Dennis Earl Mosley (born March 19, 1957) is a former American football running back. He attended the University of Iowa where he became the leading rusher in the Big Ten Conference in 1979. He also set Iowa records for single-season and career rushing yardage.

Early years

Mosley was born in Birmingham, Alabama in 1957. He grew up in Youngstown, Ohio, and in high school, he was the state champion in 100-, 220- and 440-yard dashes.

University of Iowa

Mosley 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

Iowa Hawkeyes The Iowa Hawkeyes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa. The Hawkeyes have varsity teams in 22 sports, 8 for men and 14 for women; a 15th women's sport will be added in 2023. The teams partici ...

from 1976 to 1979. His 1977 and 1978 seasons were cut short by elbow and hip injuries. As a senior, he led the Big Ten Conference with 1,267 rushing yards, 1,502 yards from scrimmage, and 16 touchdowns. On September 29, 1979, he rushed for a career-high 229 rushing yards and three touchdowns in Iowa's annual rivalry game with Iowa State. He was also selected as a first-team All-Big Ten running back in 1979 and as the most valuable player on the 1979 Iowa football team. Mosley also had a 77-yard touchdown run against Iowa State in 1977. His 270 rushing carries in 1979 was also an Iowa record, breaking the previous record by 65 carries. He finished his career as Iowa's career rushing leader with 2,133 yards.

Professional football

Mosley was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the ninth round (232nd overall pick) of the

1980 NFL Draft The 1980 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 draft was held April 29–30, 1980, at the New York She ...

. In late August 1980, Mosley was cut by the Vikings before the start of the

1980 NFL season The 1980 NFL season was the 61st regular season of the National Football League. Prior to the season in March 1980, fellow NFL owners voted against the proposed move by the Raiders from Oakland, California to Los Angeles. Raiders team owner ...

. In the summer of 1981, Mosley participated in training camp and pre-season games with the

Ottawa Roughriders The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded in 1876. Formerly one of the oldest and longest-lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup championship nine ...

and Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mosley, Dennis 1957 births Living people Players of American football from Youngstown, Ohio American football running backs Iowa Hawkeyes football players