Jamaal Charles

Jamaal Charles, a three-time All-Big Twelve Conference selection gave the Longhorns their 13th 1,000-yard rusher since the 1995 season during his junior season. He is the only running back in UT history to post a run of at least 80 yards and a reception of at least 70 yards in the same game. During his three years at the university, he generated 102 rushing attempts that gained at least 10 yards, including 31 carries for over 20 yards and had 16 receptions for 10 yards or longer. Charles was also a standout for the Longhorns' track and field team. The four-time All-American clocked a personal-best 10.26 seconds in the 100-meter dash in winning the Big Twelve Conference title as a freshman. That season, he also ran the third leg of Texas' first-place 4x100m relay (39.19) at the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships to help Texas land an automatic berth into the NCAA Championships. At Memorial High School, Charles was a two-time first-team Class 5A All-State tailback. He rushed for 4,107 yards and 50 touchdowns during his last two years. The Parade All-America selection played in the 2005 U.S. Army All-American Bowl and broke a Port Arthur career rushing record held by Joe Washington that stood for more than 30 years. Charles was an Associated Press All-State choice as a senior, adding Offensive MVP honors by the Houston Chronicle. He was named District 22-5A Player of the Year as a junior and senior, rushing for 2,056 yards on 260 carries and recorded 25 touchdowns as a senior. The tailback earned first-team All-State honors from the Texas Sports Writers Association and second-team All-State accolades from the Associated Press as a junior. He received the Willie Ray Smith Award given to the Best High School Offensive Player in Southeast Texas in 2003, rushing for 2,051 yards and 25 touchdowns to help his team to the 5A Division II quarterfinals. Charles underwent shoulder surgery in 2003, but in his first game back, he posted 371 yards on 49 carries vs. Midland Lee High in 2004. He also had 400 yards on 31 carries and six scores vs. Spring Westfield and recorded 258 yards and four touchdowns in one half vs. Baytown Sterling that season. Charles also lettered in track, winning the Texas Class 5A state championships in the 110m hurdles (13.69) and 300m hurdles (36.03) as a senior. Both of his winning times led the nation. He was a member of the national record-setting 4x200m relay team as a sophomore and received a bronze medal in the 2003 World Youth Championships in the 400m hurdles. Heavily recruited, Charles enrolled at Texas in 2005, turning down scholarship offers from Texas A&M, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Miami, Nebraska and Notre Dame. Coming from an athletic family, he joined his brother, Shanderric Charles, who played running back at Southern Methodist (2001-02), his cousin, Graylin Johnson, who played safety at Texas (1989-90) and cousin, RaShonta LeBlanc, who plays basketball at Louisiana State (2004-present) as members of the family who have starred at the collegiate level. Charles started three of 13 contests for Texas in 2005. He earned Freshman all-American honorable mention and Freshman All--Big Twelve Conference honors from The Sporting News and was named the Big Twelve Offensive Freshman of the Year by the conference's coaches. He finished fifth on the UT freshman rushing chart with 878 yards on 119 carries (7.4-yard average), despite battling an ankle injury for three games. His 11 touchdowns on the ground rank second on the school's freshmen season-record list, as he also added 157 yards and a pair of scores on 14 receptions (11.2-yard average). Because of track commitments, Charles did not get much practice time prior to the 2006 football season. He sat out vs. Sam Houston State with an ankle sprain and despite leading the team with 831 yards and seven touchdowns on 156 carries (5.3-yard average), fumble issues and a lack of strength made it a trying season. He also caught 18 passes for 183 yards (10.2-yard average) and a score. As urged by the coaching staff, Charles spent the 2007 offseason in the training room, not on the Texas track team. The result was an additional 15 pounds of muscle on his once lanky frame. He asked the coaching staff to leave him in practice longer to help condition him for the rigors of a season. Charles went on to produce 1,619 yards on 258 carries (6.3-yard average), the fourth-best season total in school history. His 18 touchdown runs rank tied for fifth on the UT single-season list, as he also came up with 199 yards on 17 catches (11.7-yard average) to finish his junior year with 1,818 all-purpose yards. He ran for over 100 yards seven times during his 13 starts and, outside of missing the second half of the Texas Tech clash with a left ankle sprain, he was relatively healthy for the first time in his career. For that performance, Charles was tabbed a Doak Walker Award (nation's top running back) semifinalist and earned unanimous first-team All-Big Twelve Conference honors. He was named UT's George "Hook" McCullough co-MVP, the Darrell K. Royal Most Valuable Offensive Player and the Clyde Littlefield Outstanding Offensive Back. He led the league and ranked 10th in the nation, averaging 124.54 yards per game rushing. In 38 games at Texas, Charles started 17 contests. He rushed 533 times for 3,328 yards (6.2-yard average), the fourth-best career total in school history, as his 36 touchdowns on the ground rank tied for fifth in Longhorn annals. He gained 539 yards with three scores on 49 receptions (11.0-yard average) and recorded four tackles (three solo). He scored 234 points and ran for at least 100 yards 11 times, finishing with 3,867 all-purpose yards.

