Running back
A running back is an American and Canadian football position, a member of the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a play, to catch passes from out of the backfield. There are usually one or two running backs on the field for a play, depending on the offensive formation. A running back may be a halfback or a fullback, a running back will sometimes be called a feature back if he is the teams starting running back. The halfback or tailback position is responsible for carrying the ball on the majority of running plays, in the modern game, an effective halfback must have a blend of both quickness and agility as a runner, as well as sure hands and good vision up-field as a receiver. Quarterbacks depend on halfbacks as a safety valve receiver when primary targets downfield are covered or when they are under pressure, halfbacks line up as additional wide receivers. As a trick play, running backs are used to pass the ball on a halfback option play or halfback pass.
The difference between halfback and tailback is the position of the player in the offensive formation. In historical formations, the lined up approximately halfway between the line of scrimmage and the fullback. Because the halfback is usually the main ball carrier, modern offensive formations have positioned the halfback behind the fullback. As a result, some systems or playbooks will call for a tailback as opposed to a halfback, in most modern college and professional football schemes, fullbacks carry the ball infrequently, instead using their stronger physiques as primary lead blockers. On most running plays, the leads the halfback, attempting to block potential tacklers before they reach the ball carrier. When fullbacks are called upon to carry the ball, the situation calls for gaining a short amount of yardage. Fullbacks are technically running backs, but today the term running back is used in referring to the halfback or tailback. Although modern fullbacks are rarely used as carriers, in previous offensive schemes fullbacks would be the designated ball carriers.
In high school football, where player sizes vary greatly, fullbacks are still used as ball carriers. In high school and college offenses, the triple option uses the fullback as a primary ball carrier. The fullback plays a role by establishing an inside running threat on every play
University of South Carolina
The University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, with seven satellite campuses. Its campus covers over 359 acres in downtown Columbia not far from the South Carolina State House, the University is categorized by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as having highest research activity. It houses the largest collection of Robert Burns and Scottish literature materials outside Scotland, the University of South Carolina has an enrollment of approximately 49,220 students, with 33,575 on the main Columbia campus as of fall 2015. USC has several thousand students in feeder programs at surrounding technical colleges. Professional schools on the Columbia campus include business, law, pharmacy, on January 10,1805, having an initial enrollment of nine students, the college commenced classes with a traditional classical curriculum. The first president was the Baptist minister and theologian Reverend Jonathan Maxcy and he was an alumnus of Brown University, with an honorary degree from Harvard University.
Before coming to the college, Maxcy had served as the president of Brown. Maxcys tenure lasted from 1804 through 1820, when South Carolina College opened its doors in 1801, the building now known as Rutledge College was the only building on campus. Located one block southeast of the State Capitol, it served as an office, academic building, residence hall. However, the plan for the original campus called for a total of eleven buildings. In 1807, the original Presidents House was the building to be erected. The building now known as DeSaussure College followed shortly thereafter, when completed, all eleven buildings formed a U-shape open to Sumter Street. This modified quadrangle became known as the Horseshoe, as with other southern universities in the antebellum period, the most important organizations for students were the two literary societies, the Clariosophic Society and the Euphradian Society. These two societies, which arose from a split in a literary society known as the Philomathic. The College became a symbol of the South in the period as its graduates were on the forefront of secession from the Union.
Despite the depletion of students, the professors issued a notice that the college would temporarily close and would reopen to those under eighteen. When the college reopened on March 17, only nine students showed up for classes, on June 25 with the consent of the state government, the Confederate authorities took possession of the college buildings and converted them into a hospital. After many unsuccessful attempts to reopen the college, the trustees passed a resolution on December 2,1863 that officially closed the college
American football
The offense must advance at least ten yards in four downs, or plays, or else they turn over the football to the opposing team, if they succeed, they are given a new set of four downs. Points are primarily scored by advancing the ball into the teams end zone for a touchdown or kicking the ball through the opponents goalposts for a field goal. The team with the most points at the end of a game wins, American football evolved in the United States, originating from the sports of association football and rugby football. The first game of American football was played on November 6,1869, during the latter half of the 1870s, colleges playing association football switched to the Rugby Union code, which allowed carrying the ball. American football as a whole is the most popular sport in the United States, Professional football and college football are the most popular forms of the game, with the other major levels being high school and youth football. As of 2012, nearly 1.1 million high school athletes and 70,000 college athletes play the sport in the United States annually, almost all of them men, in the United States, American football is referred to as football.
