Devontae Booker

Devontae Booker (born May 27, 1992) is an American football running back for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of Utah. He was drafted by the Broncos in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL Draft.

Early years
Booker attended and played high school football for Grant Union High School in Sacramento, California, where he rushed for 2,884 yards and 45 touchdowns as a senior. He helped Grant High to the 2008 CIF State Open Division state title as a junior, leading the team in rushing yards (1,850) and touchdowns (36). Booker was named to the Sacramento Bee's all-metro teams in 2008 and 2009.

American River College
Booker attended American River College from 2011 to 2013. In 2011, he had 793 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns and in 2012, he had 1,472 yards and 15 touchdowns. He was originally expected to transfer to the University of Utah prior to the 2013 season, but was unable due to academic reasons. He stayed at American River College and did not play football in 2013.

Utah
Booker officially transferred to Utah in 2014. He entered the season splitting time with Bubba Poole, but eventually became the main running back. Booker started 9-of-13 games his junior season, finishing with 292 carries for 1,512 yards (5.2 avg.) with 10 touchdowns in addition to 43 catches for 306 yards with two touchdowns. He posted the second-most yards (1,512) and third-most carries (292) in school history, earning a first-team All-Pac-12 selection. Booker opened the first 10 games of 2015 before suffering a season-ending knee injury, finishing with 1,261 yards on 268 carries (4.7 avg.) with 11 touchdowns in addition to catching 37 passes for 318 yards. He led the nation with 305 touches from scrimmage (30.5 per game) and carries per game (26.8) at the time of his knee injury. Booker was named a Maxwell Award semifinalist (national player of the year) and Doak Walker Award semifinalist (nation's top running back) in addition to earning All-Pac-12 second-team honor. Booker started 19-of-23 games played at the University of Utah.

2016 season
Booker was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the fourth round (136th overall) of the 2016 NFL Draft. He was the seventh running back to be selected that year. Booker opened the season as the No. 2 running back behind C. J. Anderson. On his first NFL carry against the Carolina Panthers, Booker fumbled the ball and was recovered by former Grant High School teammate Shaq Thompson. Booker re-entered the game, and finished with three carries for eight yards. Booker had his first career touchdown against the Houston Texans on October 24 after Anderson left the game with an injury. After Anderson was lost for the season, Booker became the starting running back the following week against the Chargers. He was the starter for the Broncos the next five games until the Broncos claimed Justin Forsett off waivers, who started the final three games. Booker finished his rookie year playing in all 16 games with six starts, rushing 174 times for 612 yards and four touchdowns along with 31 receptions for 265 yards and one touchdown. Booker became the 13th rookie in team history and first since 2009 (Knowshon Moreno) to lead the team in rushing.

2017 season
Booker remained in the Broncos' backfield in the 2017 season. He appeared in 13 games, rushing 79 times for 299 yards (3.8 avg.) with one touchdown and catching 30 passes for 275 yards. He added 14 kickoff returns for 276 yards and a 19.7 average.

2018 season
Booker rushed for 183 yards and one rushing touchdown in the 2018 season. In addition, he had 38 receptions for 275 receiving yards.

Personal
Booker received a bachelor's degree in sociology in December 2015.