positives

Has a lean, athletic build that is not really thick, but he shows good overall definition with tapered thighs and calves (despite adding 15 pounds in the 2007 offseason, he still has a sprinter's frame)...Has the sudden initial step out of his stance to gain advantage...Changes direction easily and has the ability to put his foot in the ground, cut and get to top speed in a hurry...Runs with good toughness, but for a player of his size, you wouldn't mind see him run out of bounds, rather than head-first into the pile, to preserve his body from inside punishment...Has the speed to challenge any defender in a footrace and shows good patience letting his blocks develop...Solid competitor who comes to play on every down...Good leader-by-example type who has a much better work ethic than recent Texas runners (Ricky Williams and Cedric Benson), as football is very important to him...Never complained while sharing the running load in the past and would be receptive to a "committee" approach in the NFL...Gets to top speed in a flash and has the lateral quickness to disappear from the crowd...Very quick and sudden out of his stance and has the vision to instantly see the rush lane...Runs with good awareness, knowing how to use his blockers downfield, with the timing and anticipation to hit the cutback lanes...Not a bruising inside runner, but compensates with an explosive burst through the hole, along with the vision and feet to find seams inside...Runs a bit high at times, but has nice feet to avoid trash...Not strong enough to break tackles, but is hard to bring down in space due to his elusiveness and when he reaches the corner, he can change his angle, showing the quick lateral moves and second gear to take the ball to the house...Not a great make-you-miss type of runner, but has the lateral quickness to set up tacklers and run off his blocks well...Reaches top speed in a hurry and has quick stop-and-go action...Very effective at cutting at full speed, showing the shiftiness to avoid in the open...Has the balance, spin move and quick plant and drive to go in a new direction or break the tackler down, as he can either shake or slip under second-level defenders well...Holds the ball a little too carelessly in a crowd, but has worked with a new grip (more angled towards the chest) recently with better success...Has adequate route running ability, but can make proper adjustments coming back for the ball (used mostly on screens and when slipping out from the slot)...Will get run over when trying to block in the backfield, but will give a solid effort (better when taking angles and cut blocking than facing up).

compares to

JULIUS JONES-Dallas...Charles has great outside running ability, but like his former teammate, Selvin Young (Denver) and Jones, he is best when utilized as a change-of-pace back. He is an excellent outside runner, but because of a lack of bulk and strength, he gets pushed back or engulfed going up the gut, where he also has fumble issues. Use him in a shared alignment much like the Cowboys did with Jones and Marion Barber or like the Giants did with Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw, and you will get good quality in return. At this time, more than 15 carries in any game brings a risk of wearing him down, which invites injury.

