Rashaan Salaam
Salaam holding the Heisman trophy, 1994
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| No. 31, 29 | |||||||||||||
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| Position: | Running back | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Date of birth: | October 8, 1974 | ||||||||||||
| Place of birth: | San Diego, California | ||||||||||||
| Date of death: | December 5, 2016 (aged 42) | ||||||||||||
| Place of death: | Boulder, Colorado | ||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight: | 224 lb (102 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school: | La Jolla (CA) Country Day | ||||||||||||
| College: | Colorado | ||||||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 1995 / Round: 1 / Pick: 21 | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
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| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
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| Player stats at PFR | |||||||||||||
| Games played: | 33 |
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| Games started: | 20 |
| Attempts: | 471 |
| Rushing yards: | 1,684 |
| Touchdowns: | 13 |
| Player stats at NFL.com | |
Rashaan Iman Salaam (October 8, 1974 – December 5, 2016) was an American college and professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for four seasons during the 1990s. Salaam played college football for the University of Colorado and won the 1994 Heisman Trophy. He was picked by the Chicago Bears in the first round of the 1995 NFL Draft, and played professionally for the Bears and Cleveland Browns of the NFL. Salaam died December 5, 2016, of an apparent suicide.
Salaam was born in San Diego, California, the son of former Cincinnati Bengals running back Teddy Washington (later Sulton Salaam, after converting to Islam). He was a practicing Muslim. He attended La Jolla Country Day School in suburban San Diego, and played eight-man football. He ran for over 100 yards in every game except one, and was recognized as a high school All-American. He was later inducted into the school's athletic hall of fame.
Salaam attended the University of Colorado, where he played for the Colorado Buffaloes football team from 1992 to 1994. As a junior in 1994, Salaam had one of the best individual seasons in college football history, rushing for a school-record 2,055 yards and becoming only the fourth college running back to run for more than 2,000 yards in a season. He also amassed 24 touchdowns and helped lead Colorado to an 11–1 record, including a 41–24 win over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the 1995 Fiesta Bowl, and a No. 3 finish in the final Associated Press Poll. The Buffaloes' only loss of the season was to the Big Eight Conference rival Nebraska Cornhuskers, which finished undefeated and ranked No. 1 in both the Associated Press and United Press International polls at season's end. Salaam had four consecutive 200-yard rushing games during the season, his best effort coming against the Texas Longhorns, when he set a school record with 362 yards total offense in a 34–31 Colorado win in Austin. He was a unanimous first-team All-American and became Colorado's first Heisman Trophy winner in December, besting running back Ki-Jana Carter of Penn State and quarterbacks Steve McNair of Alcorn State and Kerry Collins of Penn State. Salaam also won the Walter Camp Award and Doak Walker Award.
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