Former NFL running back Darren Sproles is a respected, household name. Even the casual football fans know of the 5-foot-7 speed demon and his ability to change a game in the blink of an eye. What oftentimes goes unnoticed is the fact he's been doing the same moves since he was in elementary school and playing in Pop Warner.
Growing up in Kansas in the late 1980s and 1990s, you heard all about sensational running backs. Barry Sanders was born and raised in Wichita, Kansas before becoming one of the greatest players in NFL history. Both Gale Sayers and John Riggins were born in Kansas and played college football for the Kansas Jayhawks before each racked up multiple 1,000-yard seasons in the NFL.
While most football fans know Sproles from playing with the San Diego Chargers, New Orleans Saints, and now Philadelphia Eagles, everybody in the Sunflower State knows him from his days with the Kansas State Wildcats.
And if you are from the Kansas City area, where Sproles turned heads at Olathe North High School, you know he's one of the best players to hail from Kansas. Ever.
Darren Sproles Pee Wee Highlights
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Talk about a cool throwback. He also gives hopes to all the little guys out there that love to play the game.
The jersey color has changed over the years. Sproles also grew a little bit, too. However, these pee wee football highlights shared by the Eagles are downright filthy and should make your jaw drop.
The elusiveness and incredible burst have been around forever, and it's why he continues to climb up the top 10 in NFL all-purpose yards as a 36-year-old specialist in Philly.
Since he was taken in the fourth round of the 2005 NFL Draft, Sproles racked up more than 3,500 rushing yards, almost 5,000 receiving yards, over 11,000 return yards and scored 64 total touchdowns before retiring in 2019.
But before he took the NFL by storm, he was a stud at K-State. And before that, well, he juked out plenty of football teams as a young kid.
These are the type of offseason highlights we all crave before training camp opens, and the New England Patriots and quarterback Tom Brady defend yet another Super Bowl title from last season.
Darren Sproles says he heard laughter when they listed his height and weight at the combine (5?6? | 187 pounds).
He spent 15 years in the league, won a title and made three Pro Bowls.
Salute ? pic.twitter.com/k7ErBWD0m4
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) December 21, 2019
His 2018 season was shortened by injury, which kept him on the sideline for all but six games last year, but he officially returned the following season, and defenses from the Dallas Cowboys, Minnesota Vikings, Green Bay Packers, Seattle Seahawks, and New York Giants, among many others, were forced to respect Sproles' game.
Sproles now serves as a personnel consultant for the Eagles, but some will remember him for his ankle-breaking days back in pee wee football.
This post was originally published on July 22, 2019.
