Devonta Freeman

Devonta Freeman

refer to caption

Freeman in 2016
No. 24 Atlanta Falcons
Position: Running back
Personal information
Date of birth: (1992-03-15) March 15, 1992
Place of birth: Baxley, Georgia
Height: 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Weight: 206 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High school: West Little River (FL) Miami Central
College: Florida State
NFL Draft: 2014 / Round: 4 / Pick: 103
Career history
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 12, 2016
Rushing attempts: 491
Rushing yards: 2,033
Rushing average: 4.1
Receptions: 136
Receiving yards: 1,072
Total touchdowns: 23
Player stats at NFL.com

Devonta Freeman (born March 15, 1992) is an American football running back for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Falcons in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He played college football at Florida State.

High school career

Freeman attended Miami Central High School in West Little River, Florida. He helped lead Miami Central to the 2010 Class 6A state title and was named the MVP after gaining 308 yards on 36 carries, falling just 20 yards shy of a state championship game record . As a senior, he ran for Miami-Dade County leading 2,208 yards and 26 touchdowns, and also recorded 663 rushing yards and six touchdowns in the final two games of the state playoffs

Considered a 4-star recruit by Rivals.com, he was rated the best running back in the nation. He committed to Florida State on June 24, 2010.[1]

College career

As a junior in 2013, Freeman was a first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) selection and helped the Seminoles win the 2014 BCS National Championship Game. He rushed for over 1,000 yards on the ground, the first Nole to do so since Warrick Dunn in 1996. Freeman finished the season with career highs in rushing yards (1,016), receiving yards (278) and touchdowns (15) despite splitting carries with James Wilder, Jr. and Karlos Williams in Florida State's backfield. He led the Seminoles in rushing in each of his three seasons in Tallahassee.[2]

On January 11, 2014, he announced he would bypass his senior season and enter the 2014 NFL Draft.[3]

Career statistics

Rushing Receiving
Year Team Att Yards Avg Long TDs Rec Yards TDs
2011 Florida State 120 579 4.8 41 8 15 111 0
2012 Florida State 111 660 5.9 47 8 10 86 0
2013 Florida State 173 1,016 5.9 60 14 22 278 1
Career 404 2,255 5.6 60 30 47 475 1

Professional career

He was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the fourth round (103rd overall) of the 2014 NFL Draft.[4]

Pre-draft measurables
Ht Wt 40-yd dash 10-yd split 20-yd split 20-ss 3-cone Vert Broad BP
5 ft 8 in 206 lb 4.58 s 1.59 s 4.26 s 7.11 s 31.5 in 9 ft 10 in
All values from NFL Combine.[5]

2014 season

In his rookie season, Freeman shared touches with fellow backs Steven Jackson and Jacquizz Rogers and accumulated 248 rushing yards on 65 carries and 225 receiving yards on 30 receptions. He also recorded 1 receiving and 1 rushing touchdown in weeks 8 and 16 respectively.[6] He chose to wear number 24 as a tribute to his late aunt, who was only 24 years old when she died of a heart attack.[7]

2015 season

After recording just 43 rushing yards over the first two games, Freeman received his first career NFL start at RB on September 27, 2015 against the Dallas Cowboys, rushing for 141 yards and 3 touchdowns on 30 carries.[8] The next week he rushed for 3 touchdowns again against the Houston Texans. In the following game, he rushed for a career-high 153 yards to start a three-game streak of 100 yard performances from week 4-7.[9] In week 11, Freeman piled up 43 yards off three carries before leaving in the first half with a concussion. By the end of the season, Freeman totaled 1,634 all-purpose yards and 14 all-purpose touchdowns with 1,056 rushing yards (7th most in the season[10]) and 11 rushing touchdowns, while also having 578 receiving yards and 3 receiving touchdowns.[11] Following the season Freeman was selected to the Pro Bowl, the first of his career, and was named a Second-team All-Pro. Freeman was named one of the captains for the 2016 Pro Bowl.[12]

Career statistics

Season Team Games Rushing Receiving Fumbles
GP GS Att Yds Avg Lng TD Rec Yds Avg Lng TD FUM Lost
2014 Atlanta Falcons 16 0 65 248 3.8 31T 1 30 225 7.5 36 1 1 1
2015 Atlanta Falcons 15 13 265 1,056 4.0 39 11 73 578 7.9 44 3 3 2
Total 31 13 330 1,304 4.0 39 12 103 803 7.8 44 4 4 3

Personal life

Freeman’s jersey number carries a special significance to him. He wears number 24 in honor of his late aunt Tamekia N. Brown, who tragically died at the age of 24 when Freeman was just 14 years old.[13] He has her name tattooed on his left arm.[14]

References

External links

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