Karan Higdon
{{Short description|American football player (born 1996)}}
{{Use American English|date=March 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name = Karan Higdon
| image = Karan Higdon (24164450648) (cropped).jpg
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption = Higdon in 2017
| current_team =
| number =
| position = Running back
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age |1996|9|8|mf=y}}
| birth_place =
| height_ft = 5
| height_in = 10
| weight_lb = 202
| high_school = Riverview (Sarasota, Florida)
| college = Michigan
| undraftedyear = 2019
| pastteams =
- Houston Texans ({{NFL Year|2019}}–{{NFL Year|2020}})*
| status =
| highlights =
- First-team All-Big Ten (2018)
- Third-team All-Big Ten (2017)
}}
Karan Higdon (born September 8, 1996) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Michigan Wolverines, twice earning All-Big Ten honors.{{cite news |title=Michigan's Karan Higdon says he'll skip Peach Bowl |url=http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/25583396/karan-higdon-michigan-wolverines-skipping-peach-bowl-cites-draft |access-date=30 December 2018 |publisher=ESPN |date=December 20, 2018}}
Early years
Higdon grew up in Sarasota, Florida, and attended that city's Riverview High School where he rushed for 1,471 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns on 218 carries.{{cite news|title=Karan Higdon's Sarasota Success Story|newspaper=The Michigan Daily|date=November 2, 2017|url=https://www.michigandaily.com/section/football/michigan-football-karan-higdon-sarasota-florida}} Higdon initially gave a verbal commitment to Iowa, but flipped his commitment to Michigan after a campus visit to Ann Arbor.{{cite news|title=Michigan's Karan Higdon saw commitment as key to future, beyond sport|newspaper=Detroit Free Press|date=November 2, 2017|url=http://www.freep.com/story/sports/college/university-michigan/wolverines/2017/11/02/michigan-wolverines-football-karan-higdon/821858001/|last=Janes|first=Ted}}
College career
As a freshman for Michigan in 2015, Higdon appeared briefly in three games and totaled 19 rushing yards on 11 carries. As a sophomore in 2016, Higdon appeared in 12 games and had back-to-back 100-yard rushing games against Rutgers (108 yards on 13 carries) and Illinois (106 on eight carries).{{cite web|title=Karan Higdon|publisher=University of Michigan|work=Mgoblue.com|access-date=October 14, 2017|url=http://www.mgoblue.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=1324}} He totaled 425 rushing yards and six touchdowns on 72 carries for an average of 5.9 yards per carry.{{cite web|title=Karan Higdon|publisher=Sports Reference LLC|work=SR/College Football|access-date=October 14, 2017|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/karan-higdon-1.html}}
During the 2017 season, Higdon was Michigan's leading rusher with 994 yards on 165 carries.{{cite web|title=Karan Higdon Stats|work=ESPN.com|access-date=November 4, 2017|url=http://www.espn.com/college-football/player/_/id/3929927/karan-higdon}} On October 14, 2017, Higdon rushed for a career best 200 yards and three touchdowns on 25 carries.{{cite news|title=Michigan's Karan Higdon 'phenomenal' in breakout game|author=Angelique S. Chengelis|newspaper=The Detroit News|date=October 14, 2017|url=http://www.detroitnews.com/story/sports/college/university-michigan/wolverines/2017/10/14/michigans-karan-higdon-celebrates-breakout-game/106651196/}}{{cite news|title=Karan Higdon's 3 TDs lead Michigan over Indiana in OT|author=Jeff Washburn|publisher=Associated Press|date=October 14, 2017|url=http://www.wxyz.com/sports/college-sports/karan-higdons-3-tds-lead-michigan-over-indiana-in-ot}} He became the first Michigan running back to rush for 200 or more yards in a game since 2007.