Darren McFadden

Darren McFadden (born August 27, 1987), nicknamed DMC or D-Mac, is an American football running back who currently plays for the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Arkansas, and was picked fourth overall by the Oakland Raiders in the 2008 NFL Draft.

McFadden graduated from Oak Grove High School in North Little Rock, Arkansas. A widely touted recruit, he chose to attend the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas where he would become a two-time consensus All-American as a tailback for the Razorbacks in 2006 and 2007. In 2006, he became the first sophomore to win the Doak Walker Award, the award honoring the nation's top collegiate running back. He joined Ricky Williams as only the second two-time winner after taking home the award again in 2007. McFadden also won the 2007 Walter Camp Award as the nation's best player and was also the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy two years in a row in 2006 and 2007.

McFadden performed well at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Indiana, and after being drafted, he signed a contract worth $60 million with the Raiders, including $27 million in guaranteed money. Although he played infrequently as a rookie, receiving only 113 carries, fans and members of the media still praised McFadden's talents and abilities.

Early life
McFadden was born in North Little Rock, Arkansas. He attended Oak Grove High School in North Little Rock. He played a variety of positions for his high school football team, but was primarily used as a running back on offense, and a safety on defense.

During his senior season, McFadden was a Parade magazine high school All-American in 2004, as well as the Arkansas High School player of the year for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Following his senior year, he was awarded the prestigious Landers Award, given every year to the top player in the state of Arkansas. McFadden was ranked the number 23 player in the nation by Rivals.com and the number three athlete, and was given a five star rating, the highest star rating. He was a highly recruited prospect, and while he garnered interest from many schools around the nation including Tennessee, Alabama, and Auburn, he chose to end the recruiting process early and attend the University of Arkansas.

2005 season
In 2005, his true freshman season, McFadden rushed for 1,113 yards and 11 touchdowns on 176 attempts. He was an integral part of an Arkansas offense that ended up going 4–7 with close losses to Georgia and LSU. McFadden tallied over one hundred rushing yards in five games, with his best performance coming on a 31 carry, 190 yard game against Georgia. McFadden followed the Georgia game with a 187 yard effort against the South Carolina Gamecocks. McFadden also completed his first pass in a Razorback uniform in the game against LSU, when he completed a pass to Marcus Monk for thirteen yards on a critical fourth quarter drive.

McFadden ended the season with the most yards a freshman running back had ever gained in an Arkansas uniform, and became only the seventh Southeastern Conference player to rush over 1,000 yards as a freshman. He was recognized at the end of the season as Southeastern Conference (SEC) Freshman of the Year honors by both the SEC Media as well as SEC coaches. McFadden also garnered Freshman All-American nods, and was named as Newcomer of the Year for the Southeastern Conference by ESPN. He continued through spring practice early the next year as the number one running back on the Razorback depth chart, a spot he never relinquished while on campus.

2006 season
In 2006, despite a slow start due to a dislocated toe from an off the field incident at a night club in Little Rock, McFadden rushed for a school-record 1,647 yards, the fifth best all-time in the SEC for single season yards, scored 14 touchdowns, and threw for three more touchdowns on just nine passing attempts, becoming a first-team All-American. McFadden also attained a new career high for yards in a single game in his 219 yard performance in a 26–20 win against the University of South Carolina Gamecocks. Thanks to his efforts, Arkansas streaked to ten wins and the SEC Western Division Championship, but lost to Wisconsin in the Capital One Bowl on January 1, 2007 and finished with a record of 10 wins and 4 losses.

On December 6, 2006, McFadden was named one of three finalists for the Heisman Trophy, along with Troy Smith of The Ohio State University and Brady Quinn of the University of Notre Dame. In the final 2006 Heisman vote, McFadden placed second with 1,662 points, behind Smith (1750 points) and ahead of Quinn (1622 points). On December 7, 2006, McFadden became the first sophomore to win the Doak Walker Award, given annually to the nation's top running back. He was also the winner of Jim Brown Trophy in 2006. He was also a consensus All-America choice, making the vast majority of teams selected.

McFadden surpassed Madre Hill as the record holder for most rushing yards in a season at the University of Arkansas in 2006. He was also the centerpiece of the "Wildcat formation," an offensive formation wherein McFadden usually lined up at quarterback position. McFadden often played quarterback in high school, and in the Wildcat formation, he was a threat to throw the ball, to run the ball, or to hand off to another player.

