LaDainian Tomlinson

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LaDainian Tomlinson
Date of birth June 23, 1979
Place of birth Rosebud, Texas
Position(s) Running Back
College TCU
NFL Draft 2001 / Round 1/ Pick 5
Pro Bowls 2002, 2004, 2005
Statistics
Team(s)
2001-Present San Diego Chargers

LaDainian Tomlinson (born June 23, 1979 in Rosebud, Texas) is an American football player who currently plays running back for the San Diego Chargers of the NFL. Tomlinson is a Texas Christian University alumnus. Commonly called "LT," he is considered an "all-purpose back," as he possesses speed, agility, strength, field vision, an accurate passing arm and blocking skills. This unique versatility allows him to be used on any down and it has led to him being nicknamed "Mr. Everything." Tomlinson broke the all-time NFL single season touchdown record of 28 on December 10, 2006, in just thirteen games. He is the most valuable player in many fantasy football leagues because of his touchdown record.

Contents

[edit] Early years

By his third birthday, Tomlinson, like his father, was an avid follower of the Dallas Cowboys. He got his first taste of football playing Pop Warner football as a youngster. Football was such an important part of LaDainian’s life that he slept with a football every night.[1] At age 13, Tomlinson's mother paid $750 for LaDainian to participate in the Emmitt Smith Football Camp being held at The University of North Texas. LaDainian mentions taking handoffs from Emmitt himself.

[edit] High school

LaDainian was a gifted player in high school earning the District 25-4A Most Valuable Player and Super Centex Offensive Player of the Year as a senior at Waco (Tex.) University High. Tomlinson was also a second-team All-State pick and gained 2554 yards with 39 touchdowns in his senior season, including rushing for over 200 yards in seven games.

[edit] College career

Tomlinson attended college at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas, where he starred at running back. During his freshman and sophomore years, he split time with Basil Mitchell, but was a key player in the Horned Frogs' amazing turn around season in 1998 that culminated in a win against the University of Southern California in the Sun Bowl. During his junior season in 1999, he set an NCAA record for yards in one game with 406 against UTEP. He ended the year with an NCAA-leading 1,850 yards rushing to go along with 18 touchdowns.

Before his senior season in 2000, TCU marketed Tomlinson as a candidate for the Heisman Trophy, distributing bumper stickers that said "LT for Heisman" and launching a web site dedicated to his achievements. The stickers were amazingly popular in and around the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. That year, Tomlinson again led the NCAA with 2,158 yards and scored 22 touchdowns. He won the Doak Walker Award as the nation's best running back, and was a finalist for the Heisman, but came in fourth. He completed his college career with 5,263 rushing yards, ranking sixth in NCAA Division I history.

The school retired his jersey number 5 during halftime of a November 2005 game against UNLV. In December of that year, Tomlinson fulfilled a promise to his mother by earning his degree in communications from TCU.

[edit] NFL career and accomplishments

Tomlinson was selected in the first round of the 2001 NFL Draft with the fifth overall pick. The Chargers had the 1st pick in the draft that year but anticipated that they would be unable to sign the player who now earns the highest salary in NFL history Michael Vick, who was perceived as the best player in the year's draft class. Instead, they traded their number one pick to the Atlanta Falcons, for which they received the number five pick and other considerations. In this way, Tomlinson and Vick are forever linked as having been "traded" for each other, although the transaction was actually the result of traded draft picks and contract negotiations.

Tomlinson immediately became the starting running back with the Chargers and has started every game since. He has achieved immediate success in the NFL, rushing for over 1,200 yards and making over 50 receptions in each of his six seasons. He has also proven to be unusually effective as a passer, having completed 7 passes, 6 of them for touchdowns, without an interception.

In 2003, he became the first player in NFL history to rush for 1,000 yards and record 100 receptions in the same season. Other career milestones include reaching his 50th touchdown in his 4th season (60th game), receiving 100 passes and rushing for 1,000 yards in the same season (the first time this feat had ever been accomplished), and election to the Pro Bowl team in 2002, 2004, and 2005. Tomlinson's also tied Lenny Moore's all-time record for consecutive games scoring a TD (18).

On October 16, 2005, in the Chargers' victory over the Oakland Raiders, LaDainian Tomlinson became the 7th player in NFL history to run, catch, and throw for a touchdown in the same game. Despite breaking his ribs towards the end of the 2005 season, LaDainian continued to play and finished the season with 1,462 rushing yards, 370 receiving yards, and a career high 23 touchdowns (running for 18, catching 2 and throwing 3).

In 2005 he was nominated for the FedEx Ground Player of the Year Award. Tomlinson placed third behind Tiki Barber and Shaun Alexander.

