Rudi Johnson Burudi Ali " Rudi " Johnson ( born October 1 , 1979 ) is a former American football running back who played eight seasons in the National Football League ( NFL ) . Rudi was born in Petersburg , Virginia approximately 30 miles south of Richmond . His first name " Burudi " is Swahili and means " cool ' " and his middle name " Ali " represented his family ' s respect and admiration for Muhammad Ali . He began playing football at the age of six with the Ettrick Trojans of the Chesterfield Quarterback League . During his high school career , he played both offense and defense for the Thomas Dale Knights under head coach Victor Williams following in the footsteps of Ken Oxendine and William Henderson . During his career , he broke the school ' s rushing record which was held by his friend , mentor and coach Henry Jefferson . Upon graduation he enrolled at Butler Community College in El Dorado , Kansas joining the same junior college network which produced his NFL teammate Corey Dillon who played earlier for Butler ' s arch rival Garden City . After completing his Associates Degree at Butler , he was recruited and transferred to Auburn University playing under the coaching staff of Tommy Tuberville and running backs coach Eddie Gran . He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the fourth round of the 2001 NFL Draft . Johnson was selected to the Pro Bowl with the Bengals in 2004 leading the AFC team in rushing . His bruising style of nose to the grindstone running Johnson made quite a reputation , and led to nicknames such as " The Auburn Rambler " College career . Butler Community College . At Butler Community College , Johnson played two years . He led Butler to two national championships defeating Ricks College in 1998 and Dixie college in 1999 . His most memorable performance coming against Dixie College in the championship game in which he ran for 375 yards and scored 7 touchdowns . He was subsequently named NJCAA " Player of the Year " . Auburn . At Auburn University , Johnson finished his career with 324 rushing attempts for 1567 yards ( 4 . 84 yards per rush average ) . His 324 rushing attempts was a school single season record and his 1567 rushing yards were the second - most in the school ' s history . He had ten games where he rushed for 100 yards or more . He was named SEC player of the year and nominated for the Doak Walker award which was later won by LaDainian Tomlinson . He was a sociology major . His fullback was Heath Evans who would later go onto the NFL as well . NFL running back Ronnie Brown was also a teammate . Professional career . Cincinnati Bengals . Johnson saw little playing time in his first two NFL seasons . He backed up four - time Pro Bowl er Corey Dillon , the Bengals leading rusher since 1997 , and had just 17 carries and 7 receptions . Dillon missed much of the 2003 with injuries , and Johnson unexpectedly found himself in the starting lineup . He took full advantage of his opportunity , rushing for 957 yards and 9 touchdowns , while adding another 146 yards on 21 receptions in just 9 games . After Dillon was traded to the New England Patriots after the 2003 season , Rudi Johnson was named the starter . He did not disappoint , starting every game and setting a franchise rushing record with 1 , 454 yards . He also scored 12 touchdowns and was named to the AFC Pro Bowl squad . Johnson was a major contributor in 2005 season , in which the Bengals reached the playoffs for the first time in 15 years . Johnson remained the starter as a punishing runner providing the running game needed to complement quarterback Carson Palmer and wide receiver Chad Johnson ( Ochocinco ) . Chris Perry , former University of Michigan running back , joined the backfield as the Bengals ' first round pick in the 2004 NFL draft . By the end of the season , the Bengals finished with an 11 - 5 record , the team ' s first winning season since 1990 . Johnson broke his own franchise record with 1 , 458 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns while also recording a career high 23 receptions for 90 yards . However , during the 2007 season , Johnson missed five games to injury , and he had only one game in which he rushed for over 100 yards . He finished with 497 yards on 170 carries for 3 touchdowns . In August 2008 , it was reported that the Bengals were interested in trading Johnson for a " top receiver " to shore up their battered receiving corps , which would leave Chris Perry as the new feature back and either Kenny Watson or DeDe Dorsey as his backup . Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis denied any trade talks involving Rudi Johnson . " It ' s a rumor , " he stated . However on August 27 , Johnson stated he expected to be gone " any minute . " After a trade fell through , Johnson was released by the team on August 30 during final cuts . Detroit Lions . Johnson signed a one - year deal with the Detroit Lions on September 1 , 2008 . The Lions released running back Tatum Bell to make room for Johnson . The following day Johnson accused Bell of stealing his luggage although Bell insisted " it was just an honest mistake . " Community . The Rudi Johnson Foundation was established in July 2005 . The Foundation provides assistance to families and children to promote self - sufficiency and self - reliance and incorporates several community based programs . In 2007 , James Farrior of the Pittsburgh Steelers joined the effort establishing his own Foundation to assist in this movement . The Foundation helped fund the organization of the first football team for Clark Montessouri High School in Cincinnati . The Foundation is a strong supporter of " Be The Match " , the National Bone Marrow Registry and regularly organizes and conducts donor drives to recruit minorities to the Registry .