Mike Rozier Michael T . Rozier ( born March 1 , 1961 ) is a former American college and professional football player who was a running back in the United States Football League ( USFL ) for two seasons and the National Football League ( NFL ) for seven seasons during the 1980s and early 1990s . Rozier played college football for the University of Nebraska , and won the Heisman Trophy in 1983 . Afterward , he played professionally for the Pittsburgh Maulers and Jacksonville Bulls of the USFL and the Houston Oilers and Atlanta Falcons of the NFL . He is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame . Early years . Rozier was born in Camden , New Jersey . He attended Woodrow Wilson High School in Camden , where he was a standout high school football player . Today , the football field bears his name . College career . Rozier went largely unnoticed by most of the major college programs . His recruitment to Nebraska was a complete accident . Former Nebraska head coach Frank Solich , at the time an assistant to head coach Tom Osborne , had been a keen observer of high school game films . While watching film of Pennsauken ' s game against nearby Woodrow Wilson High School , one player on the opposing team ( Rozier ) continually caught Solich ' s eye . Rozier spent his freshman season at Coffeyville Junior College in Kansas , in order to get his grades up . In his one season with the Coffeyville Ravens , he led them to a 9 - 0 season , gaining 1157 yards with a gaudy 7 . 4 yards - per - carry average , and scored ten touchdowns . As a sophomore in 1981 , Rozier first dazzled Husker fans with a 93 yard touchdown run against Kansas State . As the season progressed , Rozier began challenging Roger Craig for the starting position , a job he would eventually win in the fall of 1982 prior to his junior year . Rozier ' s progress was so pronounced that the talented and established Craig moved to fullback . During his junior season , Rozier broke Bobby Reynold ' s long - standing school record for rushing yards in a single season , with 1 , 689 yards and led Nebraska to a second consecutive outright Big 8 title and a 12 - 1 record , losing only in controversial fashion to eventual national champion Penn State . In a particularly memorable performance against Missouri , Rozier came off the bench in the second half to rush for 139 yards on 17 carries to lead Nebraska to a comeback victory despite suffering from a painful hip - pointer injury . Rozier finished the 1982 season a consensus All - American and finished 10th in the Heisman voting . As a senior , Nebraska ' s high - octane offense was often unstoppable , averaging 52 points and 401 rushing yards per game . Rozier ' s statistics were mind - boggling ; a nation ' s best 2 , 486 total yards with 2 , 148 of those coming on the ground and twenty - nine touchdowns scored . His 7 . 8 yards - per - carry mark on the season still stands as the NCAA record for players with more than 214 carries in a season . Against Kansas , Rozier rushed for a staggering 230 yards in the first half and finished with 285 rushing yards total , at that time a school record . Rozier went over 200 yards in each of his last four regular season games of the 1983 season . His magical senior season was capped when he was awarded the Heisman Trophy , given to the best individual player in college football and was again an All - American . Unfortunately , his college career would end in disappointment , losing the 1984 Orange Bowl in which Miami defeated Nebraska 31 - 30 for the national championship . Rozier had 138 yards on 21 carries at halftime against a Miami defense that was one of the best in the country , but he had to leave in the third quarter following an ankle injury . Rozier finished the game with 147 yards on 26 carries . Pro career . Rozier played his first two professional seasons in the United States Football League , in 1984 , with the Pittsburgh Maulers , and 1985 , with the Jacksonville Bulls . In 1985 Rozier played for the Jacksonville Bulls in the spring and the Houston Oilers in the fall . He was drafted by the Houston Oilers in the 1st round ( 2nd pick overall ) of the 1984 NFL Supplemental Draft of USFL and CFL Players , joining them in the fall of 1985 . Rozier played six seasons for the Oilers , amassing a total of 900 carries for 3171 yards , including a 1002 - yard rushing season in 1988 . While playing for the Oilers , Rozier was elected to the AFC Pro Bowl squad in both 1987 and 1988 . In 1990 , Rozier only played three games for the Oilers , rushing 10 times for a total of 42 yards , before being traded to the NFC ' s Atlanta Falcons , where he finished the year with 153 carries for 675 yards . His final season in the NFL came the next year with the Falcons . He completed the 1991 season with 361 yards on 96 carries , announcing his retirement during the off - season . Rozier finished his career with a grand total of 1159 carries for 4462 yards , having averaged 3 . 8 yards per carry , and scoring 30 touchdowns . As of the end of the 2012 season , Rozier is ranked 149th on the NFL All - Time Rushing Yards list . Personal . Rozier and his wife , Rochelle , an attorney , reside in South Jersey and together they have one son . He has two other children who reside in Texas . In 1996 he was shot in his hometown of Camden , New Jersey . Rozier , along with his wife and three other family members , appeared on the October 22 , 2013 episode of " Family Feud " .