negatives

Added more than 15 pounds of bulk prior to the 2007 season, but his frame could withstand additional weight and he needs to improve his overall strength, as defenses have good success taking him down on the initial tackle in runs up the middle of the field...Has worked hard to improve ball security, but still needs to do a better job of protecting the ball, as he is prone to fumbling issues when making initial contact with a defender...Lacks the leg drive to push the pile and while he had success with a high amount of carries in 2007, he is really not a feature back and more of a change-of-pace type (can impact as an outside rusher, but lacks the frame to be a star running between the tackles)...Does not hesitate to attack the inside hole, but is more of a pick-and-slide type that needs to be stronger behind his pads to be successful running up the middle at the next level...Can run through low blocks, but must protect his feet better as he is tripped up in tight areas...When he carries the ball loosely, it is very inviting for a defender to attack his arms...Is more of a collision blocker who is best when cutting defenders, lacking the strength and bulk to face up and sustain in the backfield...Shows adequate hands coming out of the backfield, but they can't be considered natural and he will lose focus and drop a few when he hears a defender's footsteps...Has incredible speed and burst, along with the quick feet to run routes, but is still learning how to settle underneath and get open...Better served in a system where he can share the rushing load rather than be the featured back, as he tends to wear down late in games...Has had ankle issues in each of his three seasons at Texas.

2003: Underwent shoulder surgery during his high school junior year. 2005: Suffered a left ankle sprain in the third quarter vs. Oklahoma (10/08) and the injury would limit his play the next three games vs. Colorado, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State. 2006: Sat out the Sam Houston State game (9/30) with an ankle sprain. 2007: Tweaked his left ankle sprain vs. Iowa State (10/13) and missed most of the second half of the Texas Tech game (11/10) when he re-injured his ankle.

Campus: 4.41 in the 40-yard dash

315-pound bench press

36-inch vertical jump

4.06 20-yard shuttle

31 5/8-inch arm length

9 1/8-inch hands.

Attended Memorial (Port Arthur, Tex.) High School, playing football for head coach Dean Colbert

Two-time first-team Class 5A All-State tailback who rushed for 4,107 yards and 50 touchdowns during his last two years

Parade All-America selection

Played in the 2005 U.S. Army All-American Bowl and broke a Port Arthur city career rushing record held by Joe Washington that stood for over 30 years

Associated Press All-State choice as a senior, adding Offensive MVP honors by the Houston Chronicle

Named District 22-5A Player of the Year as a junior and senior, rushing for 2,056 yards on 260 carries and had 25 touchdowns as a senior

Earned first-team All-State honors from the Texas Sports Writers Association and second-team All-State accolades from the Associated Press as a junior

Received the Willie Ray Smith Award for the Best High School Offensive Player in South-east Texas in 2003, rushing for 2,051 yards and 25 touchdowns to help his team to the 5A Division II quarterfinals

Underwent shoulder surgery in 2003, but in his first game back, he posted 371 yards on 49 carries vs. Midland Lee High in 2004

Also had 400 yards on 31 carries and six scores vs. Spring Westfield and recorded 258 yards and four touchdowns in one half vs. Baytown Sterling that year

Lettered in track, winning the Texas Class 5A state championships in the 110m hurdles (13.69) and 300m hurdles (36.03) as a senior. Both of his winning times led the nation

Member of the national record-setting 4x200m relay team as a sophomore and received a bronze medal in the 2003 World Youth Championships in the 400m hurdles

Graduated with a 3.2 grade point average.

Enrolled in the College of Education

Three-time member of the University of Texas Athletics Director's Honor Roll

Comes from an athletic family, as he joined his brother, Shanderric Charles, who played running back at Southern Methodist (2001-02), his cousin, Graylin Johnson, who played safety at Texas (1989-90) and cousin, RaShonta LeBlanc, who plays basketball at Louisiana State (2004-present) as members to star at the college level

Nickname is "J-Mall"

Born Jamaal RaShaad Charles on 12/27/1986 in Port Arthur, Texas.