Chris Darkins
| No. 44 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Running back | ||||
| Personal information | |||||
| Born: | April 30, 1974 San Francisco, California, U.S. | ||||
| Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||
| Weight: | 205 lb (93 kg) | ||||
| Career information | |||||
| High school: | Strake Jesuit College Preparatory (Houston, Texas) | ||||
| College: | Minnesota | ||||
| NFL draft: | 1996: 4th round, 123rd pick | ||||
| Career history | |||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||
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Christopher Oji Darkins (born April 30, 1974) is an American former professional football running back in the National Football League (NFL).
Biography
[edit]
Darkins was born in San Francisco.[1]
Career
[edit]
He attended high school at Strake Jesuit College Preparatory and played collegiately at the University of Minnesota.[2] In 1994, he was awarded the Bronko Nagurski Award as the team's most valuable player. He also earned first-team All-Big Ten honors in 1994 by setting a school record with 1,443 rushing yards on the season. Darkins career rushing total of 3,235 yards was third on Minnesota's all-time list when his career ended and remains fifth-best in program history. His 294 rushing yards against Purdue in 1995 is still the highest single-game total in Gopher football history.
Following his collegiate career, Darkins was selected in the fourth round of the 1996 NFL draft by the Green Bay Packers.[3]
Darkins was a member of the 1996 Super Bowl Championship team and the 1997 NFC Championship team that lost to Denver in the Super Bowl.
Awards
[edit]In 2015, Darkins was inducted into the University of Minnesota hall of fame.[4]
Wrongful arrest and activism
[edit]On February 24, 2016, Darkins was arrested in Houston for his alleged role in a drug trafficking and money laundering ring.[5] On May 2, 2017, all charges were dismissed against Darkins by U.S. District Court Judge Marc Thomas Treadwell for want of prosecution.
On October 10, 2018, Darkins was awarded a Congressional Certificate from the 18th District acknowledging that he was wrongfully accused and recognizing his work as a wrongful convictions activist.[6][7][8]
References
[edit]- ^ "Chris Darkins Stats". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
- ^ "Chris Darkins Stats, News and Video - RB". NFL.com.
- ^ "1996 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
- ^ "Darkins, Manders Join M Club Hall of Fame".
- ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20110927184649/http://www.ktre.com/story/14134337/two-arrested-after-officers-find-thousand-of-dollars-in-bulk
- ^ Case Number 5:15cr-00035-MTT-CHW Document Number:850
- ^ "Ex -Packers player accused of role in Texas-Georgia drug ring". February 25, 2016.
- ^ "Conversation, movie screening on wrongful convictions at the Ensemble Theatre". October 11, 2018.