The term football was established in the rulebook for the 1876 college football season. The terms gridiron or American football are favored in English-speaking countries where other codes of football are popular, such as the United Kingdom, New Zealand, American football evolved from the sports of association football and rugby football. What is considered to be the first American football game was played on November 6,1869 between Rutgers and Princeton, two college teams, the game was played between two teams of 25 players each and used a round ball that could not be picked up or carried. It could, however, be kicked or batted with the feet, head or sides, Rutgers won the game 6 goals to 4. Collegiate play continued for years in which matches were played using the rules of the host school. Representatives of Yale, Columbia and Rutgers met on October 19,1873 to create a set of rules for all schools to adhere to. Teams were set at 20 players each, and fields of 400 by 250 feet were specified, Harvard abstained from the conference, as they favored a rugby-style game that allowed running with the ball.
An 1875 Harvard-Yale game played under rugby-style rules was observed by two impressed Princeton athletes and these players introduced the sport to Princeton, a feat the Professional Football Researchers Association compared to selling refrigerators to Eskimos. Princeton, Harvard and Columbia agreed to play using a form of rugby union rules with a modified scoring system. These schools formed the Intercollegiate Football Association, although Yale did not join until 1879, the introduction of the snap resulted in unexpected consequences. Prior to the snap, the strategy had been to punt if a scrum resulted in bad field position, however, a group of Princeton players realized that, as the snap was uncontested, they now could hold the ball indefinitely to prevent their opponent from scoring. In 1881, both teams in a game between Yale-Princeton used this strategy to maintain their undefeated records, each team held the ball, gaining no ground, for an entire half, resulting in a 0-0 tie
College football
It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. No minor league farm organizations exist in American football and it is in college football where a players performance directly impacts his chances of playing professional football. The best collegiate players will declare for the professional draft after 3 to 4 years of collegiate competition. Those not selected can still attempt to land an NFL roster spot as a free agent. Even after the emergence of the professional National Football League, college football remained extremely popular throughout the U. S, in many cases, college stadiums employ bench-style seating, as opposed to individual seats with backs and arm rests. This allows them to more fans in a given amount of space than the typical professional stadium. College athletes, unlike players in the NFL, are not permitted by the NCAA to be paid salaries, colleges are only allowed to provide non-monetary compensation such as athletic scholarships that provide for tuition and books.
Modern North American football has its origins in various games, all known as football, by the 1840s, students at Rugby School were playing a game in which players were able to pick up the ball and run with it, a sport known as Rugby football. The game was taken to Canada by British soldiers stationed there and was soon being played at Canadian colleges, the first documented gridiron football match was a game played at University College, a college of the University of Toronto, November 9,1861. One of the participants in the game involving University of Toronto students was William Mulock, a football club was formed at the university soon afterward, although its rules of play at this stage are unclear. In 1864, at Trinity College, a college of the University of Toronto, F. Barlow Cumberland, modern Canadian football is widely regarded as having originated with a game played in Montreal, in 1865, when British Army officers played local civilians. The game gradually gained a following, and the Montreal Football Club was formed in 1868, early games appear to have had much in common with the traditional mob football played in England.
The games remained largely unorganized until the 19th century, when games of football began to be played on college campuses. Each school played its own variety of football, Princeton University students played a game called ballown as early as 1820. A Harvard tradition known as Bloody Monday began in 1827, which consisted of a mass ballgame between the freshman and sophomore classes, in 1860, both the town police and the college authorities agreed the Bloody Monday had to go. The Harvard students responded by going into mourning for a figure called Football Fightum. The authorities held firm and it was a dozen years before football was again played at Harvard. Dartmouth played its own version called Old division football, the rules of which were first published in 1871, all of these games, and others, shared certain commonalities
Pro Bowl
The Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League. Between 2014 and 2016, the NFL experimented with an unconferenced format, the players were picked in a televised schoolyard pick prior to the game. Unlike most major leagues, which hold their all-star games roughly midway through their respective regular seasons. Between 1970 and 2009, it was held the weekend after the Super Bowl. Since 2010, the Pro Bowl has been played the weekend before the Super Bowl, Players from the two teams competing in the Super Bowl do not participate. Observers and commentators expressed their disfavor with the Pro Bowl in its current state and it draws lower TV ratings than its regular-season games, although the game draws similar ratings to other major all-star games, such as the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. However, the biggest concern of teams is to avoid injuries to the star players, the Associated Press wrote that players in the 2012 game were hitting each other as though they were having a pillow fight.
