Marshall Faulk Marshall William Faulk ( born February 26 , 1973 ) is a Hall of Fame professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League ( NFL ) for twelve seasons . He played college football for San Diego State University , and was a three - time All - American . He was selected by the Indianapolis Colts as the second overall pick in the 1994 NFL Draft , and he also played professionally for the NFL ' s St . Louis Rams . Faulk is one of only three NFL players ( Marcus Allen and Tiki Barber being the others ) to reach at least 10 , 000 rushing yards and 5 , 000 receiving yards ; he is the only one to amass 12 , 000 yards rushing and 6 , 000 yards receiving . He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011 . He is currently a pro football analyst for " NFL Total Access " , " Thursday Night Football " , and " NFL GameDay Morning " on the NFL Network . Early years . Faulk was born and raised in New Orleans , Louisiana . He attended Carver High School in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans , where he played for the Carver Rams high school football team . College career . Faulk received an athletic scholarship to attend San Diego State University , and played as a running back for the San Diego State Aztecs football team . In one of the most prolific performances of his entire career , he ran all over the University of the Pacific in just his second collegiate game on September 14 , 1991 . In 37 carries , he racked up 386 yards and scored seven touchdowns , both records for freshmen ( the 386 yards were a then - NCAA record ) . " Faulk had scoring runs of 61 , 7 , 47 , 9 , 5 , 8 and 25 yards . " That performance sparked one of the greatest freshman seasons in NCAA history , gaining 1 , 429 yards rushing , with 23 total touchdowns ( 21 rushing ) , and 140 points scored . Faulk went on to better 1600 yards rushing in his sophomore year . In Faulk ' s junior season in 1993 , he was finally able to showcase his all - purpose ability by catching 47 passes for 640 yards and 3 TDs to go with 1530 yards and 21 TDs on the ground . These numbers put Faulk 3rd in the nation in all - purpose yardage that year , and 2nd in scoring . Faulk left San Diego State University with many of the school ' s offensive records , among them 5 , 562 all - purpose yards and 62 career touchdowns , which is the 8th most in NCAA history . After his 1992 season at SDSU , Faulk finished second in the Heisman Trophy award voting , losing to quarterback Gino Torretta in what was considered a notable snub in the history of the award : Torretta ' s 1992 Miami Hurricanes football team had gone undefeated in the regular season and was ranked No . 1 in the country before the Heisman balloting , Faulk ' s team finished with a middling 5 - 5 - 1 record , continuing a trend of the Heisman going to the most notable player on one of the nation ' s best teams . ESPN analyst Lee Corso led a campaign supporting Torretta for the Heisman and left Marshall Faulk off of his ballot . He was a Heisman finalist as well in 1991 ( 9th ) and 1993 ( 4th ) . Professional career . 1994 NFL Draft . Along with defensive tackle Dan Wilkinson and quarterbacks Heath Shuler and Trent Dilfer , Faulk was regarded as " one of the four players who rank well above the others in this draft " . On March 31 , he ran a 4 . 35 forty - yard time at the San Diego State Pro Day . The Bengals held the No . 1 pick in the 1994 NFL Draft , and contemplated combining their heavy - duty runner Harold Green with the explosive Faulk , but eventually picked Wilkinson , leaving Faulk for the Indianapolis Colts Indianapolis Colts ( 1994 – 1998 ) . Faulk was drafted 2nd overall in the 1994 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts , who were in desperate need of a running game . On July 25 , 1994 , Faulk signed a seven - year $ 17 . 2 million contract and received a $ 5 . 1 million signing bonus . Faulk responded by rushing for 1 , 282 yards , 11 touchdowns , and one receiving touchdown . The Colts improved to 8 - 8 . Marshall Faulk , later that season , would become the first NFL player to win both the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award and the Pro Bowl ’ s Most Valuable Player Award in the same season . He was also the first rookie to win Pro Bowl MVP . The next season Faulk rushed for 1 , 078 yards and 14 total touchdowns . The Colts made the postseason , going 9 - 7 , and narrowly missed the Super Bowl after a close loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship Game which Faulk missed due to a nagging toe injury . The next year was