Mike Rozier
1984 / Round: 1 / Pick: 2 | |||||||||||||
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Michael T. Rozier (born March 1, 1961) is an American former football running back who played in the United States Football League (USFL) for two seasons and the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons from 1985 to 1991. He played college football for the Coffeyville Red Ravens before transferring to the Nebraska Cornhuskers, where he won the Heisman Trophy in 1983. Afterward, he played for the Pittsburgh Maulers and the Jacksonville Bulls of the USFL, then played for the Houston Oilers and the Atlanta Falcons of the NFL. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2006.
Early years
Rozier was born in Camden, New Jersey. He attended
College career
Rozier went largely unnoticed by most of the major college programs. His recruitment to
Rozier spent his freshman season at Coffeyville Junior College in Kansas, in order to get his grades up. In his one season with the Coffeyville Ravens, he led them to a 9–0 season in 1980, gaining 1157 yards with a gaudy 7.4 yards-per-carry average, and scored ten touchdowns.
As a sophomore in 1981, Rozier first dazzled Husker fans with a 93-yard touchdown run against Kansas State. As the season progressed, Rozier began challenging Roger Craig for the starting position, a job he would eventually win in the fall of 1982 prior to his junior year. Rozier's progress was so pronounced that the talented and established Craig moved to fullback.
During his junior season, Rozier broke Bobby Reynolds's long-standing school record for rushing yards in a single season, with 1,689 yards, and led Nebraska to a second consecutive outright Big 8 title and a 12–1 record, losing only in controversial fashion to eventual national champion Penn State. In a performance against Missouri, Rozier came off the bench in the second half to rush for 139 yards on 17 carries to lead Nebraska to a comeback victory despite suffering from a painful hip-pointer injury. Rozier finished the 1982 season a consensus All-American and finished 10th in the Heisman voting.
As a senior, Nebraska's high-octane offense was often unstoppable, averaging 52 points and 401 rushing yards per game. Rozier had a nation's best 2,486 total yards with 2,148 of those coming on the ground and twenty-nine touchdowns scored. His 7.8 yards-per-carry mark on the season stands as the third-highest mark for players with more than 214 carries in a season. Against Kansas, Rozier rushed for 230 yards in the first half and finished with 285 rushing yards total, at that time a school record. Rozier went over 200 yards in each of his last four regular-season games of the 1983 season. His senior season was capped when he was awarded the Heisman Trophy, given to the best individual player in college football and was again an All-American.
His college career would end in disappointment, losing the 1984 Orange Bowl in which Miami defeated Nebraska 31-30 for the national championship. Rozier had 138 yards on 21 carries at halftime against a Miami Hurricanes team with the second-ranked defense in football, but he had to leave in the third quarter following an ankle injury. Rozier finished the game with 147 yards on 26 carries.
College statistics
Season | Team | Rushing | Receiving | ||||||||
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Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
1980 | Attended Coffeyville Junior College | ||||||||||
1981 | Nebraska | 166 | 1,018 | 6.1 | 93 | 5 | 4 | 64 | 16.0 | 32 | 0 |
1982 | Nebraska | 268 | 1,807 | 4.1 | 62 | 15 | 6 | 46 | 7.7 | 14 | 2 |
1983 | Nebraska | 300 | 2,295 | 7.7 | 71 | 29 | 10 | 106 | 10.6 | 26 | 0 |
Career | 734 | 4,400 | 6.0 | 93 | 49 | 20 | 216 | 10.8 | 32 | 2 |
Professional career
Rozier was selected by the
He was drafted by the
In 1990, Rozier only played three games for the Oilers, rushing 10 times for a total of 42 yards, before being traded to the NFC's Atlanta Falcons, where he finished the year with 153 carries for 675 yards. His final season in the NFL came the next year with the Falcons. He completed the 1991 season with 361 yards on 96 carries, announcing his retirement during the off-season.