{{cite news|title=Karan Higdon carrying new load for No. 19 Michigan|work=Fox Sports|date=October 16, 2017|url=http://www.foxsports.com/detroit/story/karan-higdon-carrying-new-load-for-no-19-michigan-101617}} On November 4, 2017, Higdon recorded his second 200-yard game of the season, becoming the first Michigan running back to record multiple 200-yard games in the same season since Mike Hart in 2004. Following his outstanding performance, Higdon was named the Co-Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week.{{cite web |url=http://www.bigten.org/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/110617aaa.html |title=Big Ten Football Players of the Week |date=November 6, 2017 |publisher=Big Ten Conference |work=Big Ten Conference |access-date=November 6, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107030024/http://www.bigten.org/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/110617aaa.html |archive-date=November 7, 2017 |url-status=dead }} Following the 2017 season, Higdon was named to the All-Big Ten offensive third-team, by both the coaches and the media.{{cite news|title=Seven Wolverines Pick Up All-Conference Accolades on Offense|publisher=CBS Interactive|work=MGoBlue.com|access-date=November 29, 2017|date=November 29, 2017|url=http://www.mgoblue.com/news/2017/11/29/football-seven-wolverines-pick-up-all-conference-accolades-on-offense.aspx}}
During the 2018 season, Higdon rushed for 156 yards on 13 carries against Western Michigan, 136 yards on 12 carries against Nebraska, and 115 yards on 30 carries against Northwestern. He scored the game-winning touchdown on a five-yard run in the fourth quarter of the Northwestern game. He missed the SMU game with a lower-body injury suffered in practice.{{cite news|title=Michigan football RBs Karan Higdon, Chris Evans both day-to-day|author=Nick Baumgardner|newspaper=Detroit Free Press|date=September 17, 2018 |url=https://www.freep.com/story/sports/college/university-michigan/wolverines/2018/09/17/michigan-rbs-karan-higdon-chris-evans-both-day-day/1335358002/}} He rushed for 103 yards on 25 carries against Maryland, becoming the 23rd player in Michigan program history to surpass 2,000 career rushing yards (2,020).{{cite news|title=Postgame Notes: #15 Michigan 42, Maryland 21|publisher=CBS Interactive|work=MGoBlue.com|access-date=October 6, 2018|date=October 6, 2018|url=https://mgoblue.com/news/2018/10/6/football-postgame-notes-michigan-vs-maryland.aspx}} He rushed for 132 yards against Penn State, his seventh consecutive game surpassing 100-yards. This was the second-longest streak in Michigan program history, trailing only Mike Hart's eight consecutive games with 100-yards rushing in 2007.{{cite news|title=Postgame Notes: #5 Michigan 42, #14 Penn State 7|publisher=CBS Interactive|work=MGoBlue.com|access-date=November 3, 2018|date=November 3, 2018|url=https://mgoblue.com/news/2018/11/3/football-postgame-notes-michigan-vs-penn-state.aspx}} On November 10, 2018, he rushed for 42 yards against Rutgers, surpassing the 1,000-yard rushing mark in the second quarter. He became the first 1,000-yard running back for Michigan since Fitzgerald Toussaint in 2011, and the first player of any kind to rush for over 1,000 yards since Denard Robinson in 2012.{{cite news|title=Postgame Notes: #4 Michigan 42, Rutgers 7|publisher=CBS Interactive|work=MGoBlue.com|access-date=November 10, 2018|date=November 10, 2018|url=https://mgoblue.com/news/2018/11/10/football-postgame-notes-michigan-at-rutgers.aspx}} On November 17, Higdon rushed for 101 yards on 21 carries against Indiana, recording his eighth 100-yard rushing game this season. Higdon's 100-yard game was the 13th of his career, tying him with Gordon Bell, Billy Taylor and Tim Biakabutuka for the eighth-most 100-yard rushing games during a career in Michigan program history.