Toussaint Tyler Toussaint L ' Ouverture Tyler ( first name pronounced " Too - San " , born March 19 , 1959 ) is a former running back in the National Football League ( NFL ) . He played with New Orleans Saints in 1981 and 1982 . Born in Barstow , California , Tyler moved to Oceanside , California where he starred as halfback at El Camino High School . After receiving a number of awards following his senior season , he was recruited to the University of Washington . With the Washington Huskies , he played mainly as a fullback . The Huskies won the 1978 Rose Bowl his freshman year , and he started for the first time in a game the following season . The back took a larger role in his junior year as the team went 10 – 2 and won a bowl game . Early in Tyler ' s final year at Washington , injuries to the Huskies ' halfbacks prompted head coach Don James to move him there from fullback . Washington finished 8 – 2 in the regular season , earning them a trip to the 1981 Rose Bowl against the Michigan Wolverines . With the score tied at zero in the first quarter , Tyler fumbled at the one - yard line ; Michigan went on to win the game 23 – 6 . The running back was drafted 222nd overall ( first in the ninth round ) by the New Orleans Saints in the 1981 NFL Draft . He played two seasons with the Saints , appearing in all 23 games over those two seasons . Before the 1983 NFL season , the Saints cut him in order to meet the limit on how many players a team may have . He then went on to a short stint with the Oakland Invaders , and then tried to make the Minnesota Vikings . He now lives in Covington , Washington , where he works as a juvenile detention officer . Early life . Born on March 19 , 1959 , Tyler was named after the 18th - century Haitian leader Toussaint Louverture . His mother was a seamstress and his father , Walter , was a boxing trainer who handled , among others , heavyweight champion Mike Weaver . The running back later said " My father tried to interest me in boxing but I wasn ' t into getting smacked in the face . " Tyler , along with two brothers and four sisters , lived in Barstow , California until he was in seventh grade . His parents then divorced and he went to live with his mother in Oceanside , California . In Oceanside , he played at El Camino High School under coach Herb Meyer . Rushing for 1 , 732 yards with an eight yards - per - carry average in his senior season , the halfback drew comparisons to fellow El Camino back C . R . Roberts . The El Camino team won the California Interscholastic Federation ( CIF ) district title in 1976 . One of six Californians named to that year ' s All - American high school football team by " Scholastic Coach " , a magazine for athletic director s and coaches , he was San Diego County ' s player of the and shared CIF ( San Diego Section ) player of the year honors with offensive tackle Curt Marsh . Both players were considered blue - chip recruits and went to the University of Washington . College career . At Washington , Tyler was converted from halfback to fullback . Because of this , Tyler needed to learn how to block , a transition in which he said he " pinched a lot of nerves and got a lot of stiff necks " . When asked during his senior year a Washington which position he prefers , Tyler responded " I love tailback , but I ' ll play any position to help our team . " Tyler finished third in a pre - season poll of sportswriters predicting the conference ' s offensive rookie of the year . In Tyler ' s freshman year , the 1977 Washington Huskies finished with nine wins and two losses in the regular season . In his first collegiate contest , Tyler rushed for 70 yards on seven carries in a victory against San Jose State University . In a game against the California Golden Bears , then ranked 17th in the AP Poll , Tyler scored a touchdown to help the team win 50 – 31 , giving them a record of 4 – 1 , tying them with two other teams for the lead in the Pacific - 10 Conference . They then won the 1978 Rose Bowl 27 – 20 over the Michigan Wolverines . The following season , Tyler started at fullback for the first time in a game against Oregon State , winless at the time , and rushed for 151 yards , including a 55 - yard fourth - quarter touchdown , to lead the Huskies to a 20 – 14 victory . In the team ' s next game , the back scored twice as Washington beat twelfth - ranked Arizona State . The Huskies finished with seven wins and four losses , missing a bowl game . Tyler averaged 5 . 