Rozier finished his career with a total of 1159 carries for 4462 yards, having averaged 3.8 yards per carry, and scoring 30 touchdowns.
As of the end of the 2020 season, Rozier is ranked 172nd on the NFL All-Time Rushing Yards list.
Career statistics
USFL career
Year | Team | GP | Rushing | Receiving | ||||||
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Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | |||
1984 | Pittsburgh Maulers | 14 | 223 | 792 | 3.6 | 3 | 32 | 259 | 8.1 | 0 |
1985 | Jacksonville Bulls | 18 | 320 | 1,361 | 4.3 | 12 | 50 | 366 | 7.3 | 3 |
Total | 32 | 543 | 2,153 | 4.0 | 15 | 82 | 625 | 7.6 | 3 |
NFL career
Year | Team | GP | Rushing | Receiving | ||||||||
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Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | |||
1985 | HOU | 14 | 133 | 462 | 3.5 | 30 | 8 | 9 | 96 | 10.7 | 52 | 0 |
1986 | HOU | 13 | 199 | 662 | 3.3 | 19 | 4 | 24 | 180 | 7.5 | 23 | 0 |
1987 | HOU | 11 | 229 | 957 | 4.2 | 41 | 3 | 27 | 192 | 7.1 | 27 | 0 |
1988 | HOU | 15 | 251 | 1,002 | 4.0 | 28 | 10 | 11 | 99 | 9.0 | 18 | 1 |
1989 | HOU | 12 | 88 | 301 | 3.4 | 17 | 2 | 4 | 28 | 7.0 | 8 | 0 |
1990 | HOU | 3 | 10 | 42 | 4.2 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 46 | 9.2 | 24 | 0 |
ATL | 13 | 153 | 675 | 4.4 | 67 | 3 | 8 | 59 | 7.4 | 24 | 0 | |
1991 | ATL | 11 | 96 | 361 | 3.8 | 19 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 7.5 | 20 | 0 |
Total | 92 | 1,159 | 4,462 | 3.8 | 67 | 30 | 90 | 715 | 7.5 | 52 | 1 |
Personal life
Mike has been married to his wife Rochelle, an attorney, since 2005. They reside in the Sicklerville section of Winslow Township, New Jersey and together they have one son, Michael Guy Pacheco Rozier.[2] He has two other children, Amber and JaMichael Rozier, who reside in Houston, Texas.
In 1996, he was shot in his hometown of Camden, New Jersey.[3]
This article needs to be updated.(August 2021) |
Rozier, along with his wife and three other family members, appeared on the October 22, 2018 episode of Family Feud.[4]
See also
- List of NCAA Division I FBS players with at least 50 career rushing touchdowns
- List of NCAA major college football yearly rushing leaders
- List of NCAA major college football yearly scoring leaders
References
- ^ "1984 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
- ^ Anastasia, Phil. "Former Woodrow Wilson football star Mike Rozier: Old school as ever", The Philadelphia Inquirer, February 9, 2018. Accessed December 8, 2023. "Rozier lives in Sicklerville with his wife, Rochelle, an attorney, and their teenage son, Michael."
- ^ Herbert Lowe", Rozier, Wounds Healing, Glad To Join The Heisman Scene", The Philadelphia Inquirer (December 15, 1996). Retrieved September 24, 2011. "As Mike Rozier readily autographed footballs and miniature helmets in the lobby of the Downtown Athletic Club yesterday, a woman looked at the bandage on his right hand and asked, 'What happened to you?' 'I got shot,' the 1983 Heisman Trophy winner—who set rushing records at the University of Nebraska and at Woodrow Wilson High School in Camden—said matter-of-factly."
- ^ Biancolli, Amy (October 21, 2013). "Albany couple to appear Tuesday on 'Family Feud'". Albany Times-Union. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
External links
- Mike Rozier at the College Football Hall of Fame
- Mike Rozier at Heisman.com
- Career statistics and player information from NFL.com · Pro Football Reference