| Clinton Portis was born on September 1, 1981 in | | | | passed him by that they made a mistake. After a |
| Laurel Mississippi. Portis is considered to be one of | | | | successful rookie season he was named |
| the best running backs in the game today, and | | | | Offensive Rookie of the Year by the NFL. In both |
| this has held true ever since he was playing high | | | | of his first two seasons he rushed for more than |
| school football. With size, athleticism, and speed it | | | | 1,500 yards. |
| is easy to see why Portis racks up hundreds of | | | | Before the start of the 2004 season Portis was |
| yards year in and year out. | | | | traded to the Washington Redskins. At that time |
| After a successful high school career Portis had | | | | the Redskins signed him to an 8 year contract |
| the ability to play college football at almost any | | | | worth more than $50 million. Although his game |
| school in the entire country. He decided to take | | | | fell off a bit during his first season with the |
| his game to the University of Miami where he | | | | Redskins, he still managed to rush for 1,315 yards. |
| starred from his very first day on campus. In | | | | In 2005 Portis was fully back on track, and rushed |
| fact, Portis was the first true freshman to start | | | | for 1,516 yards. With this accomplishment he |
| at running back for the Hurricanes since 1975. | | | | became one of only three players in NFL history |
| Despite a solid college career, Portis was not one | | | | to rush for more than 1,500 yards in three of his |
| of the top ranked players in the 2002 NFL Draft. | | | | first four seasons in the league. While Portis was |
| This led to him being selected with the 51st | | | | primed to have a big year in 2006, injuries slowed |
| overall pick by the Denver Broncos. While he may | | | | him down most of the way and eventually |
| not have been drafted as highly as some other | | | | sidelined him in November. |
| running backs, Portis showed all the teams that | | | | |