Ciatrick Fason
Encyclopedia
Ciatrick Antione Fason is a former American college and professional football
player who was a running back
in the National Football League
(NFL) for two seasons in the early 2000s. Fason played college football
for the University of Florida
, and thereafter, he played professionally for the Minnesota Vikings
of the NFL.
. He attended Duncan U. Fletcher High School
in Neptune Beach, Florida
, and he was a star running back and four-time most valuable player for the Fletcher Senators high school
football team. He rushed for over 7,400 career yards—twice for over 2,000 yards in a season—and finished his high school career as Florida's fifth all-time leading rusher and tops in Northeast Florida history. Parade
magazine and PrepStar recognized Fason as a high school All-American in 2001. Rated as a five-star recruit by Rivals.com
, Fason was listed as the top running back prospect in the nation in 2002.
to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida
, where he played for coach Ron Zook
's Florida Gators football
team from 2002
to 2004
. As a sophomore in 2003
, he had a 75-yard touchdown run against the Arkansas Razorbacks
and rushed for 190 yards against the South Carolina Gamecocks
. During his junior season in 2004, Fason was named a team captain
, and rushed for 1,267 yards on 222 carries and caught thirty-five passes for 266 yards—a total of 1,533 offensive yards (fourth best in Gators history). After the season, he was recognized as an Associated Press
first-team All-Southeastern Conference
(SEC) selection and a CNN
-Sports Illustrated
honorable mention All-American, and was the recipient of the Gators' most valuable player award and their Fergie Ferguson Award—recognizing the team member who "displayed outstanding leadership, character and courage." After his junior year, he decided to forgo his final season of NCAA eligibility and declared for the NFL Draft
.
, and he played for the Vikings for two seasons in and . During his two years with the Vikings, he appeared in eighteen regular season games, rushing for 161 yards and five touchdowns on fifty carries. On August 31, 2007, the Vikings released him.
. He wrote a letter to Jaguars GM
James Harris asking if he could at least try out. Fason stated in a press conference, "No matter what I did in my NFL career, I just wanted to wear a Jaguars' uniform, even if it was just for a tryout." On August 25, 2008, Fason was signed by the Jaguars; on August 30, he was released.
on April 24, 2009. He was released on June 25, 2009, re-signed on July 5, and released again on August 25.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player who was a running back
Running back
A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
(NFL) for two seasons in the early 2000s. Fason played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
for the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
, and thereafter, he played professionally for the Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
of the NFL.
Early years
Fason was born in Atlanta, GeorgiaAtlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
. He attended Duncan U. Fletcher High School
Duncan U. Fletcher High School
Duncan U. Fletcher High School is a public high school in the Duval County School District, located in Neptune Beach, Florida.-History:Former Jacksonville Mayor and U.S. Senator Duncan U. Fletcher obtained a federal grant to build the school which bears his name. It opened September 20, 1937 for...
in Neptune Beach, Florida
Neptune Beach, Florida
Neptune Beach is a beachfront city in Duval County, Florida, United States, located to the east of Jacksonville. When the majority of communities in Duval County consolidated with the city of Jacksonville in 1968, Neptune Beach, along with Jacksonville Beach, Atlantic Beach, and Baldwin, remained...
, and he was a star running back and four-time most valuable player for the Fletcher Senators high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
football team. He rushed for over 7,400 career yards—twice for over 2,000 yards in a season—and finished his high school career as Florida's fifth all-time leading rusher and tops in Northeast Florida history. Parade
Parade (magazine)
Parade is an American nationwide Sunday newspaper magazine, distributed in more than 500 newspapers in the United States. It was founded in 1941 and is owned by Advance Publications. The most widely read magazine in the U.S., Parade has a circulation of 32.2 million and a readership of nearly 70...
magazine and PrepStar recognized Fason as a high school All-American in 2001. Rated as a five-star recruit by Rivals.com
Rivals.com
Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting. The network was started in 1996 and currently employs more than 300 personnel.-Schools:The individual collegiate sites can be found...
, Fason was listed as the top running back prospect in the nation in 2002.
