For the sixth time in school history, the Kansas State football player was elected into the College Football Hall of Fame.
On Monday, the National Football Foundation announced former Wildcat running back Darren Sproles is part of the 2021 College Football Hall of Fame Class. Sproles is the sixth K-Stater to be enshrined in the hall — the first since former head coach Bill Synder, who was elected in 2015.
Sproles is one of over five million players to play collegiate football and joins a club of 1,027 players and 221 coaches in the College Hall of Fame. He will be honored at the 67th NFF Awards Dinner on Dec. 7 along with the Class of 2020 — which had their honor delayed because of COVID-19.
Other notable faces in the 2021 class joining Sproles includes Carson Palmer (QB, USC), Tony Romo (QB, Eastern Illinois), C.J. Spiller (RB/KR, Clemson), Kenneth Sims (DT, Texas) and coach Bob Stoops (Oklahoma), among others.
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During his time at K-State, Sproles was a three-time All-American selection who held 28 school records at the time of his graduation — 21 of which still hold true today. Sproles finished his Wildcat career with 4,979 rushing yards, which ranks third in Big 12 history and nearly 2,000 more than anyone else in K-State history.
He is also the school leader for all-purpose yards at 6,812 thanks to his time as a spark plug on special teams as a returner. His 2,735 all-purpose yards in 2003 ranks as the most in a season in school history.
Sproles’s total all-purpose yards put him at fifth all-time in the NCAA at the time of his graduation.
Following his time in the Little Apple, Sproles was a 16-year NFL veteran, playing for the San Diego Chargers (fourth-round pick in 2005), New Orleans Saints, and Philadelphia Eagles. In 2011, he set the NFL record for all-purpose yards in a season with 2,696 — a record that still stands today.
Sproles is also a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s All-Decade Team for the 2010s, along with K-State’s Ring of Honor in 2015.
