Sproles saints how tall

He returned the opening kickoff 89 yards for the game's first score. After Nate Kaeding 's field goal increased the Chargers' lead to , Sproles returned a Hunter Smith punt 46 yards for another touchdown for a lead. Sproles became the first NFL player to return a kickoff and a punt for a touchdown in the same game since Dante Hall did so in On December 16, , Sproles ran one yard for his first career rushing touchdown against the Detroit Lions.

On September 14, , Sproles became just the second player in NFL history with 50 rushing yards, 50 receiving yards, and return yards in one game the other being Gale Sayers with the Chicago Bears.

His stats for the game included: 53 rushing yards, 72 receiving yards, and return yards. Sproles logged all-purpose yards in a loss to the Denver Broncos. He also had a yard touchdown return. On January 3, , during an AFC Wild card game against the Indianapolis Colts , Sproles ran for two touchdowns in place of the injured LaDainian Tomlinson , including the game-winning touchdown in overtime to beat the Colts With yards rushing, 45 yards receiving and return yards, Sproles finished the game with all-purpose yards in the Chargers victory over the Colts, the third most all-purpose yards by a player in a single NFL post-season game in NFL history.

The week following however, Sproles was stopped by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He managed only 15 yards on 11 carries, but did have 5 receptions for 91 yards including a yard touchdown.

On February 18, , the Chargers placed their franchise tag on Sproles. Another team would have to give the Chargers first- and third-round draft picks if they signed Sproles. On September 8, during a game against the Green Bay Packers , Sproles returned a punt 72 yards for a touchdown during the second quarter, and returned a second punt for just 20 yards; he also had 2 kick-off returns for 83 yards, including a yard return.

That gave Sproles yards of returning on special teams, and on offense, he had 7 receptions for 75 yards, along with just 2 carries for 7 yards, and that gave him all-purpose yards. On September 25, during a game against the Houston Texans , Sproles had all-purpose yards special teams yards and 85 offensive yards , with 6 receptions for 50 yards, 2 carries for 35 yards, including a yard TD run, and on special teams, had only 1 punt return for 5 yards, but also had 4 kick-off returns for yards.

On October 23, during a game against the Indianapolis Colts , Darren Sproles had all-purpose yards with 2 touchdowns. On special teams, he had 6 returns for 83 yards 4 punt returns for 27 yards and 2 kick-off returns for 56 yards , and also had yard return kick-off return. On offense, he had 12 carries for 88 yards with a yard touchdown run, and 6 receptions for 19 yards with a 6-yard touchdown pass.

During this game, Sproles broke over 1, all-purpose yards mark. On December 26, , during a game against the Atlanta Falcons, Sproles had all-purpose yards. On special teams, he had 4 kick-off returns for yards, including a yard return in which he almost returned the football to the house, and on offense, he had just 89 yards of total offense, with 5 carries for 67 yards, 2 receptions for 22 yards but with a 9-yard touchdown pass from Drew Brees.

On January 1, during the last game against the Carolina Panthers, Sproles had all-purpose yards, in which he had 5 returns for 99 yards 2 kick-off returns for 45 yards and 3 punt returns for 54 yards on special teams, and on offense, had just 6 carries for 40 yards and 5 receptions for 29 yards, but with a 9-yard touchdown pass from Drew Brees in the 4th quarter.

During this huge game against the Panthers, multiple Saints broke records for the season. Sproles broke the NFL record for all-purpose yards in a season 2, on an 8-yard run, while Drew Brees broke Peyton Manning's pass completions, with Brees completing passes, and broke his own record, completing Herman: "It's a live television broadcast and the winner has to speak in front of the entire student body. Coach Wier called my wife, who is an English teacher, 'Hey, will you help Darren with his speech?

Darren hopped up in front of our community, in front of our kids, in front of the TV camera and did his speech. He worked really hard at it. And he did a great job. Wier: "It was brief. Very brief. I know it doesn't sound like much, but it took a lot of courage. And they're like, 'Yeah, he's too small, he's not going to do anything. Wier: "What they got confused with him was his height is what makes him small but there's nothing small about him.

His nickname's Tank and that's for a reason: That guy is strong. He was one of the strongest guys in high school, college, and everywhere else.

He's a bodybuilder kind of guy and he runs people over. He's not little, he's just short. I just got tired of it. It was the same question every time. And nobody ever considered him to be a running back in college. Never a thought. A third-down guy? Punt returner? And I would say, 'One, he was our third-string punt returner.

And he would go out every day. We would set up a jugs machine for him to practice returning punts because that's all we kept hearing, that he was going to have to be a punt returner in college. So we did that.

He couldn't catch them. But he kept going. Of note, Sproles' nine career return touchdowns seven punt returns, two kick returns are tied for sixth most in NFL history. Sproles was lightly recruited coming out of high school. It came down to Kansas and Kansas State. Wier: "His mom was sick with cancer. And so he really wanted to go to KU at the beginning.

He wanted to be close to her so he could go home when he needed to. That's who he was. He knew the best place for him was K-State, but he wanted to be close to his mom because she was not good. Former Kansas State running backs coach Michael Smith: "His mom really wanted him to make a decision where he was going to be happy, and I think she gave him her blessing as far as, 'Darren, I'm going to be all right.

You need to do you. He was crushed. He lost his matriarch. His mom was everything to him. And what we did was Coach [Bill] Snyder, being the coach he was, we packed up a bunch of buses and we drove to Kansas City and went to the funeral.

We were there for Darren not only as coaches and teammates but as brothers. I think that meant a lot to Darren. And s, I think two, three days later he was back in Manhattan going about business as usual. Sproles racked up more than 5, yards from scrimmage and 47 touchdowns at Kansas State, and served as a punt and kick returner. He finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting as a junior, and graduated in with a degree in speech pathology.

Smith: "His senior year, we begged him to come back and he did. We're playing Louisiana early in the season, and Darren runs for like in the game, has some unbelievable numbers, but he fumbled twice. We go in Sunday morning to grade the film -- our staff room overlooked the stadium -- and we just see this guy out there running. The Eagles are getting healthier at the halfway point of the season. Here are other news we're tracking on Monday. Week 8 is here! Check out the full tally of the official injury report and gameday designations for all 13 Sunday games.

Week 7 is here! Check out the full tally of the official injury report and gameday designations for all 12 Sunday games. Week 6 is here! Charley Casserly examines five storylines to watch in Week 6, including several notable running backs in the Eagles-Vikings bout on Sunday.

Plus other injuries we're monitoring around the league. Indianapolis announced the second-year lineman will miss the rest of the season. Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones has been ruled out with a groin injury against the Colts. Plus, other injuries we're monitoring around the league on this Week 5 Sunday. Redskins coach Jay Gruden said he needed more "special team guys" on the gameday roster.

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson was throwing dimes against the Miami Dolphins, finishing with five touchdown passes. Here's what we learned from Sunday's games. Our first full week of preseason football is upon us! Sixteen games are set to be played this week, starting with 11 on Thursday night, two of which will be broadcast live on NFL Network.