Eddie Lacy

Eddie Darwin Lacy Jr (born June 2, 1990 in Geismar, Louisiana) is a former All-SEC running back for the Alabama Crimson Tide football team and the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League.

Lacy graduated from Dutchtown High School in Ascension Parish, Louisiana and scored 294 touchdowns for the Griffins football team. He was twice named to the Class 5A All-State team and was rated by Rivals.com as the 13th best running back coming out of high school in 2009. He accepted a scholarship offer from Alabama that February, and was redshirted for his freshman year.

As a sophomore, Lacy played behind Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson, wearing the number 42 jersey. He saw the field in the season opener against San Jose State and ran for 111 yards and two touchdowns, but was used sparingly for the remainder of the season and finished with 406 yards on 56 carries with 6 touchdowns. He finished the season with a 62-yard score in the Tide's victory over Michigan State in the Capital One Bowl in Orlando, Florida.

During the 2011 season, Lacy and Richardson formed a powerful running back tandem. Lacy earned praise for his "nasty" spin move. He was nicknamed "Circle Button" by his teammates, referencing the Sony Playstation game controller button that typically executes a spin move.

In that year's season opener against Kent State, Lacy showed off his skills as a receiver, tallying 76 yards on three catches to go with 58 yards on eight carries. After an 85-yard outing against Penn State he set a career mark with 161 yards and 2 touchdowns in only 9 carries against North Texas. He injured his foot in the Arkansas game and did not play against Vanderbilt. He finished the regular season with 631 yards rushing and seven scores. That year's 11-1 Tide team missed out on the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta due to an overtime loss to LSU in what was billed as the "Game of the Century", but was eventually picked to face the Bengal Tigers in a rematch in the 2012 BCS National Championship Game in New Orleans. Lacy had 43 yards in 11 carries in Alabama's 21-0 victory to claim a 14th national championship.

Lacy was given the starting job after Richardson's departure, and was backed up by true freshman T. J. Yeldon. He ran for 1,322 yards and 17 touchdowns, plus two more touchdown receptions. His 181 yards rushing and two scores helped Alabama outlast Georgia and their star, Todd Gurley, to win the 2012 SEC Championship Game 32-28. He was named the Offensive MVP of the game and went on to amass 140 yards and another score in the Tide's 42-14 win over Notre Dame in the 2013 BCS Championship Game. Lacy was also the Offensive MVP for that game.

Professional career

Lacy declared his intention to enter the 2013 NFL Draft on January 11. He was drafted by the Packers in the second round with the 61st overall pick and started 15 of 16 games in his rookie season. He was sidelined in week 4 due to a concussion suffered against the Redskins on September 15. For the season, Lacy gained 1,178 yards on 284 carries with 11 rushing touchdowns. He added another 257 yards as a receiver, and lost one fumble. His most productive game game against the Chicago Bears where he had 22 carries for 150 yards. He set Packers rookie records for rushing yards and touchdowns, and was named the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Year. He was also named to the Associated Press' second All-Pro squad and was invited to the NFC's Pro Bowl team.

In 2014 Lacy suffered another concussion in the season opener against the Seahawks, but did not miss any more games. He hit his stride in the second half of the NFL season, finishing with 1,139 yards and nine touchdowns on the ground and four more scores to go with 427 yards receiving.

During the 2015 NFL season, Lacy began splitting time with 5th year veteran James Starks. Starks replaced Lacy as the starting running back on November 11. Through 13 games Lacy had 517 yards and two touchdowns.

References

• "Eddie Lacy" (December 3, 2015) Wikipedia - accessed December 4, 2015

External links

• Eddie Lacy website
• Eddie Lacy on Twitter.com
• Eddie Lacy at NFL.com
• Eddie Lacy at packers.com
• Alabama Crimson Tide bio