a miserable one for Faulk . Because of a toe injury he suffered earlier in the season , he rushed for only 587 yards , with a 3 yards - per - carry average . He recovered from the injury and rushed for 1 , 000 + yards in each of the next two seasons , setting a new personal high with 1 , 319 in 1998 . He also caught 86 passes for 906 yards that year and was the NFL ' s leader in total yards from scrimmage with an astounding 2 , 227 , beating out Denver ' s MVP running back Terrell Davis by 2 yards , while also finishing 4th in the league in receptions . It would also be the first of an NFL - record 4 consecutive 2 , 000 + total - yard seasons . St . Louis Rams ( 1999 – 2006 ) . Faulk was traded to the St . Louis Rams the following season due to problems he referred to as " misunderstandings . " Faulk had missed practices and was considered holding out for a new contract . Colts president Bill Polian did not want his young team ' s chemistry damaged , so he traded Faulk for second - and fifth - round picks in the upcoming draft ( used to draft LB Mike Peterson and DE Brad Scioli ) . The Colts moved on at the position , drafting Edgerrin James in the first round . Faulk held out for twelve days as the details of his contract were worked out . On August 4 , 1999 , Faulk signed a seven - year , $ 45 . 2 million contract with the Rams , which was the biggest deal in team history at the time . In it Faulk was guaranteed $ 9 . 6 million including a $ 7 - million signing bonus . The problem in negotiations was the proposed fifth year , in which Faulk would get $ 7 million in salary and a $ 5 - million roster bonus . The deal was structured to prevent Faulk from ever being tagged a transition or franchise player . In his first year in St . Louis , Faulk was the catalyst for " The Greatest Show on Turf " , a nickname given to coordinator Mike Martz ' s aggressive Coryell - style offense . In this offense he put up some of the best all - purpose numbers in the history of the NFL . Faulk ' s patience and diligence in learning the Rams ' offense paid off when he totaled an NFL record 2 , 429 yards from scrimmage , eclipsing Barry Sanders ' s record of 2 , 358 yards set in 1997 ( which has since been broken by Chris Johnson in 2009 ) . With 1 , 381 yards rushing ( 5 . 5 yards - per - carry average ) , 1 , 048 receiving yards , and scoring 12 touchdowns , Faulk joined Roger Craig as the only men to total 1 , 000 + yards in each category in a season . He also broke the NFL season record for most receiving yards by a running back , previously held by Lionel James . The Rams eventually went on to win Super Bowl XXXIV . In the game , Faulk was contained on the ground by Tennessee Titans head coach Jeff Fisher ' s defensive scheme , limiting him to just 17 rushing yards . This was perhaps due to the Titans ' inability to stop the Rams ' passing game , of which Faulk was a major part , recording 5 receptions for 90 yards . His 90 receiving yards were the second highest total by a running back in Super Bowl history . At the end of the season , he received the NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award and was a starter for the NFC squad in the 1999 Pro Bowl . The following year , Faulk became the first running back in NFL history to lead his team in receptions five separate seasons ( three in Indianapolis and twice in St . Louis ) . In addition , he was the NFL MVP and again the Offensive Player of the Year in 2000 . He had 1 , 359 yards rushing in fourteen games and set a new NFL record with 26 total touchdowns , ( a record that would soon be broken by Priest Holmes and then later by Shaun Alexander and LaDainian Tomlinson ) , despite missing two games due to injury . He also averaged 5 + yards per carry again , this time with 5 . 4 . The Rams , however were not able to replicate the record they had the year prior . Even with the offense scoring the most points and yards during the " The Greatest Show on Turf " era , the defense gave up 470 points . The Rams returned to the Super Bowl the next year as their defense returned to form , allowing only 273 points , and the offense once again scored over 500 points , with 503 . Faulk had another excellent season , rushing 260 times for a career - high 1 , 382 yards ( 5 . 