 Dunn signing autographs in 2009 | |||||||||||||||
| No. 28 | |||||||||||||||
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| Position | Running back | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | (1975-01-05)January 5, 1975 (age 50) Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight | 180 lb (82 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | Catholic(Baton Rouge) | ||||||||||||||
| College | Florida State (1993–1996) | ||||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1997: 1st round, 12th overall pick | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
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| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||
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Warrick De'Mon Dunn (born January 5, 1975) is an American former professionalfootball player who was arunning back for 12 seasons in theNational Football League (NFL). He was selected by theTampa Bay Buccaneers 12th overall in the1997 NFL draft, after playingcollege football for theFlorida State Seminoles. Dunn was namedAP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 1997 and earned threePro Bowl selections in his career. After his playing career, Dunn took a minority stake in the Falcons' ownership group led byArthur Blank.
AtCatholic High in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Dunn playedquarterback,cornerback, andrunning back. During his sophomore year, he helped lead Catholic High to the state 4A championship game for the first time in its history. He was an All-America honorable mention selection byUSA Today as a senior.
On January 7, 1993, two days after Dunn's eighteenth birthday, his mother, Betty Smothers, a Baton Rouge police officer, was murdered while working an off-duty security job. Dunn became the head of his family and raised his siblings. He later met with one of his mother's killers,Kevan Brumfield, and offered his forgiveness.[1]
Dunn played college football atFlorida State University, where he rushed for over 1,000 yards in 3 straight seasons. He graduated in 1997 with abachelor's degree in information studies. He was a three-timeAll-ACC selection.
Dunn's jersey, along with those of otherSeminoles players such asFred Biletnikoff,Ron Sellers,Ron Simmons,Charlie Ward,Deion Sanders, andChris Weinke, has been retired by the university. His number (28) may still be worn by Seminole players, but his jersey will be displayed in the Moore Athletic Center at FSU. He also won a national championship in1993 with Florida State.
Warrick Dunn was also an accomplished track and field star, named as anAssociated PressAll-American as a member of Florida State's men's4 × 100 m relay team. Dunn competed on the Seminoles' track & field team as a sprinter during all four years he was enrolled atFlorida State. His personal best in the100 meters is 10.3 seconds.
| Florida State Seminoles | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | GP | Rushing | Receiving | |||||
| Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Rec | Yds | TD | |||
| 1993 | Florida State | 12 | 68 | 511 | 7.5 | 4 | 25 | 357 | 6 |
| 1994 | Florida State | 11 | 152 | 1,026 | 6.8 | 8 | 34 | 308 | 1 |
| 1995 | Florida State | 11 | 166 | 1,242 | 7.5 | 13 | 43 | 294 | 3 |
| 1996 | Florida State | 11 | 189 | 1,180 | 6.2 | 12 | 30 | 355 | 2 |
| Total | 45 | 575 | 3,959 | 6.9 | 37 | 132 | 1,314 | 12 | |
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | 176 lb (80 kg) | 30+3⁄4 in (0.78 m) | 8+1⁄2 in (0.22 m) | |||||||||
| All values fromNFL Combine[2] | ||||||||||||
Dunn was selected in the first round of the1997 NFL draft with the 12th overall pick by theTampa Bay Buccaneers.[3] Dunn had a highly successful rookie season, was selected to the NFCPro Bowl team, and named theAssociated Press Offensive Rookie of the Year. Dunn spent the next four years of his career in Tampa Bay, and was again named to the Pro Bowl in 2000. In game 13 of that season, he had a career-best 210 yards rushing against theDallas Cowboys (then, 2nd most in franchise history).
A free agent in the 2002 offseason, Dunn signed with theAtlanta Falcons. Once again, he made a positive impact on his team with 9 total TDs and in that year, he led the league with a 5.4 yards per carry average. Dunn scored the most rushing touchdowns in his career, 9, in the 2004 season despite splitting carries withT.J. Duckett and also led the team in rushing with 1,106 yards. Having led his team in rushing yards again in 2005, Dunn was named the NFC's Pro Bowl team, marking his third selection to the team. For his career, Dunn has only missed 10 games and has a total of 2,256 carries for 9,461 yards 43 touchdowns and a 4.2 average. Dunn finished his first 10 seasons with at least 1,000 combined rushing and receiving yards per season. During the 2007 season, with Falcons starting quarterbackByron Leftwich out with a high ankle sprain, Dunn served as the third string emergency quarterback behindJoey Harrington andChris Redman, a position he played in high school.
On March 3, 2008, the Falcons released Dunn per his request. This came a day after the Falcons signed formerSan Diego Chargers backup running backMichael Turner.[4] On December 17, 2009, he became a minority owner of the Atlanta Falcons.
