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Austin Ekeler

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Austin Ekeler

Austin Ekeler (/ˈɛklər/ EHK-ler; born May 17, 1995) is an American professional football running back for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Western Colorado Mountaineers, finishing as their all-time leader in rushing yards before signing with the Los Angeles Chargers as an undrafted free agent in 2017. With the Chargers, Ekeler led the NFL in touchdowns for the 2021 and 2022 seasons.

Ekeler was born on May 17, 1995, in Lincoln, Nebraska, and attended Eaton High School in Eaton, Colorado, where he played high school football. He was a four-year letterer and starter for the Fightin' Reds; despite being only 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) as a freshman, Ekeler rushed for 454 yards and 8 touchdowns on 70 carries. By the end of his career, Ekeler amassed 5,232 rushing yards and 71 touchdowns (39 of which came from his senior year alone) on 561 carries, averaging 9.15 yards-per-carry, with another 581 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns.

Despite this performance, Ekeler was a zero-star recruit who saw little interest from any Division I school. Wyoming recruited him but never offered him a scholarship, and his only scholarship offers came from Adams State, Chadron State, Oklahoma Panhandle State, and Western Colorado. However, the first three universities wanted to switch him to the defensive side of the ball; Western Colorado was the only school to offer him at the tailback position.

Ekeler attended and played college football at Western Colorado from 2013 to 2016 and is their all-time leader in rushing yards.

As a freshman, Ekeler started nine games. He led the team with 1,049 rushing yards to go along with seven rushing touchdowns. As a sophomore, he had 14 rushing touchdowns and set school records with 1,676 rushing yards, 2,093 total all-purpose yards, and 190.3 all-purpose yards per game. As a junior, he had 19 rushing touchdowns and led Division II in all-purpose yards per game with 203.9 and scoring, averaging 12.6 points per game. As a senior, he had 1,495 rushing yards and 15 rushing touchdowns.

Ekeler signed a three-year, $1.66 million contract that includes a $5,000 signing bonus with the Los Angeles Chargers as an undrafted free agent following the 2017 NFL draft.

In the season opening 24–21 loss to the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football, Ekeler had two receptions for 18 yards in his NFL debut. In Week 4, against the Philadelphia Eagles, he had his first career touchdown, a 35-yard rush, on his first NFL carry. On November 12, against the Jacksonville Jaguars, he had 10 carries for 42 yards to go along with five receptions for 77 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Overall, he finished his rookie season with 260 rushing yards, two rushing touchdowns, 27 receptions, 279 receiving yards, and three receiving touchdowns.

In the 2018 season opener against the Kansas City Chiefs, Ekeler had 39 rushing yards to go along with five receptions for 87 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown in the 38–28 loss. He scored a receiving touchdown in Weeks 4 and 5 against the San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders. In Week 14, against the Cincinnati Bengals, he aggravated a neck injury, which sidelined him for two games. He returned for the regular season finale against the Broncos and scored a rushing touchdown.

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