Curtis Brinkley Curtis Brinkley ( born September 20 , 1985 ) is an American football running back for the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League . He was signed by the Chargers as an undrafted free agent in 2009 . He played college football at Syracuse . Early years . Brinkley was born on September 20 , 1985 in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania . He attended both West Catholic High School and Hargrave Military Academy . During his career he set Philadelphia city records with 1 , 007 carries and rushing for 300 yards five times . As a senior he was named all - city along with rushing for 2 , 813 yards . He finished his high school career with 7 , 429 yards and scoring 85 touchdowns in four years . Those stats broke the record of current Chicago Bears running back Kevin Jones . In 2004 , at Hargrave he faced competition from Robert Barcliff and Andre Brown . During his time in high school , Brinkley was nicknamed " Boonah " . Brinkley was the MVP of the 2004 Big 33 game . College career . Entering college , Brinkley was named a " PrepStar All - American " and was rated as the 12th best running back by " Rivals . com " . On October 6 , 2005 , against Florida State saw playing time as a kick returner . As a senior , Brinkley ran for 1 , 165 rushing yards and scored 14 touchdowns with 237 carries . Professional career . San Diego Chargers . After going unselected in the 2009 NFL Draft , Brinkley was signed by the San Diego Chargers as an undrafted free agent . He was waived on September 4 , 2010 , but was re - signed the following day to the practice squad . He was promoted to the active roster on September 25 , only to be waived on September 28 and re - signed to the practice squad on October 1 . The Chargers promoted him to the active roster again on November 22 . Brinkley was waived on December 16 and re - signed to the practice squad on December 19 . However , he was promoted to the active roster again on December 31 , where he finished the season . The following season , he was waived during final cuts again and was later re - signed to the practice squad on September 12 , 2011 . On September 15 , he was released , only to be re - added to the practice squad on September 17 . The Chargers released him again a week later , but again re - signed him on September 28 . Brinkley was promoted to the active roster on October 22 . Brinkley scored his first career touchdown on October 31 , 2011 in a Monday Night Football game at Kansas City . He totaled 43 yards on 10 carries , reaching the end zone on a 2 - yard score . However , Brinkley was diagnosed with a concussion after the game . Shooting . On July 10 , 2009 , Brinkley was shot multiple times by an unknown gunman while his car was stopped in the Philadelphia suburb of Cheltenham Township . After the shooting , Anthony Peterson Jr . , 25 , the boyfriend of Brinkley ' s sister , admitted to firing the shots , which were intended for a romantic rival . Peterson was convicted of one count each of attempted murder and aggravated assault , both first - degree felonies , and sentenced to seven to 14 years in state prison . Following the shooting , Brinkley was taken to Albert Einstein Medical Center and was listed in stable condition . His shooting makes it the third time in six years a Chargers player was shot , Terrence Kiel was shot in 2003 and Steve Foley was shot in 2006 .