was recognized as a unanimous All-American, and was selected by the Carolina Panthers second overall in the 2002 NFL draft, and also played for the Chicago Bears from 2010 through 2013 and the Green Bay Packers from 2014 to 2016. After rejoining the Panthers for the 2017 season, he retired after the 2018 NFL season.
Christian Adolph "Sonny" Jurgensen III is an American former professional football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, playing for the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1983. Jurgensen was also a longtime color commentator for Washington's radio broadcast crew.
Marcus LeMarr Allen is an American former professional football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons, primarily with the Los Angeles Raiders. Considered one of the greatest goal line and short-yard runners in NFL history, he was selected 10th overall by the Raiders in the 1982 NFL draft, following a successful college football career with the USC Trojans. He was a member of the Raiders for 11 seasons and spent his last five seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Roger Timothy Craig is an American former football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played for the San Francisco 49ers, Los Angeles Raiders and Minnesota Vikings. Craig went to four Pro Bowls and won three Super Bowls with the 49ers. Craig was the first NFL player to have 1,000 yards rushing and receiving in the same season. Marshall Faulk and Christian McCaffrey are the only other players to have accomplished that feat. He currently works as the VP of Business Development at TIBCO Software.
Thurman Lee Thomas is an American former professional football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the Buffalo Bills. He played college football for the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Thomas was selected by the Bills in the second round of the 1988 NFL draft, where he spent all but one season of his professional career. He spent his final NFL year as a member of the Miami Dolphins in 2000.
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Marion Motley was an American professional football fullback and linebacker who played for the Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and the National Football League (NFL). He was a leading pass-blocker and rusher in the late 1940s and early 1950s, and ended his career with an average of 5.7 yards per carry, a record for running backs that still stands. A versatile player who possessed both quickness and size, Motley was a force on both offense and defense. Fellow Hall of Fame fullback Joe Perry once called Motley "the greatest all-around football player there ever was".
Kevin Troy Faulk is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons with the New England Patriots. He played college football for the LSU Tigers, receiving first-team All-American honors, and was selected in the second round of the 1999 NFL draft by the Patriots. Faulk held a variety of offensive and special teams roles during his career and contributed to the franchise's first three Super Bowl titles. For his accomplishments in New England, he was inducted to the Patriots Hall of Fame in 2016. After retiring from the NFL, Faulk returned to LSU as a coach from 2018 to 2021. He was inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2022.
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George Washington Rogers Jr. is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons from 1981 to 1987. He played college football for the South Carolina Gamecocks, earned All-American honors, and won the 1980 Heisman Trophy. He was the first overall pick in the 1981 NFL draft, and he played for the New Orleans Saints and the Washington Redskins.
Stanley Douglas Morgan is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts. A "deep threat" receiver, he holds the NFL record with 19.2 yards per catch, and also holds the Patriots team record for total receiving yards in a career.
Tobin Cornelius Rote was an American professional football player who was a quarterback for the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL), the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and the San Diego Chargers and Denver Broncos of the American Football League (AFL). He played college football for the Rice Owls.
Walter Jerry Payton was an American professional football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons with the Chicago Bears. Nicknamed "Sweetness", he is widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time.
Terrance Randolph Metcalf is an American former professional football player who was a running back for six seasons in the National Football League (NFL), five of them with the St. Louis Cardinals and one with the Washington Redskins. He also played three seasons in the Canadian Football League (CFL) with the Toronto Argonauts.
Carl N. "Gaucho" Taseff was an American professional football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL) and American Football League (AFL). Taseff had an 11-year playing career, primarily with the Baltimore Colts, where he was a member of the 1958 and 1959 NFL Championship winning teams. Taseff then coached for 27 seasons, winning Super Bowl VII and Super Bowl VIII as part of the Miami Dolphins coaching staff.
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