Clinton Portis

He became just the second true freshman to start at running back since the 1975 season.

Portis set a school freshman record with five 100-yard performances, and led the team with 838 yards and eight touchdowns on 143 carries (5.9 avg.) in 10 games.

He also caught four passes for 44 yards (11.0 avg.) and 2 touchdowns.

When Portis was still a relative unknown, Lee Corso singled out Portis's performance during a defeat by Florida State for hustling and never giving up, saying "That Kid can play for me any time".

Portis' sophomore season was not as successful as he lost his job to James Jackson and rushed for 485 yards and two touchdowns on 77 carries (6.3 avg.) in eight games.

He also added 103 yards on five receptions (20.6 avg.).

Clinton Earl Portis (born September 1, 1981) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons.

He played college football for the Miami Hurricanes.

However, Portis bounced back in 2001 as the Hurricanes won the National Championship and Portis had his best season rushing for 1,200 yards and 10 touchdowns on 220 carries (5.5 avg.).

He also added 125 receiving yards.

In the Rose Bowl against Nebraska, Portis ran for 104 yards and a touchdown.

He also had a long touchdown reception called back on a holding call.

He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the second round of the 2002 NFL Draft.

Portis was best known for being the starting running back for the Washington Redskins for seven seasons, in which he gained an average of 81.2 yards rushing per game, for which a select panel of celebrities included him as one of the 80 Greatest Redskins.

Portis attended the University of Miami, where he played for the Hurricanes.

He considered going to the University of South Carolina but a fight that he had at Gainesville High School resulted in his scholarship being taken away.

Portis was drafted by the Denver Broncos with the 51st overall pick in the second round of the 2002 NFL Draft.

Portis rushed for over 1,500 yards in each of his first two seasons with the Broncos, averaging 5.5 yards per carry in that span.

The latter is an NFL record for a running back's first two seasons.

On December 15, 2002, Portis became the youngest player (21 years, 105 days) to score 4 touchdowns in a game in a 31–24 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.

He has the most single game fantasy point total, with 55.4.

The very next season on December 7, 2003, Portis became the youngest player (22 years, 97 days) to score 5 touchdowns in a game in a 45–27 victory, which also happened against Kansas City.

's NFL off-season, Clinton Portis held at least 18 Broncos franchise records, including:

Before the 2004 season, the Broncos traded Portis to the Washington Redskins for cornerback Champ Bailey and a second-round draft pick in the 2004 NFL Draft which the Broncos used to select Tatum Bell (and Bell wore Portis's number 26 in Denver).

Washington signed Portis to an eight-year contract worth $50.5 million.

At that time, there were criticisms regarding the trade, namely that shut-down corners like Bailey were hard to come by and that adding a second-round pick for Portis was too much and one-sided.

Critics also felt that Portis was simply a product of the Broncos' O-line scheme, and would not have much success in Washington, which was usually suited to more physical, power runners (such as Stephen Davis or John Riggins).

In the 2004 season, he had to adjust to coach Joe Gibbs' style of running, which consists of mostly power running.

Despite taking his first Washington carry 64 yards for a TD in the season opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, it was a somewhat rough adjustment for Portis because Denver's running style consisted of stretch runs and runs to the outside.

The adjustment was made rougher by an offensive line that was depleted mainly due to injuries.

He finished 2004 with 1,315 yards for a 3.8 yard rushing average.

He had an especially tough time finding the end zone, finishing with eight total touchdowns (5 rushing, 2 receiving, and one passing).

Clinton was inducted into the UM Sports Hall of Fame on April 10, 2014, at a ceremony in Miami.

Portis was also a standout track athlete for the Gainesville High School track team.

He was timed at 10.6 seconds in the 100 meters.

He was member of the varsity track team.

He took part in the state record 4 x 100 meter relay team, that finished with a time of 40.8 seconds.

He also posted a personal bests of 2.01 meters in the high jump, and 6.91 meters in the long jump.

He also ran track and field for the University of Miami, where he won the state championship in the 4x400-meter relay.

He also recorded personal best of 6.93 seconds in the 60 meters and 21.82 seconds in the 200 meters.