Darren Sproles Darren Lee Sproles ( born June 20 , 1983 ) is an American football running back for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League ( NFL ) . He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the fourth round of the 2005 NFL Draft . He played college football at Kansas State . Sproles was named as a kick returner on the Chargers 50th Anniversary Team . He joined the New Orleans Saints in free agency before the 2011 season , and broke the NFL record for most single - season all - purpose yardage the same year , with 2 , 696 yards . During that season he set career highs with 603 yards rushing ( 6 . 9 yards per carry ) and 710 yards receiving and a combined total of 9 touchdowns . Sproles is the first player in NFL history with 2 , 200 + all purpose yards in 4 different seasons ( 2008 - 2011 ) . Early years . Darren Sproles attended Rolling Ridge Elementary , then Oregon Trail Junior High , followed by Olathe North High School , all in Olathe , Kansas . He has been conquering a speech impediment he has had since childhood . Sproles was a star in football , earning the name " Tank , " after being born at . For two consecutive years , he was an All - Sunflower League honoree , All - Metro honoree , and an All - State selection . Additionally , he was twice named " The Kansas City Star " Player of the Year . As a senior , he was named the Kansas Hall of Fame Player of the Year and the " USA Today " Kansas Player of the Year . Throughout his high school career , Sproles rushed for 5 , 230 yards , averaging nearly 8 . 4 yards per carry and 79 touchdowns . He was a High school All - American as selected by Student Sports Magazine . He was also the winner of Thomas A . Simone Trophy , given to the top big - class football player in Kansas City metro area . In 1999 , he rushed for 2 , 031 yards in nine games as a junior . In his senior year of 2000 , Sproles rushed for 2 , 485 yards , scoring 49 touchdowns . He led his Olathe North Eagles to a 12 – 0 record and their fourth Kansas 6A state title in five years . Track and field . Sproles was also a track star at Olathe ( KS ) North . He finished 2nd in the state in the 200 meters as a junior , with a time of 21 . 6 seconds . He also placed 4th at Class 6A States in 100 meters , with a time of 10 . 93 seconds , and 3rd in the 200 meters , with a time of 22 . 04 seconds . His personal bests are 10 . 6 seconds in the 100 meters and 21 . 6 seconds in the 200 meters . College career . Sproles played college football at Kansas State University from 2001 to 2004 , starting all games in his last two seasons and setting 23 school records . He finished 11th on the all - time college rushing yards list , with the 6th most all - purpose yards in NCAA history . He led all FBS teams in rushing yards in 2003 with 1 , 986 . He also led Kansas State University to its first Big 12 Conference championship in 2003 , a win over # 1 ranked Oklahoma , 35 – 7 . That same year he finished 5th in the Heisman Trophy voting . He graduated with a degree in speech pathology . Professional career . San Diego Chargers . Sproles was drafted by the Chargers 130th overall in the fourth round of the 2005 NFL Draft . He spent the 2005 season as the third string running back , behind LaDainian Tomlinson and Michael Turner , returning kicks and punts . He then spent the entire 2006 season on injured reserve list after breaking his ankle during the preseason . 2007 . On November 11 , 2007 , in the Chargers ' 23 - 21 upset over the Indianapolis Colts , Sproles made history by returning a kickoff and a punt for his first two NFL touchdowns — the first player in league history ever to do so . He returned the opening kickoff 89 yards for the game ' s first score . After Nate Kaeding ' s field goal increased the Chargers ' lead to 10 - 0 , Sproles returned a Hunter Smith punt 46 yards for another touchdown for a 16 - 0 lead . Sproles became the first NFL player to return a kickoff and a punt for a touchdown in the same game since Dante Hall did so in 2003 . On December 16 , 2007 , Sproles ran one yard for his first career rushing touchdown against the Detroit Lions . This was followed by an 11 yard run for his second rushing touchdown , capping off his first 100 + yard rushing game . 2008 . On September 14 , 2008 , Sproles became just the second player in NFL history with 50 rushing yards , 50 receiving yards , and 100 return yards in one game ( the other being Gale Sayers with the Chicago Bears ) . His stats for the game included : 53 rushing yards , 72 receiving yards , and 192 return yards . Sproles logged 317 all - purpose yards in a 39 - 38 loss to the Denver Broncos . He also had a 103 yard touchdown return . On January 3 , 2009 , during an AFC Wild card game against the Indianapolis Colts , Sproles ran for two touchdowns in place of the injured LaDainian Tomlinson , including the game - winning touchdown in overtime to beat the Colts 23 - 17 . With 105 yards rushing , 45 yards receiving and 178 return yards , Sproles finished the game with 328 all - purpose yards in the Chargers victory over the Colts , the third most all - purpose yards by a player in a single NFL post - season game in NFL history . He was named the NBC Sunday Night Football " Horse Trailer Player of the Game " for the second consecutive week . The week following however , Sproles was stopped by the Pittsburgh Steelers . He managed only 15 yards on 11 carries , but did have 5 receptions for 91 yards including a 62 - yard touchdown . 