Actor

1973-02-26 · United States · Male

6 series in the catalog

Marshall William Faulk (born February 26, 1973) is an American football coach and former professional running back who is the head coach for the Southern Jaguars. Faulk previously played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons, most notably with the St. Louis Rams. He is regarded as one of the greatest running backs of all time.

Faulk played college football for the San Diego State Aztecs, twice receiving unanimous All-American honors. He was selected second overall in the 1994 NFL draft by the Indianapolis Colts, where he spent his five seasons and earned two Pro Bowl selections. Faulk spent his next seven seasons with the Rams, becoming a central contributor to the Greatest Show on Turf offense. As a member of the Rams, Faulk was named NFL Most Valuable Player in 2000, won a record three AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year awards, extended his Pro Bowl selections to seven, and received three consecutive first-team All-Pro selections. He also appeared in two Super Bowls and won Super Bowl XXXIV. Following his playing career, Faulk was an analyst for various programs on NFL Network until December 2017.

Faulk is one of only three NFL players (along with Marcus Allen and Tiki Barber) to reach at least 10,000 rushing yards and 5,000 receiving yards and the only to amass 12,000 yards rushing and 6,000 yards receiving. He was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2017.

Early life

Faulk was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. He attended Carver High School in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans, where he played for the Carver Rams high school football team. Also a standout track sprinter, Faulk was timed at 10.3 seconds in the 100 meters, 21.74 over 200 meters, and 49.4 in the 400 meters. While growing up he sold popcorn at New Orleans Saints games in the Louisiana Superdome.

During his final two years playing for Carver High, Faulk rushed 1,800 yards and scored thirty-two touchdowns. In his senior season, he also played defensive back, intercepting 11 passes and returning six of them for touchdowns.

College career

Faulk was heavily recruited by several major colleges, but due to his standout performance on defense, most of them recruited him to play the cornerback position. However, Faulk strongly desired to play the running back position in college. "I didn't love playing cornerback, so I knew I wouldn't be as successful in that position," Faulk told Sports Illustrated Kids. "You have to really love what you do to be a star." Ultimately he accepted an athletic scholarship to attend San Diego State University, because they were the first team to offer him a scholarship to play running back.

One of the best performances of his career was against the University of the Pacific on September 14, 1991, in just his second collegiate game. In 37 carries, he amassed 386 yards and scored seven touchdowns, both records for freshmen (the 386 yards were a then-NCAA record). "Faulk had scoring runs of 61, 7, 47, 9, 5, 8 and 25 yards." That performance sparked one of the greatest freshman seasons in NCAA history, gaining 1,429 yards rushing, with 1,630 total yards from scrimmage, 23 total touchdowns (21 rushing), and 140 points scored. At the end of the year, Faulk joined Tony Dorsett and Herschel Walker as one of just three true freshmen ever selected to the College Football All-America Team by the Associated Press.

Faulk went on to better 1,600 yards rushing in his sophomore year. In Faulk's junior season in 1993, he was able to showcase his all-purpose ability by catching 47 passes for 640 yards and 3 touchdowns to go with 1,530 yards and 21 touchdowns on the ground. These numbers put Faulk 3rd in the nation in all-purpose yardage that year, and 2nd in scoring. Faulk left San Diego State University with many of the school's offensive records, among them 5,562 all-purpose yards and 62 career touchdowns, which is the 8th most in NCAA history.

After his 1992 season at SDSU, Faulk finished second in the Heisman Trophy award voting, losing to quarterback Gino Torretta in what was considered a notable snub in the history of the award. Torretta's 1992 Miami Hurricanes football team was undefeated in the regular season and ranked No. 1 in the country before the Heisman balloting, Faulk's team finished with a middling 5–5–1 record, continuing a trend of the Heisman going to the most notable player on one of the nation's best teams. ESPN analyst Lee Corso led a campaign supporting Torretta for the Heisman and left Marshall Faulk off of his ballot. Faulk was a Heisman finalist as well in 1991 (9th) and 1993 (4th).

In 1992, Faulk was named Arthur Ashe Sports Scholar Jr. by Diverse: Issues In Higher Education.

Pre-draft

Along with defensive tackle Dan Wilkinson and quarterbacks Heath Shuler and Trent Dilfer, Faulk was regarded as "one of the four players who rank well above the others in this draft". and on March 31, he ran a 4.35 forty-yard time at the San Diego State Pro Day. The Bengals had the No. 1 pick in the 1994 NFL draft, and contemplated combining their heavy-duty runner Harold Green with the explosive Faulk, but picked Wilkinson, leaving Faulk for the Indianapolis Colts.

Indianapolis Colts

Faulk was drafted in the first round with the second overall pick in the 1994 NFL draft by the Indianapolis Colts, who were in desperate need of a running game. On July 25, 1994, Faulk signed a seven-year $17.2 million contract and received a $5.1 million signing bonus. Faulk responded by rushing for 1,282 yards, 11 touchdowns, and one receiving touchdown. The Colts improved to 8–8. Marshall Faulk, later that season, would become the first NFL player to win both the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award and the Pro Bowl's Most Valuable Player Award in the same season. He was also the first rookie to win Pro Bowl MVP.

The next season Faulk rushed for 1,078 yards and 14 total touchdowns. The Colts made the postseason, going 9–7, and narrowly missed the Super Bowl after a close loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship Game, which Faulk missed due to a nagging toe injury.

The next year was a miserable one for Faulk. Because of a toe injury he suffered earlier in the season, he rushed for only 587 yards, with a 3 yards-per-carry average. He led the Colts in yards from scrimmage with 1,015. He recovered from the injury and rushed for 1,000+ yards in each of the next two seasons, setting a new personal high with 1,319 in 1998. He also caught 86 passes for 906 yards that year (playing alongside rookie quarterback Peyton Manning) and was the NFL's leader in total yards from scrimmage with 2,227, beating out Denver's MVP running back Terrell Davis by 2 yards, while also finishing 4th in the league in receptions. It would also be the first of an NFL-record 4 consecutive 2,000+ total-yard seasons.

St. Louis Rams

Faulk was traded to the St. Louis Rams the following season for second- and fifth-round picks in the upcoming draft (which the Colts used to draft LB Mike Peterson and DE Brad Scioli). The Colts moved on at the position, drafting Edgerrin James in the first round. Faulk held out for 12 days as the details of his contract were worked out. On August 4, 1999, Faulk signed a seven-year, $45.2 million contract with the Rams, which was the biggest deal in team history at the time. In it, Faulk was guaranteed $9.6 million including a $7-million signing bonus. The problem in negotiations was the proposed fifth year, in which Faulk would get $7 million in salary and a $5-million roster bonus. The deal was structured to prevent Faulk from ever being tagged a transition or franchise player.

In his first year in St. Louis, Faulk was the catalyst for "The Greatest Show on Turf", a nickname given to coordinator Mike Martz's aggressive Coryell-style offense. In this offense, he put up some of the best all-purpose numbers in the history of the NFL. Faulk's patience and diligence in learning the Rams'…