2007 season


Before the 2007 season, McFadden was believed to be one of the top NFL draft picks after the 2007 season if he declared for the 2008 NFL Draft. In Sports Illustrated's website, a photo gallery chronicling the best possible candidates in the 2008 draft was tipped as the number one pick. McFadden was also predicted to be a front-runner for many awards, including the Doak Walker, the Maxwell, and the Walter Camp Player of the Year.

McFadden began the 2007 season with five consecutive games in which he gained at least 120 yards. Highlighting these were a 195 yard effort against Alabama, a 151 yard game against Troy, and a 173 yard effort against Kentucky. After this stretch of games, McFadden looked to be a lock for the Heisman trophy, at the top of generally every watch list. On November 3, 2007, McFadden tied the Southeastern Conference single-game rushing record held by former Vanderbilt Commodores running back Frank Mordica's 1978 game total versus the Air Force Falcons with 321 yards rushing against the South Carolina Gamecocks. On November 23, 2007, McFadden led Arkansas to a 50–48 triple overtime victory over the number one ranked LSU Tigers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, winning the Battle for the Golden Boot for Arkansas. McFadden rushed 32 times for 206 yards and three TDs, and completed three of six pass attempts for 34 yards and a touchdown. After Arkansas lost 38–7 to Missouri in the January 1, 2008 Cotton Bowl Classic in Dallas, Texas, McFadden decided to forgo his senior season and declare for the 2008 NFL Draft on January 14, 2008.

By any measure, McFadden's 2007 season was a success: he was selected as the Sporting News magazine National Player of the Year, was a consensus first Team All-American for the second straight season, won the Doak Walker Award for the second year in a row, was selected as the Southeastern Conference Offensive Player of the Year by SEC coaches, and he was also awarded the Walter Camp Award, given to the nation's best overall player voted on by the Walter Camp Foundation. He ended his junior season with 1,829 yards rushing on 325 carries and 16 rushing touchdowns. He also threw four touchdown passes, and garnered another touchdown receiving. On December 6, 2007, McFadden was announced as the winner of the Walter Camp Award and as the winner of the Doak Walker Award. He became only the second person (along with Ricky Williams) in history to win the Doak Walker Award twice. McFadden finished as the runner-up for the 2007 Heisman Trophy for the second year in a row. He was runner-up to Tim Tebow of the Florida Gators by a margin of 1,957 points to 1,703 points, making him the first person since 1949 to finish second in Heisman voting in consecutive years. Again, McFadden was the winner of the Jim Brown Trophy, given to the nation's top running back. Additionally, he was also recognized as a unanimous first-team All-American.



McFadden ended his college career as the most decorated player in school history, and holds virtually all of the university's rushing records, and is also in a number of the SEC's all-time top 10 rushing spots. His career total of 4,590 yards ranks second all-time in career rushing yards in the SEC, behind only Herschel Walker of Georgia with 5,259. McFadden finished his career in seventh place for the Southeastern Conference career rushing touchdowns record with 41.

In late December 2007, sports agent and former Arkansas track and field athlete Mike Conley, Sr. was accused by KARK-TV in Little Rock, Arkansas of purchasing a Cadillac Escalade for McFadden, which would have jeopardized McFadden's status as an amateur athlete for the 2008 Cotton Bowl Classic and a possible senior season. KARK later retracted the report and apologized to Conley. On March 6, 2008, Electronic Arts announced that McFadden would be cover athlete for the Xbox 360's version of NCAA Football 09.

2008 NFL Draft
At the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis on February 24, 2008, McFadden ran an unofficial time of 4.27 seconds on the 40-yard dash, and an official time of 4.33, which was second among all running backs at the combine to only Chris Johnson, who ran a 4.24. McFadden also reportedly scored a 17 on the Wonderlic exam. McFadden's selection number in the draft was subject to varying speculation. He was criticized for possible character concerns stemming from two nightclub altercations and the hiring of a lawyer to handle his paternity problems.

Oakland Raiders
McFadden was drafted by the Oakland Raiders with the fourth overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft. The Raiders signed McFadden to a six-year, $60.1 million contract which included $26 million in guarantees. Contract negotiation was rapid due to Raider fears of a second consecutive contract holdout as was the case with quarterback JaMarcus Russell in 2007.