3 yards per carry ) , and catching 83 passes for 765 yards , for an NFC - leading total of 2 , 147 yards from scrimmage ( second in the NFL only to Priest Holmes , who totaled 2 , 169 yards ) and scoring 21 touchdowns despite once again missing 2 games to injuries . Faulk won , for the third year in a row , the NFL ' s Offensive Player of the Year award , but finished second in a close vote to teammate Kurt Warner in the MVP vote . These years would be the climax of Faulk ' s career . Faulk ' s injuries and age would soon catch up to him ; 2001 was the last of his 1 , 000 - yard rushing seasons , and though he was still employed as the Rams ' primary running back for several years following the 2001 season , he was no longer the player he had been in his prime , despite remaining a respected and effective player . On July 29 , 2002 , Faulk signed a new seven - year , $ 43 . 95 million contract with the Rams . Faulk was about to enter the fourth year of his 1999 contract . In this new contract Faulk received a $ 10 . 7 million signing bonus . In the 2002 season the Rams struggled and finished the year at 7 - 9 . Faulk played in 14 games and started 10 and ended with 953 yards and 80 receptions . The following season he played in and started 11 games , finishing with 818 yards and 45 receptions as the Rams rebounded with a 12 - 4 record . In 2004 Faulk split time with rookie Steven Jackson and played in 14 games and rushing for 774 yards . In February , 2005 , Faulk agreed to a restructured contract to reduce his contract cap number . He was scheduled to make about $ 7 . 5 million in 2005 . In the new contract received a total of $ 6 million in the next two seasons and a $ 2 million signing bonus was included . On July 21 , the Rams announced that Faulk would undergo reconstructive knee surgery and miss the entire 2006 NFL season . During the season Faulk served as an analyst for the NFL Network ' s " NFL Total Access " . During an NBC Sunday Night Football halftime show , Faulk was asked by one of the announcers , " So are you retired or not ? " Faulk said that he was still a Ram , and would be a Ram for the rest of his life . He then said that if the Rams would have him back , he would play next year , as he was able to run full speed on his re - built knees , however on March 26 , 2007 , Faulk announced his retirement from football . On November 29 , 2007 , the Rams announced that they would be retiring Faulk ' s number . The ceremony was during halftime of the Thursday night game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on December 20 , 2007 . In 2010 on " NFL Network presents The Top 100 : NFL ' s Greatest Players " , Faulk was voted the number 70 player of all time . In 2011 , Faulk ' s first year of eligibility , he was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame . As a running back , he placed first in receiving yards ( 6 , 875 ) , second in pass receptions ( 767 ) , second in receiving TD ' s ( 36 ) , third in yards from scrimmage ( 19 , 154 ) , and tenth in rushing yards ( 12 , 280 ) . His seven two - point conversions are an NFL record . His five games of 250 + yards from scrimmage and 14 games of 200 + yards from scrimmage are also NFL records . Marshall Faulk is the only player to have 70 + rushing touchdowns and 30 + receiving touchdowns . Post NFL career . Faulk is in his fifth season as an NFL Network analyst . He serves as an analyst on NFL Total Access , where he is relied on to provide a player ’ s perspective on today ’ s game . He also appears on Thursday Night Football ’ s Thursday Night Kickoff Presented by Sears , Sprint Halftime Show , and Kay Jewelers Postgame show . On NFL Sundays , Faulk can be seen on NFL GameDay Morning which kicks off NFL Network ’ s full coverage of the NFL on Sunday . He also was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 2011 ; he accomplished the outstanding achievement of being a first ballot hall of famer . On July 30 , 2012 , it was announced that Faulk joined the board of advisors of the reborn United States Football League , and will be involved in business operations . Faulk was inducted into the Indianapolis Colts Ring of Honor during the week 15 game against the Houston Texans on December 15 , 2013 along with Eric Dickerson , another former Colt running back . Personal life . Faulk is no longer married to Lindsay Stoudt . He has also moved the charitable foundation which is now in San Diego , California . Faulk ' s childhood friend Damian Warren helped him start his foundation . Faulk is a cousin of Kevin Faulk , a former NFL running back . The names of his kids are Marshall Faulk , Jr . , Jaden Faulk , Brooklyn Faulk , Presley Faulk , Farrah Faulk , Mahlik Faulk , Kwuan Faulk , and Hakim Faulk . In 2009 , Faulk was also inducted by the San Diego Hall of Champions into the Breitbard Hall of Fame honoring San Diego ' s finest athletes both on and off the playing surface .