On March 10, 2008, Dunn returned to the Buccaneers after signing a two-year, $6 million contract. In week 6 against theCarolina Panthers, Dunn had his first 100-yard game since re-joining the Buccaneers. Dunn was released by the Buccaneers on February 25, 2009.[5] He retired from the NFL 14th all-time in all-purpose yards with 15,306 (20th As of 2020[update])[1] and 19th in rushing yards with 10,967 (23rd As of 2020[update]).[2]
| Year | Team | GP | Rushing | Receiving | Fumbles | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | FD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | FD | Fum | Lost | |||
| 1997 | TB | 16 | 224 | 978 | 4.4 | 76 | 4 | 34 | 39 | 462 | 11.8 | 59 | 3 | 18 | 3 | 2 |
| 1998 | TB | 16 | 245 | 1,026 | 4.2 | 50 | 2 | 42 | 44 | 344 | 7.8 | 31 | 0 | 22 | 1 | 0 |
| 1999 | TB | 15 | 195 | 616 | 3.2 | 33 | 0 | 29 | 64 | 589 | 9.2 | 68 | 2 | 29 | 3 | 2 |
| 2000 | TB | 16 | 248 | 1,133 | 4.6 | 70 | 8 | 42 | 44 | 422 | 9.6 | 45 | 1 | 23 | 1 | 1 |
| 2001 | TB | 13 | 158 | 447 | 2.8 | 21 | 3 | 20 | 68 | 557 | 8.2 | 31 | 3 | 29 | 2 | 2 |
| 2002 | ATL | 15 | 230 | 927 | 4.0 | 59 | 7 | 39 | 50 | 377 | 7.5 | 31 | 2 | 15 | 4 | 3 |
| 2003 | ATL | 11 | 125 | 672 | 5.4 | 69 | 3 | 27 | 37 | 336 | 9.1 | 86 | 2 | 14 | 2 | 1 |
| 2004 | ATL | 16 | 265 | 1,106 | 4.2 | 60 | 9 | 46 | 29 | 294 | 10.1 | 59 | 0 | 9 | 3 | 2 |
| 2005 | ATL | 16 | 280 | 1,416 | 5.1 | 65 | 3 | 65 | 29 | 220 | 7.6 | 24 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 1 |
| 2006 | ATL | 16 | 286 | 1,140 | 4.0 | 90 | 4 | 48 | 22 | 170 | 7.7 | 18 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 0 |
| 2007 | ATL | 16 | 227 | 720 | 3.2 | 38 | 4 | 34 | 37 | 238 | 6.4 | 35 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 2 |
| 2008 | TB | 15 | 186 | 786 | 4.2 | 40 | 2 | 31 | 47 | 330 | 7.0 | 36 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| Career[6] | 181 | 2,669 | 10,967 | 4.1 | 90 | 49 | 457 | 510 | 4,339 | 8.5 | 86 | 15 | 194 | 25 | 16 | |
As of 2017[update]'s NFL off-season, Warrick Dunn has held at least 11 Falcons franchise records, including:
He also has held at least 5 Buccaneers franchise records, including:
Dunn established theHomes for the Holidays (HFTH) program in 1997, and startedWarrick Dunn Charities (WDC) in 2002 as a way to grow programs and services. The HFTH program rewards single-parent families for reaching first-time homeownership. HFTH recipient families are chosen through a partnership withHabitat for Humanity affiliates and WDC with complete home furnishings and down-payment assistance. As of July 2012, HFTH has assisted over 150 single parents and over 300 dependents in Atlanta, Baton Rouge, Tampa and Tallahassee. By providing families with a positive home environment, WDC believes that children can thrive educationally, socially and economically. In 2006, one of those homes happened to go to the family of future NFL playerDeshaun Watson. Watson went on to play quarterback forClemson and win the2017 College Football Playoff National Championship.[7]
Dunn's achievements have been recognized over the years. He received a Giant Steps Award in civic leadership from former PresidentBill Clinton for his program. In 2005, Dunn was presented with theWalter Payton Man of the Year Award. This award is the only NFL award that recognizes a player for his community service as well as for his excellence on the field. In the aftermath ofHurricane Katrina, Dunn challenged all NFL players, except for those who play for the New Orleans Saints, to donate at least $5,000 to the effort. The effort received over $5 million in contributions.
In 2007, Dunn, along withAndre Agassi,Muhammad Ali,Lance Armstrong,Jeff Gordon,Mia Hamm,Tony Hawk,Andrea Jaeger,Jackie Joyner-Kersee,Mario Lemieux,Alonzo Mourning andCal Ripken Jr., foundedAthletes for Hope, a charitable organization that helps professional athletes, sports industry professionals and fans get involved in charitable causes.For his exceptional involvement on and off the field, Dunn was awarded with the 2009 Bart Starr Award. He also received a Jefferson Award for Outstanding Athlete in Service and Philanthropy in 2011.
Dunn's 2008 autobiography,Running For My LifeISBN 978-0-06-143264-4, details his mother's murder and his battles withdepression throughout his life.[8]
Warrick Dunn—awards, championships, and honors | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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