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Clinton Portis
Date of birth	September 1, 1981 (age 25)
Place of birth	Laurel, Mississippi
Position(s)	Running back
College	University of Miami
NFL Draft	2002 / Round 2 / 51st Overall
Awards	2002 NFL Offensive ROY
Statistics	CBS.com DatabaseFootball
Team(s)
2002–2003 2004-Present	Denver Broncos Washington Redskins

Clinton Earl Portis (born September 1, 1981 in Laurel, Mississippi) is an American football player who currently plays running back for the Washington Redskins of the NFL.

Contents 1 College 2 Denver Broncos 3 Washington Redskins 3.1 2004 season 3.2 2005 season 3.3 2006 season 4 Trivia 5 External links

Portis starred at the University of Miami, one of the premier collegiate football programs in the nation. He became just the second true freshman to start at running back since the 1975 season. Portis set a school freshman record with five 100-yard performances, and led the team with 838 yards and eight touchdowns on 143 carries (5.9 avg.) in 10 games. He also caught four passes for 44 yards (11.0 avg.) and 2 touchdowns.

Portis' sophomore season wasn't as successful as he lost his job to James Jackson and rushed for 485 yards and two touchdowns on 77 carries (6.3 avg.) in eight games. He also added 103 yards on five receptions (20.6 avg.).

However Portis bounced back in 2001 as the Hurricanes won the National Championship and Portis had his best season rushing for 1200 yards and 10 touchdons on 220 carries (5.5 avg.). He also added 125 receiving yards on 12 receptios. In the Rose Bowl against Nebraska, Portis ran for 104 yards on 20 carries including a 38-yard touchdown.

Portis compiled 2,523 yards through three seasons to rank fourth on the Miami career rushing yards list. He also tied the Miami career record for 100-yard rushing performances with a total of 14, matching the total accumulated by Edgerrin James.

He was drafted by the Denver Broncos with the 19th pick in the second round (51st overall) of the 2002 NFL Draft. After his first season with the Broncos, Portis was named The "NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year" by the Associated Press. He rushed for over 1,500 yards in each of his first two seasons with the Broncos, and more impressive had a staggering 5+ YPC in each of his 2 seasons as a Bronco. In his second season, he was voted for the 2004 Pro Bowl.

Prior to the 2004 season, the Broncos traded Portis to the Redskins for cornerback Champ Bailey and a second-round draft pick. The Redskins signed Portis to an eight-year contract worth $50.5 million. At that time, there were criticisms regarding the trade, namely that shut-down corners like Bailey were hard to come by and that adding a second-round pick for Portis was too much and one-sided. Crtics also felt that Portis was simply a product of the Broncos' O-line scheme, and wouldn't have much success in Washington, which was usually suited to more physical, power runners (such as Stephen Davis or John Riggins).

In the 2004 season, he had to adjust to coach Joe Gibbs' style of running, which consists of mostly power running. Despite taking his first Redskins carry 64 yards for a TD in the season opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, it was a pretty rough adjustment for Portis because Denver's running style consisted of stretch runs and runs to the outside. The adjustment was made rougher by a depleted offensive line. He finished 2004 with 1,315 yards for a 3.8 yard rushing average. He had a tougher time finding the end zone, finishing with eight total touchdowns (5 rushing, 2 receiving, and one passing).

He bounced back in the 2005 season. Although Gibbs still ran a power style of football, he implemented more outside running plays into the Redskins rushing attack to better suit Portis' style of running. Portis had a much better season, proving that he can run inside as well as to the outside and was a better pass-blocker. Although he didn't get into the end zone until the fifth game of the season, he finished strong and had 12 total touchdowns (11 rushing and one passing). On a 14-yard run against the Philadelphia Eagles on January 1, 2006, he broke the Redskins' franchise record for the most rushing yards in a season with 1,516 yards and tied the most 100+ yard games in a season (5). He ended the game with 112 rushing yards. By rushing for 1,516 yards, he became only the third runner in league history to reach 1,500 yards in three of his first four seasons.

Portis demonstrated his speed during the 2006 Redskins training camp, running a 4.26 second 40-yard dash. Shortly following that, however, on August 13, 2006, Portis suffered a partially dislocated shoulder in the first quarter of a Week 1 pre-season game after tackling Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Keiwan Ratliff following a Bengals interception. After the injury, Portis said: "I don't know why myself or any other player of my caliber should be playing in the preseason." He added, "I think for the last four years I've done enough to show the world I'm going to be ready for the season."

There was no immediate indication from the Redskins as to when Portis might return to active playing status[1]. However, he returned early into the Redskins' Monday Night Football game against the Minnesota Vikings, where he gained 39 yards on 10 carries with one touchdown. The Redskins lost 19-16, the clock expiring as Redskins kicker John Hall missed wide left on a field goal. Portis rebounded the last two weeks with 16 carries for 86 yards and 2 touchdowns against the Houston Texans, and 27 carries for 112 yards and a touchdown against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Nagged by injuries all season, Portis suffered another setback in the first quarter of the Redskins' November 12 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. Portis left the game with a hand injury and was replaced by backup Ladell Betts. X-rays revealed that Portis broke his right hand during the game. He was operated on and placed on the Redskins' Injured Reserve list three days later, on November 15[2].

• Portis is represented by fellow University of Miami alumnus Drew Rosenhaus, a member of the so-called Miami Mafia and one of the NFL's most aggressive player agents.
• Portis's cousin Josh was a top recruit as a quarterback for the University of Florida, but later transferred to the University of Maryland.
• Portis appeared on the cover of the NCAA Gamebreaker 2003 game for PlayStation 2, while playing with the University of Miami Hurricanes.
• Portis is known for often wearing various costumes at Thursday press conferences that represent fictional characters he has developed, including personas such as "Southeast Jerome" and "Coach Janky Spanky."
• When Portis joined the Redskins in 2004, his jersey number (26) was already taken by safety Ifeanyi Ohalete (now with the Cincinnati Bengals). Portis agreed to pay Ohalete $30,000 (in three installments) in order to get his number. When Ohalete was cut by the team during the summer, Portis thought that he didn't have to pay him the remaining installments. Ohalete felt otherwise, and eventually the dispute was settled with Portis paying him the rest of the money. Portis originally wanted to have a boxing match with Ohalete for his number 26 but Ohalete declined the challenge.
• Portis and fellow University of Miami alumni Warren Sapp and Jeremy Shockey have done commercials for Swanson Hungry-Man microwave dinners.
• Portis is a fan of Bang Cartoon.[3].
• Appeared in an episode of America's Next Top Model during season 1.
• Clinton Portis added his voice to NFL Street 3 and narrates the tutorials with Chad Johnson.
• Was elected by readers of Deadspin, a popular sports blog, to the site's Hall of Fame.

• Clinton Portis Official Web Site.
• Clinton Portis at ESPN.com.
• Clinton Portis Official Press Conference from 10/05/2006.
• Pro-Football-Reference.com - career statistics..
• "Redskins rusher not seeking quiet offseason", ESPN, January 4, 2005.
• Deadspin Hall of Fame Inductee: Clinton Portis.

Preceded by Edgerrin James	Miami Hurricanes' Starting Running Back 1999-2001 (shared with James Jackon in 1999-2000)	Succeeded by Willis McGahee
Preceded by Anthony Thomas	NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year 2002 season	Succeeded by Anquan Boldin