2008-2009 seasons
At training camp, McFadden impressed Raiders coach Lane Kiffin with his ability to take instructions once and seamlessly incorporate them into his game. Media observers considered him the most complete Raiders rookie at this stage since Marcus Allen. On September 8, McFadden made in his NFL debut against the Broncos. McFadden had 46 rushing yards on 9 carries. The Raiders lost the game, 41-14. McFadden scored his first professional touchdown against the Kansas City Chiefs on September 14, 2008, his second NFL game, in which he gained 164 yards on 21 carries. McFadden also suffered an injury to his big toe in this game, which limited him for the next 14 games, including three missed games. On November 23, in a game against the Broncos, McFadden scored 2 touchdowns, his first multi-touchdown game in his career. He ended the season with 499 yards on 113 attempts, with four touchdowns. He also made 29 receptions for 285 yards. Raiders interim head coach Tom Cable, who took over after Kiffin was fired by owner Al Davis, was criticized for not playing McFadden later in the season. Responding to criticism, Cable stated “Well what really dictated was the rotation we were in, terms of the game, the flow of the game. I think [Justin] Fargas played pretty well. It’s just those situations present themselves." Oakland Tribune writer Jerry McDonald responded to Cable's statement, saying "If the flow of the game means keeping McFadden, an excellent receiving back, off the field on third down plays which call for a pass, then the flow needs to be changed by the play-caller." During the 2009 Oakland Raiders campaign, McFadden was bothered by numerous injuries and saw a career low in carries and yardage. McFadden's low point of the season came when he rushed for minus 2 yards against the Texans on October 4.

2010 season
McFadden started the 2010 season as a better player than he was in his first 2 seasons. Against the Tennessee Titans on September 12, McFadden rushed for 95 yards on 18 carries. In Week 2, McFadden rushed for 145 yards on 30 carries against the St. Louis Rams. McFadden rushed for 105 yards with a rushing touchdown against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 3. McFadden missed the two games with a hamstring injury he suffered Oct. 3 against the Houston Texans. Upon his return on October 24, 2010 against the division rival Denver Broncos, McFadden carried the ball 16 times for a total of 165 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also recorded 2 receptions for 31 yards and a touchdown. McFadden became only the 4th Raider to have 4 touchdowns in a game. Art Powell, Marcus Allen, and Harvey Williams were the others. On November 21, in a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, McFadden would rush for only 14 yards. Against the Miami Dolphins on November 28, McFadden struggled again. This time, he rushed for only 2 yards on 8 carries. McFadden would get on track against the San Diego Chargers in Week 13. He rushed for 97 yards on 19 carries.

2011 season
In the Raiders' opener against the Broncos in Week 1, McFadden rushed for 150 yards. McFadden's 150 yards was the most ever for a Raiders running back in a season opener. The Raiders would hold on and win the game 23-20.

Against the Buffalo Bills in Week 2, McFadden was held to 72 yards with a rushing touchdown on 20 carries, a 3.6 average. However, McFadden found other ways to help the Raiders. He caught 7 passes for 71 yards and scored a receiving touchdown. However, the Raiders lost the game 38-35. Against the Jets in Week 3, McFadden rushed for 171 yards on 19 carries. In the process, McFadden scored 2 rushing touchdowns. McFadden became the third running back to rush for 100 or more yards against the Jets in the Rex Ryan era. Maurice Jones-Drew and Matt Forte were the others. His 171 rushing yards was a new career high. The Raiders won, 34-24. McFadden's performance earned him FedEX Ground NFL Player of the Week. At the end of Week 6, McFadden was leading the league in rushing with 610 yards.

Week 5 saw the Oakland Raiders (2-2) at the Houston Texans (3-1). Just one day after, Raiders owner Al Davis had died. Houston was coming off a 17-10 win against the Steelers. McFadden was held just 51 yards on 16 carries, a 3.2 average. However, the Raiders came back to win the game, 25-20, with the last play of the game being won by an interception. Against the Cleveland Browns the following week, McFadden rushed for 91 yards on 20 carries, a 4.6 average. McFadden would also record a rushing touchdown in the game. The Raiders held on to beat the Browns, 24-17. However, the victory was short-lived. Shortly after the win, the Raiders learned that quarterback Jason Campbell would be out for the season.

Personal
Darren McFadden was born August 27, 1987 to Graylon McFadden and Mini Muhammad. The tenth of twelve children, he encountered hardships in his early life with some members of his family, including his mother, having addictions to drugs.

In May 2009, McFadden bought a $638,000 house in Little Rock, Arkansas on River Ridge Point, which overlooks the Arkansas River and the Interstate 430 bridge.