Ahman Green

Ahman Rashad Green (born February 16, 1977) spent 12 seasons as a running back in the NFL. He played college ball at Nebraska, where he was a second-team All-American in 1997. The Seattle Seahawks picked him in the third round of the 1998 draft, and after two seasons there, he was traded to the Green Bay Packers. Green played eight of the next ten years for the Packers, making four Pro Bowls and setting the franchise’s all-time rushing record. He also suited up for the Houston Texans. After his playing days, he served as the head esports coach at Lakeland University through the end of 2022.

Green grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, attending Omaha North before transferring to Omaha Central for high school. As a senior, he was named a high school All-American and the state’s Player of the Year. He also ran track, posting a 10.61-second 100-meter dash—still the 10th-fastest time in Nebraska history—and competed in powerlifting, placing second at the ADFPA High School National Powerlifting Championships in Des Moines, Iowa.

At the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Green was a three-year starter and a key part of two national championship teams. As a freshman in 1995, he rushed for 1,086 yards and 13 touchdowns on 141 carries (7.7 average), setting the school’s single-season freshman rushing record. He earned freshman All-America honors from Football News and was named Big Eight Freshman of the Year. In 1996, despite a turf toe injury, he led the team with 917 rushing yards and seven touchdowns, including a career-high 214 yards against Iowa State.

As a junior in 1997, Green was a second-team All-American and a finalist for the Doak Walker Award. He ran for 1,877 yards and 22 touchdowns on 278 carries (6.8 average), setting a school junior record for touchdowns. He strung together 12 straight 100-yard games, with three over 200 yards. Over his college career, he totaled 3,880 rushing yards and 42 touchdowns—both second on Nebraska’s all-time list—plus 300 receiving yards and three scores on 35 catches.

In the 1998 Orange Bowl, he set a bowl record with 206 rushing yards and two touchdowns in a 42–17 win over No. 3 Tennessee, earning MVP honors. He played in a bowl game every season: the 1996 Fiesta Bowl (68 yards, one touchdown), the 1996 Orange Bowl (52 yards), and the 1998 Orange Bowl.

The Seattle Seahawks drafted Green in the third round (76th overall) in 1998. He averaged 6.0 yards per carry in 1998 and 4.6 in 1999, but struggled for playing time behind veteran Ricky Watters. In 2000, the Seahawks traded Green and a fifth-round pick to the Green Bay Packers for Fred Vinson and a sixth-round pick. From 2001 to 2004, he made four straight Pro Bowls and broke several Packers records.

From 2000 through 2004, he led the NFL in yards from scrimmage (9,036) and rushing yards (6,848). His best season came in 2003, when he set the Packers’ single-season rushing record with 1,883 yards, and he became the only player in NFL history to record at least 1,850 rushing yards, average 5.0 yards per carry, score 20 touchdowns, and catch 50 passes in a single season. He also threw a touchdown pass on October 17, 2004, against the Detroit Lions.

Green is one of two players (along with Bo Jackson) with two touchdown runs of 90 or more yards. After an injury-shortened 2005 season, he re-signed with the Packers on a one-year, $2 million deal with $3 million in incentives, then signed another one-year deal to stay for 2006. He became a free agent after that season.

On March 4, 2007, Green signed a four-year, $23 million contract with the Houston Texans, reuniting with former Packers coach Mike Sherman. He was expected to carry the load after the Texans’ committee approach in 2006. Over two seasons with Houston, he rushed 14 times (the source cuts off here).