Darren McFadden Headed to the College Football Hall of Fame

Darren McFadden Headed to the College Football Hall of Fame

Former Arkansas running back Darren McFadden has been selected for the National Football Foundation (NFF) College Football Hall of Fame class of 2019.

McFadden is the 20th Razorback to earn a spot in the Hall of Fame, and the first chosen for his University of Arkansas career since Ronnie Caveness in 2010.

“Growing up in Arkansas, my dream was to play for the Arkansas Razorbacks,” McFadden said. “To be able to do that and now to be recognized with induction into the College Football Hall of Fame is something I couldn’t have imagined.”

McFadden, one of the most decorated players in Arkansas history, is a two-time runner up for the Heisman Trophy and was named the 2007 Player of the Year by the Walter Camp Foundation and The Sporting News. He’s won the Doak Walker Award twice, accumulated 25 first-team All-America honors and is a two-time SEC Offensive Player of the Year.

McFadden is the only Razorback in the history of the program to win multiple national awards throughout his career. He’s second on the SEC career rushing list, with 4,590 yards and an average of 120.8 yards per game during his three-year career. He is one of just three players in the history of the SEC to rush 1,000 yards in his freshman, sophomore and junior seasons.

In 2008, after his college career, McFadden was selected fourth overall in the NFL Draft by the Oakland Raiders. He spent 10 seasons playing for the Oakland Raiders and Dallas Cowboys.

In November 2017, he announced his retirement after 10 seasons in the NFL. McFadden reportedly still lives in the Dallas area today. He made headlines in January after he was arrested and charged with a DWI after falling asleep in the drive-thru lane of a Dallas Whataburger.

A spokesperson for the McKinney Police Department told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that officers were called to the fast food restaurant by employees, who told them that McFadden fell asleep behind the wheel of his vehicle.

In Texas, and many other states, drivers don’t have to actually be driving to be charged with a DWI. Drivers can be charged for just sitting behind the wheel with the intention to drive.

McFadden reportedly resisted officers and was taken to a nearby station where he was booked. He was released on bond shortly after.

McFadden and other College Football Hall of Fame inductees will be recognized at the NFF Annual Awards Dinner on December 10, 2019 in New York City.

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