{{cite news|title=Postgame Notes: #4 Michigan 31, Indiana 20|publisher=CBS Interactive|work=MGoBlue.com|access-date=November 17, 2018|date=November 17, 2018|url=https://mgoblue.com/news/2018/11/17/football-postgame-notes-michigan-vs-indiana.aspx}} Higdon finished the season with 1,178 yards on 224 carries, with 10 touchdowns. He scored one touchdown or more in eight of 11 games played and averaged 111.0 all-purpose yards per game. Following the season, he was named to the All-Big Ten offensive first-team by both the coaches and media{{cite news|title=Eleven Michigan Players Selected for All-Big Ten Honors on Offense|publisher=CBS Interactive|work=MGoBlue.com|access-date=November 27, 2018|date=November 27, 2017|url=https://mgoblue.com/news/2018/11/28/football-eleven-michigan-players-selected-for-all-big-ten-honors-on-offense.aspx}} He decided not to play in Michigan's bowl game, the Peach Bowl, in order to prepare for the 2019 NFL draft.{{cite web |url=https://www.fanduel.com/theduel/posts/6259004-michigan-players-skipping-citrus-bowl-game-showing-clear-impact |title=Michigan Players Skipping Citrus Bowl Game Showing Clear Impact |first=David |last=Hayes |website=fanduel.com |date=December 29, 2018 |access-date=December 29, 2018}}
Professional career
{{NFL predraft
| height ft = 5
| height in = 9 1/8
| weight = 206
| dash = 4.49
| ten split = 1.53
| twenty split = 2.61
| vertical = 34.0
| broad ft = 10
| broad in = 3
| bench = 21
| arm span = 30 3/4
| hand span = 9 5/8
| note = All values from NFL Combine{{Cite web |title=Karan Higdon Draft and Combine Prospect Profile |url=https://www.nfl.com/prospects/karan-higdon/32004849-4707-7058-b158-d673bedfa727 |access-date=December 3, 2023 |website=NFL.com}}{{Cite web |title=2019 NFL Draft Scout Karan Higdon College Football Profile |url=https://draftscout.com/dsprofile.php?PlayerId=1003218&DraftYear=2019 |access-date=December 3, 2023 |website=DraftScout.com}}
}}
Higdon signed with the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent following the 2019 NFL draft.{{cite web|title=Texans sign six draft picks, 20 college free agents|url=https://www.houstontexans.com/news/texans-sign-six-draft-picks-20-college-free-agents|website=HoustonTexans.com|date=May 10, 2019}} The Texans waived him on August 31 during final roster cuts.{{cite web |date=August 31, 2019 |title=Texans trim roster to 53 players |url=https://www.houstontexans.com/news/texans-trim-roster-to-53-players |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190901032100/https://www.houstontexans.com/news/texans-trim-roster-to-53-players |archive-date=2019-09-01 |website=HoustonTexans.com}} On September 1, 2019, Higdon was signed to the Texans practice squad.{{cite web|title=Texans sign CB Armstrong, TE Paulsen, add 10 players to practice squad|url=https://www.houstontexans.com/news/texans-sign-cb-armstrong-te-paulsen-add-10-players-to-practice-squad|website=HoustonTexans.com|date=September 2, 2019|access-date=September 3, 2019|archive-date=September 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190903055615/https://www.houstontexans.com/news/texans-sign-cb-armstrong-te-paulsen-add-10-players-to-practice-squad|url-status=dead}} He signed a reserve/future contract with the Texans on January 13, 2020.{{cite web|title=Texans sign 10 players to reserve/future contracts|url=https://www.houstontexans.com/news/texans-sign-10-players-to-reserve-future-contracts|website=HoustonTexans.com|date=January 13, 2020}}
On September 5, 2020, Higdon was waived by the Texans.{{cite web|title=Transactions: Roster Moves (9-5-2020)|url=https://www.houstontexans.com/news/transactions-roster-moves-9-5-2020|website=HoustonTexans.com|date=September 5, 2020}}
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
{{commons category}}
- [http://www.mgoblue.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=1324 Michigan profile]
{{Michigan Wolverines football rushing leaders}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Higdon, Karan}}
Category:Players of American football from Sarasota, Florida
Category:Riverview High School (Sarasota, Florida) alumni
Category:American football running backs
Category:Michigan Wolverines football players
Category:Houston Texans players