Between 1980 and 2016, the game was played at Aloha Stadium in Hawaii, on June 1,2016, the NFL announced that they reached a multi-year deal to move the game to Orlando, Florida as part of the leagues ongoing efforts to make the game more relevant. For years, the game has suffered from lack of interest due to perceived low quality, the 2017 Pro Bowl will mark a return to the AFC–NFC format. The first Pro All-Star Game, featuring the all-stars of the 1938 season, was played on January 15,1939 at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles. The NFL All-Star Game was played again in Los Angeles in 1940 and in New York, although originally planned as an annual contest, the all-star game was discontinued after 1942 because of travel restrictions put in place during World War II. During the first five games, an all-star team would face that years league champion. The league champion won the first four games before the all-stars were victorious in the game of this early series. The concept of a game was not revived until June 1950.
The game was sponsored by the Los Angeles Publishers Association and it was decided that the game would feature all-star teams from each of the leagues two conferences rather than the league champion versus all-star format which had been used previously. This was done to avoid confusion with the Chicago College All-Star Game, the teams would be led by the coach of each of the conference champions. The first 21 games of the series were played in Los Angeles, the site of the game was changed annually for each of the next seven years before the game was moved to Aloha Stadium in Halawa, Hawaii for 30 straight seasons from 1980 through 2009. With the new rule being that the teams do not include players from the teams that will be playing in the Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the annual championship game of the National Football League. The game is the culmination to a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. Normally, Roman numerals are used to each game, rather than the year in which it is held. For example, Super Bowl I was played on January 15,1967, the single exception to this rule is Super Bowl 50, which was played on February 7,2016, following the 2015 regular season. The next game, Super Bowl LII, scheduled for February 4,2018, the game was created as part of a merger agreement between the NFL and its then-rival league, the American Football League. It was agreed that the two champion teams would play in the AFL–NFL World Championship Game until the merger was to officially begin in 1970. After the merger, each league was redesignated as a conference, the National Football Conference leads the league with 26 wins to 25 wins for the American Football Conference. The Pittsburgh Steelers have the most Super Bowl championship titles, with six, the New England Patriots have the most Super Bowl appearances, with nine.
The day on which the Super Bowl is played, now considered by some as an unofficial American national holiday, is called Super Bowl Sunday and it is the second-largest day for U. S. food consumption, after Thanksgiving Day. In addition, the Super Bowl has frequently been the most-watched American television broadcast of the year, in 2015, Super Bowl XLIX became the most-watched American television program in history with an average audience of 114. The NFL restricts the use of its Super Bowl trademark, it is called the Big Game or other generic terms by non-sponsoring corporations. As a result and discussing the broadcasts commercials has become a significant aspect of the event, for four decades after its 1920 inception, the NFL successfully fended off several rival leagues. However, in 1960, it encountered its most serious competitor when the American Football League was formed. The AFL vied heavily with the NFL for both players and fans, but by the middle of the decade the strain of competition led to merger talks between the two leagues.
Prior to the 1966 season, the NFL and AFL reached an agreement that was to take effect for the 1970 season. As part of the merger, the champions of the two agreed to meet in a world championship game for professional American football until the merger was effected. A bowl game is a college football game. Exploiting the Rose Bowl Games popularity, post-season college football contests were created for Miami, New Orleans, and El Paso, Texas in 1935, by the time the first Super Bowl was played, the term bowl for any major American football game was well established
Archie Manning
Elisha Archibald Archie Manning III is a former American football quarterback who played professionally for 16 seasons in the National Football League. He played in the NFL for the New Orleans Saints from 1971 to 1982, in college, he played for the Ole Miss Rebels football team at the University of Mississippi, and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Manning is the father of Cooper Manning, former Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning and Eli have each won two Super Bowls. Born in Drew, Manning was the son of Jane Elizabeth and Elisha Archibald Manning and he grew up heavily involved in football, basketball and track. His father, known as Buddy, was interested in Archies sports activities, Archie III drew his inspiration from a local high school sports star, James Hobson. His mother was a presence at all of his games. Archie was selected in the Major League Baseball draft four times, first in 1967 by the Braves, twice by the White Sox, and finally by the Royals in 1971.
