No. 20 | |
---|---|
Position: | Running back |
Personal information | |
Born: | Washington, D.C., U.S. | January 25, 1964
Height: | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) |
Weight: | 192 lb (87 kg) |
Career information | |
High school: | Park View (Loudoun County, Virginia) |
College: | Notre Dame |
NFL draft: | 1986 / Round: 3 / Pick: 61 |
Career history | |
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Player stats at PFR |
Allen Jerome Pinkett (born January 25, 1964) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for six seasons with the Houston Oilers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
Pinkett was born in Washington, D.C.; he grew up in the Sterling, Virginia, area and attended Park View High School from 1978 to 1982. [1]
Pinkett played in the Gerry Faust era at Notre Dame, [2] and, as a sophomore, was named a first-team All-American by both Football News and The Sporting News . [3] [4] In 1985, he was eighth in the Heisman balloting. He was Notre Dame's career rushing leader with 4,131 yards until Autry Denson broke his record in 1998, with 4,318 yards. Pinkett was the first Notre Dame player ever to rush for 1,000 yards in three consecutive seasons. He had 1,179 in 1983, 1,268 in 1984 and 1,176 in 1985. He remains the Irish career scoring leader with 53 touchdowns, including 49 rushing. He is tied with Vagas Ferguson (1976–1979) for the most rushing touchdowns in a single season. Pinkett had 17 touchdowns in 1984 and Ferguson had 17 in 1979. Pinkett scored 4 touchdowns against Penn State at Happy Valley on November 12, 1983, and scored 3 against the Nittany Lions at Notre Name Stadium on November 17, 1984.
Pinkett was drafted in the third round of the 1986 NFL Draft by the Houston Oilers. [5] He played six seasons for the Oilers, from 1986 to 1991. In his career with the Oilers, he gained 2,624 yards rushing with 21 touchdowns, and caught 119 passes and 5 touchdowns. He was the team's leading rusher in his final year, 1991, with 720 yards. [1] [6]
Pinkett served as the color commentator for Notre Dame's football games broadcast by IMG College from 2006 to 2017. [7] He was removed from the broadcasting team on August 30, 2012, following inappropriate remarks. [8] In 2010, he split play-by-play partners with Don Criqui, who did home Notre Dame's football games, and Dick Enberg, who did road Notre Dame's football games. He was also a sideline reporter for the NFL on Westwood One and did color analyzing with Jim Henderson on radio broadcasts for the New Orleans Saints.
On August 29, 2012, Pinkett appeared on WSCR in Chicago and said that there's nothing wrong with having "a few bad citizens" on Notre Dame's roster, and that a team "full of choirboys" wouldn't win many games. Given a chance to clarify his remarks, Pinkett claimed that winning teams always had "a couple of criminals" on their rosters. Notre Dame's athletic department harshly condemned Pinkett's remarks, and IMG suspended him for three games. [8]
Joseph Clifford Montana Jr. is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons, primarily with the San Francisco 49ers. Nicknamed "Joe Cool" and "the Comeback Kid", Montana is widely regarded as one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. After winning a national championship at Notre Dame, Montana began his NFL career in 1979 at San Francisco, where he played for the next 14 seasons. With the 49ers, Montana started and won four Super Bowls and was the first player to be named the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player (MVP) three times. He also holds Super Bowl career records for most passes without an interception and the all-time highest passer rating of 127.8. In 1993, Montana was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs, where he played for his last two seasons and led the franchise to its first AFC Championship Game. Montana was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000.
Jerome Abram Bettis Sr. is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Nicknamed "the Bus" due to his large size and forceful running style, he played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and was selected 10th overall by the Los Angeles Rams in the 1993 NFL draft. Bettis was a member of the Rams for three seasons before being traded to the Steelers, where he spent the remainder of his career. A six-time Pro Bowl and two-time first-team All-Pro selection, he is regarded as one of the greatest power runners of all time and ranks eighth in NFL rushing yards. He retired in 2006 after helping the Steelers win a Super Bowl title in Super Bowl XL, the franchise's first in over two decades. Bettis was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015.
Herbert Dorsey Levens is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL), primarily for the Green Bay Packers. He played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and later the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Levens was selected by Green Bay in the fifth round of the 1994 NFL draft. He helped the Packers win the Vince Lombardi Trophy in Super Bowl XXXI against the New England Patriots.
Eric Demetric Dickerson is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. Dickerson played college football for the Mustangs of Southern Methodist University and was recognized as an All-American. He was selected second overall in the 1983 NFL draft by the Los Angeles Rams, and later played for the Indianapolis Colts, Los Angeles Raiders, and Atlanta Falcons. During his NFL career, he rushed for over 13,000 yards. He holds the NFL's single-season rushing record with 2,105 yards, set in 1984. Dickerson was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1999 and, in 2019, was named to the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest running backs of all time. He wore prescription goggles throughout his career due to myopia.
Allen Bonshaca Lamont Rossum is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback and return specialist in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. He was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the third round of the 1998 NFL draft.
Don Criqui is an American sportscaster.
James Robert Brooks is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football played for the Auburn Tigers. He played for four teams in the NFL, earning all four of his Pro Bowl selections with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Gregory Leon Bell is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for the Buffalo Bills, Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Raiders, from 1984 to 1990.
Daniel Whitney Stevenson is a former American football offensive lineman. He was selected by the New England Patriots in the sixth round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He played college football at Notre Dame. Stevenson was also a member of the Miami Dolphins.
Darius Adunte Walker is a former American football running back in the National Football League (NFL) and current college football analyst for Fox. He worked as a college football analyst and sideline reporter for MountainWest Sports Network in 2011. He was signed by the Houston Texans in 2007. He played college football at Notre Dame.
Vincent Tobias Evans is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the USC Trojans and was the most valuable player (MVP) of the 1977 Rose Bowl after the team's 14–6 victory over Michigan. He was selected by the Chicago Bears in the sixth round of the 1977 NFL draft.
Lorenzo Adarryll Booker is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Miami Dolphins in the third round of the 2007 NFL draft. He played college football for the Florida State Seminoles.
Lorenzo Maurice White is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL).
David Gordon Noble, nicknamed "Big Moose", was an American football running back. He played college football for the University of Nebraska, where he scored the first touchdown in Memorial Stadium history. After his college years, Noble played three seasons in the National Football League (NFL) and one in the American Football League (AFL), and was voted to the NFL All-Pro team in 1925.
The 1983 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame in the 1983 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Gerry Faust and played its home games at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana.
Theo Riddick is a former American football running back of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Notre Dame and was selected by the Detroit Lions in the sixth round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He has also played for the Denver Broncos.
DeShone Allen Kizer is an American former football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the second round of the 2017 NFL draft. Kizer served as the Browns' starter during his rookie season, but his tenure lasted only one year after going winless and leading the league in interceptions. Traded to the Green Bay Packers, Kizer spent one season as a backup in 2018 and also held backup roles with the Las Vegas Raiders and Tennessee Titans. Having never started a game after his first season with the Browns, Kizer lost all 15 of his starts during his time in the NFL.
Kyren Lawrence Williams is an American football running back for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Notre Dame and was selected by the Rams in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL draft.
James Anthony Mello was an American football player. He won two national championships at the University of Notre Dame and went on to play professionally between 1947 and 1950 as a member of the Boston Yanks, Chicago Rockets, Los Angeles Rams, Detroit Lions, and Paterson Panthers.
Williams Frank Wolski was an American football fullback who played one season for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Notre Dame.