Deji Karim

Abdul-Gafar Olatokumbo Ayodeji Lamar "Deji" Karim ( ; born November 18, 1986) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2010 NFL draft. He played college football for the Northeastern Oklahoma A&M Golden Norsemen and Southern Illinois Salukis.

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. He was not offered a scholarship 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.

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.

Jacksonville Jaguars Karim was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars with the 180th overall pick in the sixth round of the 2010 NFL draft. In July 2010, Karim signed a four-year, $1.9 million contract with the Jaguars. During the 2010 season, Karim was used primarily as a returner and was the Jaguars' third 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.

On April 27, 2012, Karim was released by the Jaguars.

Indianapolis Colts On April 30, 2012, Karim was claimed off waivers by the Indianapolis Colts. On December 30, 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. On September 1, Karim was cut from the final roster of the Texans. On October 28, Karim re-signed with Texans once again due to an injuries to Arian Foster and Ben Tate.

Indianapolis Colts (second stint) On August 17, 2014, Karim agreed to terms with the Indianapolis Colts. He was placed on injured reserve on August 26 with an undisclosed injury. On September 2, Karim was released by the Colts with an injury settlement.

Professional statistics Year Carries Yards Rushing Touchdowns Yards Per Carry Receptions Yards Receiving Touchdowns Return yards Return Touchdowns 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