Deji Karim
{{Short description|American football player (born 1986)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2021}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name = Deji Karim
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| current_team =
| number = 35, 36, 39
| position = Running back
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1986|11|18|mf=y}}
| birth_place = Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
| height_ft = 5
| height_in = 11
| weight_lbs = 200
| high_school = Oklahoma City (OK) Putnam City North
| college = Southern Illinois
| draftyear = 2010
| draftround = 6
| draftpick = 180
| teams =
- Jacksonville Jaguars ({{NFL Year|2010}}−{{NFL Year|2011}})
- Indianapolis Colts ({{NFL Year|2012}})
- Houston Texans ({{NFL Year|2013}})
- Indianapolis Colts ({{NFL Year|2014}})*
| status =
| statlabel1 = Rushing attempts
| statvalue1 = 110
| statlabel2 = Rushing yards
| statvalue2 = 341
| statlabel3 = Receptions
| statvalue3 = 18
| statlabel4 = Receiving yards
| statvalue4 = 129
| statlabel5 = Return yards
| statvalue5 = 2,332
| statlabel6 = Total touchdowns
| statvalue6 = 1
| pfr = K/KariDe00
}}
Abdul-Gafar Olatokumbo Ayodeji Lamar "Deji" Karim ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|d|eɪ|ʒ|i|_|k|ə|ˈ|r|iː|m}} {{respell|DAY|zhee|_|kə|REEM}}; born November 18, 1986) is an American former professional football running back. He was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2010 NFL draft. He played college football for Southern Illinois and Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College.
Early life
Karim attended Putnam City North High School in Oklahoma City where he was teammates with Arizona Cardinals quarterback Sam Bradford. He earned all state honors his senior year after he rushed for more than 2,000 yards and scored 28 TDs as a senior.{{Cite web |title=#35 Deji Karim Bio - jaguars.com |url=http://www.jaguars.com/Team/Player.aspx?id=2952 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101125015600/http://jaguars.com/team/Player.aspx?id=2952 |archive-date=November 25, 2010 |access-date=October 28, 2010}} He was not offered a scholarshiphttps://sports.yahoo.com/footballrecruiting/football/recruiting/player-Deji-Karim-27947;_ylt=Av6zOWlDlB9vt1FJv6ebJhFEPZB4 {{Dead link|date=August 2022}} although he did have interest from schools such as Colorado State, Kansas State, SMU, and Oklahoma State.
College career
Karim played two seasons (2005, 2006) at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College. In those two seasons he rushed for 1,972 yards on 328 carries with 25 touchdowns. He also had 25 receptions for 315 yards and a receiving touchdown.
Karim then transferred to Southern Illinois. He led the Salukis in 2007 with eight rushing touchdowns, but missed the 2008 season with a knee injury. The 2009 season brought him national recognition as he led the Football Championship Subdivision with 1,694 rushing yards and guided Southern Illinois to the No. 1 national ranking for three weeks, its second-straight Missouri Valley Football Conference Championship and the Elite Eight of the FCS Playoffs. Karim broke the SIU single-season record for all-purpose yards (2,339) and averaged 30.9 yards on 14 kickoff returns with one touchdown. He was named a first-team All-American by four different services and was the MVFC Offensive Player of the Year. Karim finished third in the voting for the 2009 Walter Payton Award (awarded annually to the most outstanding offensive player in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision).{{Cite web |url=http://siusalukis.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/042410aab.html |title=Deji Karim drafted in sixth round by Jacksonville - SOUTHERN ILLINOIS OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE |access-date=November 14, 2010 |archive-date=April 27, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100427102940/http://siusalukis.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/042410aab.html |url-status=dead }}
He finished his career at Southern Illinois with 2,080 rushing yards, 26 rushing touchdowns, 10 career 100-yard rushing games and averaged 6.58 yards per carry. Karim only fumbled once in 351 career touches.
Professional career
{{NFL predraft
| height ft = 5
| height in = 8 5/8
| weight = 209
| dash = 4.40
| ten split = 1.45
| twenty split = 2.45
| shuttle = 4.33
| cone drill = 6.95
| vertical = 43
| broad ft = 10
| broad in = 3
| bench = 19
| wonderlic =
| note = All values from SIU Pro Day (March 18, 2010){{Cite web |title=Deji Karim |url=https://draftscout.com/dsprofile.php?PlayerId=85880&DraftYear=2010 |website=DraftScout.com |accessdate=October 28, 2010}}
}}
=Jacksonville Jaguars=
Karim was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars with the 180th overall pick in the sixth round of the 2010 NFL draft.{{Cite web |title=2010 NFL Draft Listing |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2010/draft.htm |access-date=2023-05-13 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}}
In July 2010, Karim signed a 4-year $1.9 million deal with the Jaguars.{{Cite web |last=Crow |first=Alfie |date=2010-07-22 |title=Jacksonville Jaguars Ink Another Draft Pick |url=https://www.bigcatcountry.com/2010/7/22/1583298/jacksonville-jaguars-ink-another |access-date=2024-03-06 |website=Big Cat Country |language=en}} During the 2010 season, Karim was used primarily as a returner and was the Jaguars 3rd running back on the depth chart. Karim had 50 kick returns and averaged 25 yards per return. On limited carries he produced 160 Yards during his rookie season.{{Cite web|url=http://www.nfl.com/player/dejikarim/1037847/profile|title=Deji Karim Stats, News and Video - RB|website=NFL.com}}
On April 27, 2012, Karim was released by the Jaguars.{{Cite web |title=Jaguars waive six players |url=http://www.jaguars.com/news/article-JaguarsNews/Jaguars-waive-six-players/8b4f7d6a-a128-4ec7-8af2-b5e8ce42cc46 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120430194155/http://www.jaguars.com/news/article-JaguarsNews/Jaguars-waive-six-players/8b4f7d6a-a128-4ec7-8af2-b5e8ce42cc46 |archive-date=April 30, 2012 |accessdate=April 28, 2012}}
=Indianapolis Colts (first stint)=
On April 30, 2012, Karim was claimed off waivers by the Indianapolis Colts. On December 30, 2012, Karim returned a kick off 101 yards for a touchdown against the Houston Texans.