In the 2006 season, he set an NFL record by scoring 19 touchdowns in a span of 6 games, including a franchise record 4 touchdowns in games against the San Francisco 49ers, Cincinnati Bengals and the Denver Broncos. He is the first to score three TDs in three straight games, and the first to have three games of four or more TDs in one season. He became the fastest player ever to score 100 touchdowns. On November 19, 2006, Tomlinson accomplished the milestone in 89 games with 102, beating the previous record of 93 games held by Jim Brown and Emmitt Smith. On December 3, Tomlinson became only the second running back (Eric Dickerson was the other) to rush for at least 1,200 yards in his first six NFL seasons. As of December 10, Tomlinson has 2,077 all-purpose (combined rushing, receiving, and passing) yards and 31 touchdowns (26 rushing, 3 receiving, and 2 passing). On December 10, he broke Shaun Alexander's 2005 record of 28 touchdowns in a season by scoring his 29th touchdown against the Denver Broncos in just 13 games (Alexander set the record in 16). His 2 touchdown passes do not count toward this record because the NFL treats them in a separate category (for which Peyton Manning holds the record with 49 in a season). If he scores another touchdown in the next three games, he will surpass Paul Hornung, who by running, receiving and kicking scored 176 points for the Green Bay Packers in 1960, for most points in a season by an NFL player; LaDanian currently has 174 total points.

[edit] Trivia

  • Was called the best running back of all-time by his coach Marty Schottenheimer after winning the game in overtime versus the Washington Redskins' at FedEx Field where he rushed for over 100 of his 184 yards in the second half, including a 43 yard game-winning touchdown run.
  • He has also served as a prototypical mentor and adviser to former USC and current New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush who also wore number 5 in college.
  • He was named an all-pro two years in a row, in 2004 and 2005. [1]
  • Led the NFL in rushing touchdowns in 2004 with 17.
  • Has been involved in more touchdown plays than any active NFL running back since 2001 (6 passing, 95 rushing, and 11 receiving).
  • When asked by reporters about his rushing and receiving prowess, Tomlinson frequently credits his offensive line first and fullback Lorenzo Neal before discussing any other factors.
  • His 6 career touchdown passes ties him for second-most TD passes by a non-quarterback in NFL history (Keith Byars, Greg Pruitt and Marcus Allen). Walter Payton holds the record (8).
  • As of December 10, 2006, he is tied for 7th among all-time NFL rushing touchdown career leaders at 99 (Barry Sanders).
  • As of December 3, 2006, he is ranked 13th among all-time all-purpose (rush/receive) NFL touchdown career leaders at 106 (also behind Barry Sanders at 12th with 109 all-purpose touchdowns).
  • As of December 3, 2006, he is ranked 24th among all-time NFL rushing leaders with 8,685 rushing yards.
  • The duo of Tomlinson and Michael Turner was named one of the ten best running back combinations in the NFL by Sports Illustrated. [2]

[edit] Records

  • Holds the all-time NFL record for most touchdowns in a season (29). He set this record on December 10, 2006 against the Denver Broncos, breaking the previous set by Shaun Alexander. He accomplished this record in 13 games.
  • Holds the all-time NFL record for most consecutive games with a rushing touchdown (18).
  • Tied the record for most consecutive games with a touchdown score (rushing or receiving) with Hall of Fame fullback Lenny Moore.
  • Tied for second place for most career 200 yard rushing games. He needs two more to tie with Hall of Famer O.J. Simpson who holds the record.
  • In 2000 while at TCU, He rushed for a career high and season high 2,158 yards, the fourth most ever in a single collegiate season.
  • Holds the NCAA Division I-A record for most rushing yards in a game with 406.
  • Is the San Diego Chargers' All-Time leading rusher.
  • Has the most career touchdowns in San Diego Chargers history, surpassing Hall of Famer Lance Alworth.
  • Had an NFL record 80 touchdowns in his first five seasons.
  • Tied Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith in second place for the fewest games needed to reach 90 touchdowns (both are second to Hall of Famer Jim Brown).
  • In 2006 he became the fastest player to reach 100 touchdowns, with his 100th career touchdown (90 rushing, 10 receiving) in his 89th game (breaking the previous record of achieving this mark in the 93rd game held by both Jim Brown and Emmitt Smith).
  • In 2006 He became the second player in NFL history to score 4 touchdowns in 2 straight games along with Marshall Faulk.
  • Holds the record for most touchdowns scored in a five game span with 16 TDs (14 rushing, 2 receiving), previously held at 15 by himself and broken two weeks later. Prior to that held by Jim Brown with 14.

[edit] External links

[edit] Career stats

(as of December 11th, 2006)

Year Rushing Receiving Passing
Att Yds Avg TD Cat Yds Avg TD Att Comp Yds TD Int
2001 339 1,236 3.6 10 59 367 6.2 0 - - - - -
2002 372 1,683 4.5 14 79 489 6.2 1 - - - - -
2003 313 1,645 5.3 13 100 725 7.3 4 1 1 21 1 0
2004 339 1,335 3.9 17 53 441 8.3 1 2 1 38 0 0
2005 339 1,462 4.3 18 51 370 7.3 2 4 3 47 3 0
2006 285 1,427 5.0 26 51 470 9.2 3 3 2 20 2 0
Total 1,959 8788 4.4 98 393 2,862 7.3 11 10 7 126 6 0
Preceded by:
Ron Dayne		 Doak Walker Award Winner
2000		 Succeeded by:
Luke Staley
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