2009 - 2010 . On February 18 , 2009 , the Chargers placed their franchise tag on Sproles . He signed the tender on April 28 , 2009 , which is worth $ 6 . 621 million . On March 4 , 2010 it was reported that the Chargers will tender Sproles a contract , which will be worth approximately $ 7 . 3 million . Another team would have to give the Chargers first - and third - round draft picks if they signed Sproles . New Orleans Saints . 2011 - 2013 . On July 29 , 2011 , Sproles signed a four year contract worth $ 14 million with the New Orleans Saints . The contract included $ 6 million in guaranteed money . On September 8 , during a game against the Green Bay Packers , Sproles returned a punt 72 yards for a touchdown during the second quarter , and returned a second punt for just 20 yards ; he also had 2 kick - off returns for 83 yards , including a 57 - yard return . That gave Sproles 175 yards of returning on special teams , and on offense , he had 7 receptions for 75 yards , along with just 2 carries for 7 yards , and that gave him 257 all - purpose yards . On September 25 , during a game against the Houston Texans , Sproles had 193 all - purpose yards ( 108 special teams yards and 85 offensive yards ) , with 6 receptions for 50 yards , 2 carries for 35 yards , including a 30 - yard TD run , and on special teams , had only 1 punt return for 5 yards , but also had 4 kick - off returns for 103 yards . On October 23 , during a game against the Indianapolis Colts , Darren Sproles had 190 all - purpose yards with 2 touchdowns . On special teams , he had 6 returns for 83 yards ( 4 punt returns for 27 yards and 2 kick - off returns for 56 yards ) , and also had 29 - yard return kick - off return . On offense , he had 12 carries for 88 yards with a 16 - yard touchdown run , and 6 receptions for 19 yards with a 6 - yard touchdown pass . During this game , Sproles broke over 1 , 000 all - purpose yards mark . On December 26 , 2011 , during a game against the Atlanta Falcons , Sproles had 236 all - purpose yards . On special teams , he had 4 kick - off returns for 147 yards , including a 92 - yard return in which he almost returned the football to the house , and on offense , he had just 89 yards of total offense , with 5 carries for 67 yards , 2 receptions for 22 yards but with a 9 - yard touchdown pass from Drew Brees . This last - play touchdown pass in the 4th quarter helped Drew Brees break the single season record for passing yards ( 5 , 084 ) , held by Dan Marino since 1984 / That pass gave Brees 5 , 087 yards for the 2011 regular season with one game remaining . On January 1 , during the last game against the Carolina Panthers , Sproles had 168 all - purpose yards , in which he had 5 returns for 99 yards ( 2 kick - off returns for 45 yards and 3 punt returns for 54 yards ) on special teams , and on offense , had just 6 carries for 40 yards and 5 receptions for 29 yards , but with a 9 - yard touchdown pass from Drew Brees in the 4th quarter . During this huge game against the Panthers , multiple Saints broke records for the 2011 season . Sproles broke the NFL record for all - purpose yards in a season ( 2 , 696 ) on an 8 - yard run , while Drew Brees broke Peyton Manning ' s pass completions , with Brees completing 468 passes , and broke his own record , completing 71 . 6 % of his passes . Tight end Jimmy Graham finished the regular season with 1 , 310 receiving yards , having 97 receiving yards with a 19 - yard touchdown pass in the game , but the record would later be broken by the Patriots ' Rob Gronkowski later in the week . Sproles broke over 1000 all - purpose yards in only his seventh game as a Saint . Maintaining an average of 168 . 5 all purpose yards per game Sproles finished the 2011 season with 2 , 696 all - purpose yards , breaking the NFL single - season record , previously set in 2000 by Derrick Mason ( 2 , 690 yards ) . On November 2 , 2012 , Saints interim head coach Joe Vitt announced that Sproles will be out indefinitely due to a fractured hand . Philadelphia Eagles . 2014 . On March 13 , 2014 , Sproles was acquired by the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for a 2014 5th - round draft pick . Drew Bree ' s quoted after the trade that you only see a Darren Sproles type of player come around once in your career or even life . Personal . Sproles ' father Larry played running back at MidAmerica Nazarene University . Larry was His mother Annette died of cancer in April 2004 . Sproles married his longtime girlfriend , Michel Hunt , on June 12 , 2010 . The couple has a daughter , Devyn . Sproles is known by the nickname " Lightning Bug " due to his speed , agility , short stature and the fact the Chargers uniform is adorned with lightning bolts . Sproles ' nickname in New Orleans is " noseeum " , after a tiny local insect that is too small to see but still has a mean bite . Sproles maintains his offseason home in San Diego .