=Houston Texans=
On May 15, 2013, Karim signed with the Houston Texans.{{Cite web |url=http://www.houstontexans.com/news/article-2/Texans-sign-RB-Deji-Karim-C-Tyler-Horn/f21028be-3c6f-4a34-8f26-93256f2fa4e5 |title=Texans sign RB Deji Karim, C Tyler Horn |access-date=May 16, 2013 |archive-date=June 8, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130608161131/http://www.houstontexans.com/news/article-2/Texans-sign-RB-Deji-Karim-C-Tyler-Horn/f21028be-3c6f-4a34-8f26-93256f2fa4e5 |url-status=dead }} On September 1, 2013, Karim was cut from the final roster of the Texans.{{Cite web|url=https://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2013/8/31/4681066/houston-texans-roster-cuts-2013|title = Texans release Deji Karim, 19 others|date = August 31, 2013}} On October 28, 2013 Karim signed with Houston Texans once again due to an injuries to Arian Foster and Ben Tate.{{Cite web|url=http://fansided.com/2013/10/28/deji-karim-dennis-johnson-added-injured-houston-texans-backfield/|title = Deji Karim and Dennis Johnson added to injured Houston Texans backfield|date = October 28, 2013}}
=Indianapolis Colts (second stint)=
On August 17, 2014, Karim agreed to terms with the Colts.{{Cite web |url=http://blogs.colts.com/2014/08/17/indianapolis-colts-make-roster-moves-62/ |title=INDIANAPOLIS COLTS MAKE ROSTER MOVES |access-date=August 17, 2014 |archive-date=August 19, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819082852/http://blogs.colts.com/2014/08/17/indianapolis-colts-make-roster-moves-62/ |url-status=dead }} He was placed on injured reserve on August 26 with an undisclosed injury.{{Cite web |date=August 26, 2014 |title=Colts put 3 players on injured reserve, Havili on PUP to reach 75-player roster limit |url=http://www.coastreporter.net/sports/world/colts-put3-players-on-injured-reserve-havili-on-pup-to-reach-75-player-roster-limit-1.1329681 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140904175021/http://www.coastreporter.net/sports/world/colts-put3-players-on-injured-reserve-havili-on-pup-to-reach-75-player-roster-limit-1.1329681 |archive-date=September 4, 2014 |website=coastreporter.net |accessdate=August 30, 2014}} On September 2, 2014, he was released by the Colts with an injury settlement.{{Cite web |title=Colts release Deji Karim |url=https://sports.yahoo.com/news/colts-release-deji-karim-180449170--spt.html |website=sports.yahoo.com |date=September 2, 2014 |accessdate=September 3, 2014}}
Professional statistics
| class="wikitable" style="width: 100%" | ||||||||||
| style="background:#A8BDEC;" width=15%| Year | width=10% style="background:#A8BDEC;"| Carries | width=10% style="background:#A8BDEC;"| Yards | width=10% style="background:#A8BDEC;"| Rushing Touchdowns | width=10% style="background:#A8BDEC;"| Yards Per Carry | width=10% style="background:#A8BDEC;"| Receptions | width=10% style="background:#A8BDEC;"| Yards | width=10% style="background:#A8BDEC;"| Receiving Touchdowns | width=10% style="background:#A8BDEC;"| Return Yards | width=10% style="background:#A8BDEC;"| Return Touchdowns | width=10% style="background:#A8BDEC;"| Fumbles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 35 | 160 | 0 | 4.6 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 1,248 | 0 | 4 |
| 2011 | 63 | 125 | 0 | 2.1 | 14 | 120 | 0 | 652 | 0 | 1 |
| 2012 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 328 | 1 | 0 |
| 2013 | 12 | 51 | 0 | 4.3 | 1 | -1 | 0 | 104 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 110 | 341 | 0 | 3.1 | 18 | 129 | 0 | 2,332 | 1 | 5 |
References
{{Reflist|2}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20100327231342/http://siusalukis.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/karim_deji00.html SIU Salukis bio]
{{Jaguars2010DraftPicks}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Karim, Deji}}
Category:American football running backs
Category:Northeastern Oklahoma A&M Golden Norsemen football players
Category:Southern Illinois Salukis football players
Category:Jacksonville Jaguars players
Category:Indianapolis Colts players
Category:Houston Texans players