Napoleon Kaufman

Napoleon Kaufman

No. 26
Running back
Personal information
Date of birth: June 7, 1973 (1973-06-07) (age 38)
Place of birth: Kansas City, Missouri
Height: 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	Weight: 185 lb (84 kg)
Career information
College: Washington
NFL Draft: 1995 / Round: 1 / Pick: 18
Debuted in 1995 for the Oakland Raiders
Last played in 2000 for the Oakland Raiders
Career history
Oakland Raiders (1995-2000)
Career highlights and awards
Led NFL in Yards Per Rushing Attempt in 1996 with 5.8
Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2000
Rushing yards	4,792
Average	4.9
Touchdowns	12
Stats at NFL.com

Napoleon "Nip" Kaufman (born June 7, 1973) is a former American football player and currently an ordained minister. He is a former NFL running back, playing for the Oakland Raiders for the entirety of his professional football career.

Kaufman was born in Kansas City, Missouri and grew up in Lompoc, California which is located 35 miles north of Santa Barbara. He was one of the greatest high school running backs in California prep history at Lompoc High School. As a senior in 1990, at 5-9, 170, with 4.3 speed in 40 yards, he was named the Cal Hi Sports' California high school football player of the year, after he rushed for 1,960 yards and 28 TDs, despite injuries during the season, leading his team to a 13-1 record and CIF championship. He was also named to the USA Today first team All-American team. As a junior in 1989, he had an even better season, when he was named to the Southern Section All-CIF and All-State first team, compiling 2,954 all purpose yards and 39 TDs, averaging an incredible 70 yards on kickoff returns. He was also a track star. As a junior, he was the CIF California State Champion in both 100 (10.57) and 200 meters (21.15) He also was an outstanding long jumper with a best of over 24 feet. As a 135 pound soph in 1988, he rushed for 1,008 yards in leading Lompoc to the Southern Section divisional semifinals. In his high school career, he rushed for 5,151 yards and 86 TDs. After his high school career, he chose the University of Washington over USC, Colorado, and Arizona.

In 1991, as a true freshman at Washington, he was a first team kick returner in helping the Huskies win the college football national championship. He was one of the most electrifying running backs in Pac 10 and college football history, with tremendous acceleration. More famously, he was a critical player in the 1994 "Whammy In Miami" game between the Huskies and the University of Miami at the Orange Bowl, where the Huskies ended Miami's 58-game home winning streak which dated back to 1985. He is still the school's all-time leader in rushing yards (4,106), rushing attempts (735), 200 yard games (4), rushing touchdowns (34), tied with Hugh McElhenny for most rushing yards per game (89.3) and most rushes for 50+ yards (6). In a game against UCLA in 1994 he set the school's record for longest non-scoring rush with 79 yards. He would have 2 more rushes that season which went 50+ yards. He rushed for 1,045 yards in his soph season in 1992, 1,299 yards in his junior season in 1993, and 1,390 yards as a senior in 1994. Along with Chris Polk, he is one of only two running backs for the Huskies to rush for 1,000 yards in three consecutive seasons. He was named to the All-Pac 10 team in 1992, 1993, and 1994. In 1994, he was a second team All-American. Halfway through his senior season, he had rushed for almost 1,000 yards and was a leading Heisman Trophy Candidate, but a turf toe injury in the latter half of the season substantially affected his performance and caused him to miss one game and most of another.

After being drafted in the 1st round of the 1995 NFL Draft by the Oakland Raiders, Kaufman also enjoyed a 6 year NFL career, amassing 4792 yards rushing with an impressive 4.90 yards per carry. Splitting time with Tyrone Wheatley in the latter part of his career, Kaufman was the Raiders' only primary back in 1997 and 1998, when he rushed for 1,294 and 921 yards in those two seasons along with 65 total receptions.

Kaufman retired abruptly at the end of the 2000 NFL season to pursue a career as a Christian minister. Today he is the senior pastor at The Well Christian Community Church in Dublin, California. He has three sons and has been married for 10 years. He also coaches a team in the PJFL league, which his son is playing for.

References

• Napoleon Kaufman's NFL statistics

Official Athletic website of the University of Washington

Cal Hi Sports.com http://myespn.go.com/blogs/calhisports?tag=mr.%20football%20state%20player%20of%20the%20year

Persondata
Name	Kaufman, Napoleon
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	June 7, 1973
Place of birth	Kansas City, Missouri
Date of death
Place of death