5 yards a carry in the 1978 season . To begin 1979 , Washington won 38 – 2 and 41 – 7 against non - conference opponents , with Tyler scoring once in both games and averaging 8 . 2 yards per carry . In their conference opener the next week , the Huskies won on a late - fourth - quarter punt return touchdown from Mark Lee , Lee ' s first ever punt return ; Tyler gained 81 yards over 16 rushing attempts . The winning continued for two games , with Tyler scoring from three yards in both . Called " one of the Pac - 10 ' s most under - rated players " , the back now needed 65 yards to tie Credell Green for tenth on Washington ' s list of career rushing yards leaders . The now twelfth - ranked Huskies lost their next two games , to Arizona and the Pittsburgh Panthers . To conclude the season , Washington , then number 13 , upset the Texas Longhorns 14 – 7 with Tyler rushing 19 times for 70 yards . Going into his senior season , Tyler , wearing a jersey number of 45 , was the school ' s seventh leading rusher . Tyler was moved to halfback early in the season after the Huskies ' third - string halfback was injured . Washington won 50 – 7 and 45 – 7 in games against Air Force and Northwestern ; in the second game , Tyler scored from one , three , and six yards in the first quarter . After splitting their next two games , the back scored twice from nine yards to help the Huskies beat Oregon State 41 – 6 . At this point , Tyler was third in the conference with 49 points scored and fourth with 446 yards rushing . Washington then beat Stanford 27 – 24 ; during the game , Tyler injured a tendon in his right knee , leading to him being used sparsely in the final four regular season games . After a 24 – 10 loss to Navy in which head coach Don James said Washington was " embarrassed " , the Huskies were 5 – 2 ( 2 – 1 in the Pacific - 10 Conference ) and still top contenders for a Rose Bowl appearance . The Huskies proceeded to win 25 – 0 over Arizona State and 45 – 22 against the University of Arizona Wildcats , with Tyler scoring once in each game . Washington , although unranked at 7 – 2 , was leading in the race for the Pac - 10 spot in the Rose Bowl . Only four other teams in the conference were eligible for the appearance , as , in the previous August , the presidents of Pac - 10 schools had voted unanimously to disqualify half of the conference ' s members from Rose Bowl contention because of rules violations . The teams disqualified included UCLA and USC , two of the league ' s strongest teams . The next week , despite not having Tyler due to injury , Washington beat USC 20 – 10 ; this clinched a spot in Rose Bowl on New Year ' s Day . In the 1981 Rose Bowl against the Michigan Wolverines , Washington was beaten 23 – 6 . In a scoreless first quarter , it was originally ruled a touchdown when Tyler dove over a pile near the goal line . After the officials conferred , however , it was decided that Tyler had fumbled at the one - yard line , which he later admitted to . Tyler , nicknamed " Tudy " in college , was a muscular 6⅓ feet and 215 pounds . He ran the 40 - yard dash in 4 . 7 seconds , on the low end for a halfback , but Mal Florence of the " Los Angeles Times " said he was " much faster in game situations " . Professional career and later life . On the second day ( April 29 ) of the 1981 NFL Draft , the New Orleans Saints selected Tyler with the first pick of the ninth round , 222nd overall . The Saints also possessed the draft ' s first - overall pick , which they used on Heisman Trophy winner George Rogers , a halfback from the University of South Carolina . In his first training camp , Tyler wore number 42 , and was signed to a contract on June 23 . The 1981 New Orleans Saints finished with four wins and 12 losses , and Tyler played in all 16 games but started none . The former Washington Husky accumulated 183 yards rushing on 36 carries as well as 23 receptions . He fumbled four times overall . In the nine - game 1982 NFL season , the Saints went 4 – 5 . Tyler played all nine games , but again did not start any . On August 29 , 1983 , the Saints cut Tyler , along with five other players , in order to reach the 49 - man roster limit . After a short stint with the Oakland Invaders of the United States Football League , Tyler attempted to earn a spot on the Minnesota Vikings but was waived during training camp . Tyler now lives in Covington , Washington , working as a juvenile detention officer for King County . When Marsh , Tyler ' s former Huskies teammate and co - CIF player of the year honoree , had his ankle amputated , Tyler spent two days at his bedside .