Ciatrick Antione Fason (born October 29, 1982) is an American former college and professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for two seasons during the early 2000s. Fason played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for the University of Florida, and thereafter, he played professionally for the Minnesota Vikings of the NFL.

Early years

Fason was born in Atlanta, Georgia.Pro-Football-Reference.com, Players
Ciatrick Fason
Retrieved March 21, 2011. He attended

Duncan U. Fletcher High School Duncan U. Fletcher High School, commonly referred to as Fletcher High, is a comprehensive public high school in Neptune Beach, Florida, United States. The school is one of 47 high schools in the Duval County School District. Like all Duval Count ...

in Neptune Beach, Florida,databaseFootball.com, Players
Ciatrick Fason
. Retrieved March 21, 2011. and he was a star running back and four-time most valuable player for the Fletcher Senators high school football team.GatorZone.com, Football History, 2004 Roster

. Retrieved March 21, 2011. 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 A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, float (parade), floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually ce ...

'' 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.

College career

Fason received an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach Ron Zook's Florida Gators football team from

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

.
2011 Florida Gators Football Media Guide
'', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 89, 97, 98, 103, 125, 127, 138–140, 147–148, 159, 171, 181 (2011). Retrieved August 28, 2011. As a sophomore in

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

, 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.

Professional career

Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings selected Fason in the fourth round (112th pick overall) of the

2005 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 NFL draft, draft was held April 23–24, 2005 NFL seaso ...

, and he played for the Vikings for two seasons in and .National Football League, Historical Players
Ciatrick Fason
Retrieved March 21, 2011. 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 Jaguars. 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.

Edmonton Eskimos

Fason was signed by the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...

on April 24, 2009.Gerry Moddejonge,
Focus on Fason
" ''The Edmonton Sun'' (June 20, 2009). Retrieved March 21, 2011. He was released on June 25, 2009, re-signed on July 5, and released again on August 25.

References

Bibliography

* Carlson, Norm, ''University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators'', Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (2007). .

External links

Ciatrick Fason
– Florida Gators player profile
Ciatrick Fason
– National Football League player profile {{DEFAULTSORT:Fason, Ciatrick 1982 births Living people American football running backs American players of Canadian football Canadian football running backs Edmonton Elks players Florida Gators football players Jacksonville Jaguars players Minnesota Vikings players Sportspeople from Duval County, Florida Players of American football from Atlanta