In the summer of 1969 his father, Buddy Manning, committed suicide and Archie, Manning attended the University of Mississippi in Oxford and was the starting quarterback at Ole Miss for three years. In the first national prime time broadcast of a football game, Manning threw for 436 yards. However, the rest of the team was not at his level, in his college career, he threw for 4,753 yards and 31 touchdowns and ran for 823 yards. He scored 14 touchdowns in 1969, in both 1969 and 1970, he was named to the All-SEC team and his No.18 jersey was retired by Ole Miss. He was fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting in 1969 and third in 1970, Manning was inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1989. Mannings legacy is honored to this day on the campus of Ole Miss where the limit is eighteen miles per hour in honor of Mannings jersey number. During his time at Ole Miss, Manning was a brother of Sigma Nu fraternity and he was named Southeastern Conference Quarterback of the Quarter Century by several publications.
Manning was the second pick in the 1971 NFL Draft. During his tenure in New Orleans, the Saints had nine losing seasons and they only managed to get to.500 once, in 1979, which was the only season they finished higher than third in their division. Nevertheless, he was respected by NFL peers. For example, he was sacked 340 times during his Saints career, according to Sports Illustrated senior writer Paul Zimmerman, it should have been much more than that
Touchdown
A touchdown is a means of scoring in both American and Canadian football. Whether running, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, to score a touchdown, one team must take the football into the opposite end zone. The touchdown is scored the instant the ball crosses the plane of the line while in possession of a player whose team is trying to score in that end zone. The play is dead and the scores the moment the ball crosses the goal line in possession of a player. The slightest part of the ball being over the line is sufficient for a touchdown to score. However, only the ball counts, not a players helmet, touching one of the pylons at either end of the goal line with the ball constitutes breaking the plane as well. Touchdowns are usually scored by the offense by running or passing the ball, the defense can score a touchdown if they have recovered a fumble or made an interception and return it to the opposing end zone. Special teams can score a touchdown on a kickoff or punt return, in short, any play in which a player legally carries the ball across the goal line scores a touchdown, and the manner in which he gained possession is inconsequential. A touchdown is worth six points, the scoring team is awarded the opportunity for an extra point or a two-point conversion.
Afterwards, the team scored the touchdown kicks off to the opposing team. This rule was changed to the iteration in 1889. If the teammate could fair catch the ball, he could follow with a try for goal from the spot of the catch, the governing rule at the time read, A match shall be decided by a majority of touchdowns. A goal shall be equal to four touchdowns, but in the case of a tie, in 1881, the rules were modified so that a goal kicked from a touchdown took precedence over a goal kicked from the field in breaking ties. In 1882, four touchdowns were determined to take precedence over a goal kicked from the field, two safeties were equivalent to a touchdown. In 1883, points were introduced to football, and a touchdown counted as four points, a goal after a touchdown counted as four points. In 1889, the provision requiring the ball to actually be touched to the ground was removed, a touchdown was now scored by possessing the ball beyond the goal line. In 1897, the touchdown scored five points, and the goal after touchdown added another point, in 1900, the definition of touchdown was changed to include situations where the ball becomes dead on or above the goal line.