College career
Fason received an athletic scholarshipAthletic scholarship
An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university awarded to an individual based predominantly on his or her ability to play in a sport...
to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
, where he played for coach Ron Zook
Ron Zook
Ron Zook is a former American football coach and former player. He served as the head football coach at the University of Florida from 2002 to 2004 and at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign from 2005 to 2011. Zook is a native of Ohio and an alumnus of Miami University, where he...
's Florida Gators football
Florida Gators football
The Florida Gators football team represents the University of Florida in the sport of American football. The Florida Gators compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletics Association and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference...
team from 2002
2002 Florida Gators football team
The 2002 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida in the sport of American football during the 2002 college football season...
to 2004
2004 Florida Gators football team
The 2004 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida in the sport of American football during the 2004 college football season...
. As a sophomore in 2003
2003 Florida Gators football team
The 2003 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida in the sport of American football during the 2003 college football season...
, he had a 75-yard touchdown run against the Arkansas Razorbacks
Arkansas Razorbacks football
The Arkansas Razorbacks football program is a college football team that represents the University of Arkansas. The team is a member of the Southeastern Conference's Western Division, which is in Division I's Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association...
and rushed for 190 yards against the South Carolina Gamecocks
South Carolina Gamecocks football
The South Carolina Gamecocks football team represents the University of South Carolina in NCAA Division I college football. The Gamecocks have been a member of the Southeastern Conference since 1992. Steve Spurrier is the current head coach, and the team plays its home games at Williams-Brice...
. During his junior season in 2004, Fason was named a team captain
Captain (sports)
In team sports, a captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field...
, and rushed for 1,267 yards on 222 carries and caught thirty-five passes for 266 yards—a total of 1,533 offensive yards (fourth best in Gators history). After the season, he was recognized as an Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
first-team All-Southeastern Conference
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...
(SEC) selection and a CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
-Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
honorable mention All-American, and was the recipient of the Gators' most valuable player award and their Fergie Ferguson Award—recognizing the team member who "displayed outstanding leadership, character and courage." After his junior year, he decided to forgo his final season of NCAA eligibility and declared for the NFL Draft
NFL Draft
The National Football League Draft is an annual event in which the National Football League teams select eligible college football players and it is their most common source of player recruitment. The basic design of the draft is each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order...
.
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings selected Fason in the fourth round (112th pick overall) of the 2005 NFL Draft2005 NFL Draft
The 2005 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 23–24, 2005. The league also held an supplemental draft that year, which was held after...
, and he played for the Vikings for two seasons in and . During his two years with the Vikings, he appeared in eighteen regular season games, rushing for 161 yards and five touchdowns on fifty carries. On August 31, 2007, the Vikings released him.
Jacksonville Jaguars
In 2008, Fason worked out for his hometown Jacksonville JaguarsJacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. He wrote a letter to Jaguars GM
General manager
General manager is a descriptive term for certain executives in a business operation. It is also a formal title held by some business executives, most commonly in the hospitality industry.-Generic usage:...
James Harris asking if he could at least try out. Fason stated in a press conference, "No matter what I did in my NFL career, I just wanted to wear a Jaguars' uniform, even if it was just for a tryout." On August 25, 2008, Fason was signed by the Jaguars; on August 30, he was released.
Edmonton Eskimos
Fason was signed by the Edmonton EskimosEdmonton Eskimos
The Edmonton Eskimos are a Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. They currently play in the West Division of the Canadian Football League . Edmonton is currently the third-youngest franchise in the CFL, although there were clubs with the name Edmonton Eskimos as early as 1895...
on April 24, 2009. He was released on June 25, 2009, re-signed on July 5, and released again on August 25.
See also
- Florida GatorsFlorida GatorsThe Florida Gators are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida. The "Lady Gators" is an alternative nickname sometimes used by the Gators women's teams...
- History of the Minnesota VikingsHistory of the Minnesota VikingsThis article details the history of the Minnesota Vikings, an American football club of the National Football League .-Origins:Professional football history in the Twin Cities began with the Minneapolis Marines/Red Jackets, an NFL team that played intermittently in the 1920s and 1930s...
- List of Florida Gators football players