Reuben Droughns

Reuben Droughns (born August 21, 1978) is an American football running back who is currently assistant coach for the Serbian team Vukovi Beograd, the two-time champions of the Central European Football League. He was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the third round of the 2000 NFL Draft. He played college football at Oregon.

Droughns has also been a member of the Miami Dolphins, Denver Broncos, Cleveland Browns and New York Giants of the National Football League. He earned a Super Bowl ring with the Giants in Super Bowl XLII.

Early years
Droughns moved from the Midwest to Orange County, California where the young adolescent attended Anaheim High School (Anaheim, California) and was a student and a letterman in football. In football, he rushed for 49 touchdowns and 4,915 yards, which ranks as the fifth most yards gained in Orange County high school football history. He also won a CIF title in wrestling while attending Anaheim High.

College career
Droughns played college football at the University of Oregon and was a two-year starter after a stellar two-year career at Merced (Calif.) Junior College, and was a first-team All-Pac-10 choice as a senior. He ranks sixth on Oregon's all-time rushing list with 2,058 yards. Droughns had 1,234 yards and nine touchdowns on 277 carries (4.5) as a senior, including rushing for over 200 yards in three contests. In his first game for Oregon, he ran for 202 yards and two scores against Michigan State. One of his most impressive performances came at UCLA, where he ran for 172 yards and a score despite fracturing his right fibula during the contest, an injury that would force him to miss the rest of the season. Droughns was a history major at Oregon. He was a JUCO All-America at Merced after leading the nation in yards in 1997 with 1,611 and leading the state of California in all-purpose yardage with 1,984. Prep Star Magazine deemed him the nation’s top JUCO running back after that campaign. He was an honorable mention All-American as a freshman.

Detroit Lions
He was drafted by the Detroit Lions out of the University of Oregon, in the third round (81st pick overall) of the 2000 NFL Draft. Droughns spent the 2000 season on injured reserve after separating his right shoulder on his first carry in Detroit's opening preseason game vs. New England on August 4, then placed on injured reserve August 22.

During the 2001 season, he played in nine games and started three for the Lions, rushing for 72 yards on 30 carries (2.4) and catching four passes for 21 yards (5.3) and a touchdown (vs. Tampa Bay, 11/11/01). He was waived by Detroit after Week 1 (9/12) and was signed to Miami's practice squad Sept. 18 before being re-signed by the Lions Oct. 9.

Denver Broncos
He played for the Denver Broncos for three seasons. Although originally intended to be a fullback, he became one of the team's many 1,000-yard rushers, amassing that in 2004. Despite rushing for 1,240 yards in 2004, Droughns was not guaranteed the starting job for the 2005 season, so he asked for a trade.

Cleveland Browns
He was traded to the Cleveland Browns by the Denver Broncos on March 30, 2005, for defensive linemen Ebenezer Ekuban and Michael Myers. In his debut season with the Browns, he earned the nickname "The Party Starter," as he became the first Browns player to gain 1,000 yards rushing in a season since Earnest Byner and Kevin Mack both achieved the feat in 1985.

New York Giants
On March 9, 2007, Droughns was traded to the New York Giants in exchange for WR Tim Carter. Droughns battled Derrick Ward for the back-up job but became the third running back for the Giants, and helped the Giants replace the retired Tiki Barber. However, due to his poor performances throughout the year, he dropped to fourth on the Giants depth chart behind rookie Ahmad Bradshaw, and was replaced by Domenik Hixon as kick returner after similar special-teams performances. He was however, primarily used as a goal-line/third down back for most of the regular season, recording a team-leading 6 touchdowns for the season. During the 2008 preseason, the emergence of D.J. Ware dropped Droughns to fifth on the Giants depth chart at running back, but he managed to make the final 53-man roster playing primarily on special teams.

Droughns was released by the Giants on February 9, 2009.

Legal trouble
During the 2005 season on November 1, Droughns was pulled over and arrested for driving under the influence after a breathalyzer showed he was over the legal limit. Nevertheless, he missed no playing time and on May 9, 2006, he was acquitted of all charges.