In 1912, the value of a touchdown was increased to six points, the end zone was added
Reggie Bush
Reginald Alfred Bush Jr. is an American football running back who is currently a free agent. He played college football at USC, where he earned consensus All-American honors twice and won a Heisman Trophy, Bush won Super Bowl XLIV with the Saints in 2010 over the Indianapolis Colts. He has played for the Miami Dolphins, Detroit Lions, Bush won the 2005 Doak Walker and Walter Camp awards. As a result, Bush voluntarily forfeited his Heisman Trophy, Bush was born in 1985 in Spring Valley in San Diego County and named for his biological father, Reginald Alfred Bush, Sr. He was a back at Helix High School in La Mesa. While at Helix, he played with 2004 Heisman Trophy finalist Alex Smith, during his prep career with the Helix High School Scotties, he won the prestigious Silver Pigskin trophy awarded by KUSIs Prep Pigskin Report. Smith and Bush were finalists for the 2004 Heisman, making it the first time a school had two finalists at the same ceremony. He played in the 2003 U. S. Army All-American Bowl, considered a five-star recruit by Rivals.
com, Bush was listed as the No.1 running back in the nation in 2003. Bush is still 2nd all time on the 100m dash all-time list for San Diego and he placed second in the boys 50 meters, clocking at 5.85 at the 2003 Los Angeles Invitational Indoor Meet. Bush received a scholarship to attend the University of Southern California. When Carroll recruited Bush he envisioned using him as a five-way threat, the freshman quickly proved effective in carrying, catching and returning the ball. Bush was a consensus first-team Freshman All-American selection in 2003, and his 1,331 all-purpose yards set a USC freshman record. The ESPN Pac-10 Newcomer of the Year amassed 521 yards rushing that year, University of Utah quarterback Alex Smith and Bush were both finalists for the 2004 Heisman Trophy, making it the first time a high school had two finalists at the same ceremony. In 2004, Bush finished fifth in the Heisman voting and was named the teams MVP and he earned consensus All-American honors and was a finalist for the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award.
He finished second on the team with 143 carries for 908 yards and six touchdowns, adding 509 yards, Bush returned 21 kickoffs for 537 yards and 24 punts for 376 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He became the first Trojan since Marcus Allen to lead the Pac-10 in all-purpose yardage and he threw for one touchdown, tossing a 52-yard scoring strike. In 2005, Bush was a unanimous first-team All-American and winner of the Heisman Trophy and he was named the Associated Press College Football Player of the Year, the Pigskin Club of Washington, D. C. Offensive Player of the Year, and the Touchdown Club of Columbus Player of the Year, in addition to the Walter Camp Award, Bush won the Doak Walker Award, which is given to the nations best running back
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Saints currently compete in the National Football League as a member of the leagues National Football Conference South division, the team was founded by John W. Mecom Jr. David Dixon and the city of New Orleans. The Saints began play in Tulane Stadium in 1967, the franchise was founded on November 1,1966. The teams primary colors are old gold and black, their logo is a simplified fleur-de-lis and they played their home games in Tulane Stadium through the 1974 NFL season. The following year, they moved to the new Louisiana Superdome, for most of their first 20 years, the Saints were barely competitive, only getting to.500 twice. In 1987, they finished 12–3—their first-ever winning season—and qualified for the NFL playoffs for the first time in franchise history, the next season of 1988 ended with a 10–6 record. In the year 2000, the Saints defeated the St. Louis Rams 31–28 to notch their first-ever playoff win, in 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and much of the Gulf Coast region.
The Superdome was used as a temporary shelter for displaced residents. The stadium suffered damage from the hurricane, and from lack of available facilities, however, the Superdome was repaired and renovated in time for the 2006 season at an estimated cost of US$185 million. The New Orleans Saints first post-Katrina home game was an emotionally charged Monday Night Football game versus their division rival, the Atlanta Falcons. The Saints, under head coach Sean Payton and new quarterback Drew Brees, defeated the Falcons 23–3. The 2009 season was a one for the Saints. Winning a franchise-record 13 games, they qualified for Super Bowl XLIV, over the course of 49 seasons, the Saints have compiled an overall record of 331–418–5, with a regular-season record of 324–409–5 and a playoff record of 7–9. First the brainchild of local sports entrepreneur Dave Dixon, who founded the Louisiana Superdome and the USFL. Senator Russell Long, and then–NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle, the NFL needed congressional approval of the proposed AFL–NFL merger.
Dixon and a civic group had been seeking an NFL franchise for over five years and had hosted record crowds for NFL exhibition games. To seal the merger, Rozelle arrived in New Orleans within a week, and announced on November 1,1966, when the deal was reached a week earlier, Dixon strongly suggested to Rozelle that the announcement be delayed until then. Dixon told an interviewer that he cleared the name with New Orleans Archbishop Philip M. Hannan
