| No. 25 | |||||||||||
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| Position | Running back | ||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
| Born | (1970-01-26)January 26, 1970 (age 56) Haverstraw, New York, U.S. | ||||||||||
| Listed height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||||||||||
| Listed weight | 205 lb (93 kg) | ||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||
| High school | Thiells (NY) North Rockland | ||||||||||
| College | Alabama | ||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1993: 4th round, 94th overall pick | ||||||||||
| Expansion draft | 1995: 20th round, 40th overall pick | ||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||
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Derrick Owens Lassic (born January 26, 1970) is an American former professionalfootballrunning back in theNational Football League (NFL) for theDallas Cowboys. He playedcollege football at theUniversity of Alabama.
Lassic attendedNorth Rockland High School, where he helped his team achieve three straight Section 1 Class A bowl wins. As a senior, he set county records with 1,719 rushing yards, 31 totaltouchdowns, 26 rushing touchdowns and 194 scored points. He was named the New York State large-school Player of the Year, All-state and a USA Today's High SchoolAll-American. He also had 31 receptions for 586 yards.
He finished his high school career with 2,846 rushing yards. He also practicedtrack andbaseball.
Lassic accepted a football scholarship from theUniversity of Alabama. As aredshirt freshman, he appeared in 10 games and was fifth on the team with 142 rushing yards on 33 carries. In the 32–16 win againstLouisiana State University, he rushed for 58 yards on 8 carries. In the 37–14 win against theUniversity of Southern Mississippi, he made 4 receptions for 80 yards, including a 54-yard catch. That season, Alabama won its firstSEC championship since 1981.
As a sophomore, he was slowed by aturf toe injury, rushing for 281 yards on 68 carries. He scored his firsttouchdown (an 18-yard run) in the season opener 24–27 loss against theUniversity of Southern Mississippi. He missed the eighth game againstMississippi State University because of his toe injury. He had 11 carries for 67 yards against theUniversity of Cincinnati.
As a junior, he was the backuprunning back behindSiran Stacy, posting 70 carries for 368 rushing yards (third on the team) and 2touchdowns. He had 9 carries for 70 yards againstVanderbilt University. He compiled 10 carries for 76 yards against theUniversity of Tennessee-Chattanooga.
As a senior, he was named the starter atrunning back, registering 905 rushing yards (fifth in the SEC) on 178 carries (5.1 yards per carry), 10 rushingtouchdowns, 129 receiving yards and one receivingtouchdown. He was named the1993 Sugar Bowl MVP afterAlabama beatMiami 34–13 to win the National Championship.[1] He finished his college career 11th on the school's all-time rushing list (1,696 yards).
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | Bench press | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft9+5⁄8 in (1.77 m) | 192 lb (87 kg) | 29+5⁄8 in (0.75 m) | 9+1⁄8 in (0.23 m) | 10 reps | ||||||||
| All values fromNFL Combine[2] | ||||||||||||
Lassic was selected by theDallas Cowboys in the fourth round (94th overall) of the1993 NFL draft.[3] The team was forced to start him in the first two games (both losses) afterEmmitt Smith’s contract holdout extended into the regular season. He became the first rookierunning back in league history to start a season opener for a defendingSuper Bowl champion, and the third rookierunning back in franchise history to start a season opener.
Although Smith signed in time for the third game against thePhoenix Cardinals, Lassic still started and led the team in rushing with 60 yards on 14 carries, while scoring his first 2touchdowns during a 17–10 win. From that point his workload was significantly reduced, on the way to the Cowboys winning back-to-backSuper Bowls. In the eleventh game against theMiami Dolphins, he was demoted to third-string running back after being passed on the depth chart by fellow rookieLincoln Coleman. In the thirteenth game against theMinnesota Vikings, he lined up at receiver to compensate the loss of an injuredAlvin Harper, when the team used threewide receiver sets. He was declared inactive in the final three games of the season. In the Cowboys’ playoff run he was limited to four touches; he was in the backfield for the final play ofSuper Bowl XXVIII.
He finished with 75 carries for 269 yards and 3touchdowns, but he suffered from the national pressure and the loyalty his teammates had towards Smith.[4]Erik Williams criticized Lassic's running style, saying "He runs too fast. We have a flow and he isn't able to see it",Nate Newton said, "Lassic was a nice kid, but if we expected to get back to the Super Bowl, we needed Emmitt in the lineup".[5]
In1994, he tore his right quadricep muscle during kickoff coverage duty, in the Cowboys' 17-9 preseason win against theMinnesota Vikings. He was placed on theinjured reserve list on December 6,1994.[6]
In Cowboys lore, he is remembered for being thestartingrunning back for the first two games of the1993 season when Smith held out in a contract dispute.
TheCarolina Panthers selected him from the Cowboys roster in the 20th round (40th overall) of the1995 NFL expansion draft.[7][8] He was waived with an injury settlement on August 27, after suffering from knee, hamstring and thigh problems duringtraining camp.[9]
On March 18,1996, Lassic signed with theSan Francisco 49ers. He was waived on July 29.[10]
In1998, he signed with theToronto Argonauts of theCanadian Football League and was waived on August 17.[11]