LeSean Kamel McCoy (born July 12, 1988), nicknamed "Shady," is an American football running back for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Eagles in the second round (53rd Overall) of the 2009 NFL Draft. He played college football at Pittsburgh.
McCoy was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He attended Bishop McDevitt High School in Harrisburg, the same high school attended by Ricky Watters. As a high school senior, he earned first team Class AAAA Associated Press All-State; as a sophomore, he once broke out for 406 yards in a game ; as a junior he ran for 2,828 yards, scored 33 touchdowns, and earned Associated Press Class AAAA player of the year, Offensive MVP of the Mid-Penn Commonwealth Conference, 1st team Associated Press All-State. At one point during his junior year of high school, LeSean was considered to be the top prospect in the country. During his senior season, McCoy had committed to the University of Miami. However, experiencing academic difficulties at Bishop McDevitt and suffering a broken ankle led McCoy to attend prep school at Milford Academy in New Berlin, New York for the 2006–07 school year. He had been invited to play in the Big 33 Football Classic and the U.S. Army All-American Bowl that year, but ultimately did not participate in those games as he was still recovering from his injury. Following a coaching change at Miami, McCoy committed to the University of Pittsburgh on January 16, 2007.
Nick Foles (born January 20, 1989) is an American football quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). After playing college football for Arizona, he was drafted by the Eagles in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft.
A three star recruit out of Westlake High School in Austin, Texas, Foles originally committed to Arizona State but decided to attend Michigan State instead.
After attending Michigan State for a year, Foles transferred to Arizona and had to redshirt the 2008 season.
After Willie Tuitama graduated, Foles entered a quarterback competition with expected successor Matt Scott. After spring practice Matt Scott was given the starting role when the coaches felt that being a dual threat quarterback would open up the offense. Despite victories against Central Michigan and Northern Arizona, Scott struggled against Iowa and the next week Foles was given the chance the start. In Corvallis, Foles led the Wildcats to a victory against Oregon State. Foles continued to start for the rest of the year, completing 260 of 409 pass attempts for 2486 yards, 19 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions.
Barry Sanders (born July 16, 1968) is a former American football running back who spent all of his professional career with the Detroit Lions of the National Football League. Sanders left the game just short of the all-time rushing record. Sanders is a member of the college and professional football halls of fame. He is considered one of the greatest and most elusive running backs of all time.
A Wichita, Kansas native, Sanders attended Wichita North High School. Barry started at tailback his sophomore year, but took a back seat to his brother Byron the following year. Sanders did not become the starting running back until the fourth game of his senior year.He rushed for 1,417 in the final seven games of the season, which earned him all-state honors. During that seven game span Sanders averaged 10.2 yards per carry. He was, however, overlooked by most college recruiters because of his 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) size. Although he was a stellar athlete, Barry only had scholarships from Emporia State, Iowa State, Tulsa, and Oklahoma State.
Adrian Lewis Peterson (born March 21, 1985), nicknamed "A. D." (for "All Day"), "A. P." and "Purple Jesus", is an American football running back for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). Peterson was selected by the Vikings with the seventh overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Oklahoma.
While at Oklahoma, Peterson set the NCAA freshman rushing record with 1,925 yards as a true freshman during the 2004 season. As a First-team All-American, he became the first freshman to finish as the runner-up in the Heisman Trophy balloting behind USC quarterback Matt Leinart. Peterson finished his college football career as the Sooners' third all-time leading rusher.
Following his stellar first pro season in which he set an NFL record for most rushing yards in a single game (296), Peterson was named the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. He was then awarded the MVP award for his performance in the Pro Bowl and became only the fifth player in NFL history to have more than 3,000 yards through his first two seasons. In 2010, he became the fifth fastest player to run for 5,000 yards, doing so in his 51st game. Currently, Peterson has the fourth highest average rushing yards per game total in NFL history (min. 50 games) with an average of 92.5, trailing Jim Brown (104.3), Barry Sanders (99.8) and Terrell Davis (97.5).
Timothy Richard Tebow ( /ˈtiːboʊ/; born August 14, 1987) is an American football quarterback for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of Florida, winning the Heisman Trophy in 2007 and appearing on BCS National Championship-winning teams in the 2006 and 2008 seasons. After graduating, he was drafted by the Denver Broncos as the 25th overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. Tebow is known as a dual threat quarterback, adept at both rushing and passing the football. With his unorthodox NFL quarterback skills, frequent demonstrations of his religious devotion, and his team's success, Tebow has attracted unprecedented praise, criticism, and attention from the sporting media and beyond. Commenting on Tebow's play and the attention he has garnered, many football players and observers have said that they "have never seen anything like it."
Tebow played quarterback for Nease High School in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida and was ranked among the top quarterback prospects in the nation as a high school senior. He ultimately chose to attend the University of Florida. As a backup and situational quarterback, Tebow helped the Gators win the national championship during the 2006 college football season. Tebow was the Gators' starting quarterback during the 2007 season when he became the first college sophomore to win the Heisman Trophy. In 2008, Tebow led Florida to a 13-1 record and its second national championship in three years, and was named the offensive MVP of the national championship game. The Gators again went 13–1 in 2009, Tebow's senior year. At the conclusion of his college career, he held the Southeastern Conference's all-time records in both career passing efficiency and total rushing touchdowns, appearing second and tenth (respectively) in the NCAA record book in these categories.