Correll Buckhalter (; born October 6, 1978) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

who played for eight seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). After playing

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

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

, he was drafted by the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

in the fourth round of the

2001 NFL Draft The 2001 NFL Draft was the 66th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible professional football players. The draft, which is officially referred to as the "NFL Player Selection Meeting," was held at the ...

. He played for the Eagles from 2001 to 2008, with three seasons lost due to injury. He played for the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

for two seasons (2009 and 2010).

Early years

Buckhalter attended Collins High School (

Collins, Mississippi Collins is a city in Covington County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 2,586 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Covington County. History From Williamsburg Depot to Collins Collins was originally incorporated as William ...

) and was a

letterman Letterman may refer to: * Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States People * David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host ** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...

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 ...

. In football, he rushed for 3,024 yards over the last two years of his high school years. He was selected for the all-state team, and during his junior year when he rushed for 1,302 yards. During his senior year, he rushed for 1,722 yards and 12 touchdowns. Buckhalter graduated from Collins in 1997.

College career

At the

University of Nebraska A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

, Buckhalter played in 46 games and finished ranked eighth in school history for rushing yards (2,522). He had 11 100+ yard games in college while starting only nine times and scored 27 touchdowns at Nebraska. He majored in

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...

Professional career

Philadelphia Eagles

Buckhalter's NFL career was marred by injuries. He missed the 2002 season due to a torn

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are also called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation ...

in his left knee and both the 2004 and 2005 seasons due to a torn

patellar tendon The patellar tendon is the distal portion of the common tendon of the quadriceps femoris, which is continued from the patella to the tibial tuberosity. It is also sometimes called the patellar ligament as it forms a bone to bone connection when t ...

in his right knee. In his rookie season of 2001, Buckhalter showed flashes of the potential the Eagles saw when he was drafted. Sharing the load with

Duce Staley Duce Staley (born February 27, 1975) is an American football coach and former player who is the assistant head coach and running backs coach for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served in the same capac ...

, he rushed for 586 yards with 4.5 yards per carry average, breaking

Keith Byars Keith Alan Byars (born October 14, 1963) is an American sports broadcaster and former American football fullback in the National Football League for the Philadelphia Eagles, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots and New York Jets. Early life ...

team record for rushing yards by a rookie. He scored two touchdowns that season. Unfortunately, that season he was also suspended for a game after he and two teammates were stopped by police and arrested for possession of

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...

. Buckhalter was not charged in the case. Buckhalter would not return to the field again until the 2003 season. Teaming with Staley and second year

Brian Westbrook Brian Collins Westbrook (born September 2, 1979) is a former American football running back who played for nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the third round of the 2002 NFL Draft af ...

, he led the team in rushing attempts and rushing touchdowns (eight) gaining 542 yards in the process. Again however, he was suspended by Coach

Andy Reid Andrew Walter Reid (born March 19, 1958) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). Reid was previously head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles from 1999 to 2012. From 200 ...

after missing a team meeting. While still recovering, Buckhalter and

Bryan Scott Bryan Anderson Scott (born April 13, 1981) is a former American football linebacker and safety. He was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the second round of the 2003 NFL Draft. He played college football at Penn State University. He was also a ...

made cameo appearances in the comedy movie, ''White Men Can't Rap''. The 2006 season marked his first action since the 2003 NFC Championship Game. He played in all 16 games, but started only once. His season totals included 345 rushing yards on 83 carries, 24 receptions, 256 receiving yards and three touchdowns. After the season, Buckhalter was re-signed by the Eagles for two years. In 2007, he saw action at running back as well as at kick returner. He had 313 yards rushing and a 21.6 yards per return average.

Denver Broncos

On February 27, 2009, Buckhalter signed a four-year, $10 million contract with the

. The deal included $1.8 million guaranteed. In 2009, his ninth season in the NFL, Buckhalter achieved career highs in rushing yardage (642), yards per carry (5.4), and receptions (31). In 2010, Buckhalter played in 15 games as a reserve. He rushed for 147 yards and also caught 28 passes for 240 yards. He scored 4 total touchdowns. On July 28, 2011, he was released by Denver.

Personal

Buckhalter is a cousin of

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

cornerback Brandon McDonald. Buckhalter has had to deal with adversity over his career. His mother died when he was young and his brother Chris, who played on the Eagles practice squad in 1996, is serving a 20-year sentence for

manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th cen ...

. In March 2009 prosecutors in a

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

drug dealing case named Buckhalter as a celebrity client of the alleged dealer, Styles N. Beckles. Buckhalter has not been charged with any crime and strongly denied any link to Beckles. Buckhalter owns a Quarter Horse stallion named 'Absolutely No Doubt,' who was the national high point Performance Halter Stallion of the American Quarter Horse Association in 2008. Buckhalter was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and health care fraud by the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...

on December 12, 2019. He initially pleaded not guilty, but later pleaded guilty to the charge by July 2020. He was sentenced to 10 months in prison and 300 days of

house arrest In justice and law, house arrest (also called home confinement, home detention, or, in modern times, electronic monitoring) is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to their residence. Travel is usually restricted, if all ...

in October 2021.

College statistics

NFL Statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buckhalter, Correll 1978 births Living people American football running backs Denver Broncos players Nebraska Cornhuskers football players Philadelphia Eagles players People from Collins, Mississippi Players of American football from Mississippi African-American players of American football 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople Ed Block Courage Award recipients