Leroy Hoard

Leroy J. Hoard (born May 15, 1968) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons for the Cleveland Browns from 1990 to 1995 and the Minnesota Vikings from 1996 to 1999. He also played briefly for the Carolina Panthers (three games) and Baltimore Ravens (two games) during the 1996 NFL season. In a 10-year NFL career, Hoard appeared in 144 games, totaled 3,964 rushing yards and 2,430 receiving yards and scored 51 touchdowns.

Hoard also played college football as a fullback and tailback for the Michigan Wolverines from 1987 to 1989. After rushing for 146 yards and two touchdowns against USC, he was selected as the most valuable player in the 1989 Rose Bowl. Hoard gained 1,706 rushing yards on 314 carries (5.4 yards per carry), caught 30 passes for 199 yards, and scored 19 touchdowns at Michigan.

University of Michigan Hoard enrolled at the University of Michigan in 1986 and played college football for head coach Bo Schembechler's Michigan Wolverines football teams from 1987 to 1989. He started one game at fullback in 1987 but was otherwise a backup to Jarrod Bunch and Jamie Morris.

As a sophomore, Hoard started six games at fullback and one game at tailback for the 1988 Michigan Wolverines football team that compiled a 9-2-1 record, won the Big Ten Conference championship, defeated USC in the 1989 Rose Bowl, and finished the season ranked No. 4 in the final AP Poll. The highlight of Hoard's college career was being named most valuable player of the 1989 Rose Bowl, after rushing for 146 yards and two touchdowns in Michigan's win over USC. He also rushed for 165 yards and two touchdowns in the 1988 Michigan-Ohio State game.

As a junior, Hoard started five games at fullback and three games at tailback for the 1989 Michigan team that compiled a 10–2 record, won a second consecutive Big Ten championship, lost to USC in the 1990 Rose Bowl (despite 108 rushing yards from Hoard), and finished the season ranked No. 7 in the final AP Poll. Hoard rushed for 832 yards and six touchdowns during the 1989 season.

Professional career Cleveland Browns Hoard was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the second round (45th overall pick) of the 1990 NFL draft. He played six seasons for the Browns from 1990 to 1995, appearing in 90 games, including 54 as a starter. During the 1991 NFL season, Hoard appeared in all 16 games for the Browns (nine as a starter) and compiled 721 combined receiving and rushing yards and 11 touchdowns.

One week after being released by the Ravens, Hoard signed with the Carolina Panthers to replace the injured Tshimanga Biakabutuka. He appeared in three games for the Panthers, all as a backup, and carried the ball only five times for 11 yards.

Minnesota Vikings On November 5, 1996, after an injury to Minnesota Vikings running back Robert Smith,

Hoard remained with the Vikings through the 1999 NFL season. He had some of his best years with the Vikings. In 1998, he had 667 combined rushing/receiving yards and scored nine rushing touchdowns and one receiving touchdown. He also was responsible for the longest conversion in NFL history, gaining 52 yards on an 3rd and 37 draw play vs the Denver Broncos. In 1999, he scored a career-high 10 rushing touchdowns and finished the year with 721 combined rushing/receiving yards.

Hoard was known as a "goal-line" running back who excelled at breaking through an opposing defense's goal-line defenses. Regarding his skills, Hoard reportedly once said to his coach, "Coach, if you need one yard, I'll get you three yards. If you need five yards, I'll get you three yards."

NFL career statistics Legend Bold Career high

Regular season Year Team Games Rushing Receiving GP GS Att Yds Avg Lng TD Rec Yds Avg Lng TD 1990 CLE 14 5 58 149 2.6 42 3 10 73 7.3 17 0 1991 CLE 16 9 37 154 4.2 52 2 48 567 11.8 71 9 1992 CLE 16 9 54 236 4.4 37 0 26 310 11.9 46 1 1993 CLE 16 7 56 227 4.1 30 0 35 351 10.0 41 0 1994 CLE 16 12 209 890 4.3 39 5 45 445 9.9 65 4 1995 CLE 12 12 136 547 4.0 25 0 13 103 7.9 24 0 1996 BAL 2 1 15 61 4.1 10 0 1 4 4.0 4 0 CAR 3 0 5 11 2.2 5 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 MIN 6 6 105 420 4.0 25 3 10 129 12.9 37 0 1997 MIN 12 1 80 235 2.9 20 4 11 84 7.6 30 0 1998 MIN 16 1 115 479 4.2 50 9 22 198 9.0 24 1 1999 MIN 15 3 138 555 4.0 53 10 17 166 9.8 29 0 144 66 1,008 3,964 3.9 53 36 238 2,430 10.2 71 15

Playoffs Year Team Games Rushing Receiving GP GS Att Yds Avg Lng TD Rec Yds Avg Lng TD 1994 CLE 2 0 20 74 3.7 10 1 2 30 15.0 25 0 1996 MIN 1 0 3 21 7.0 12 0 1 7 7.0 7 0 1997 MIN 2 0 8 25 3.1 6 1 1 9 9.0 9 0 1998 MIN 2 0 17 54 3.2 11 2 4 39 9.8 16 1 1999 MIN 2 0 13 55 4.2 10 1 2 15 7.5 10 0 9 0 61 229 3.8 12 5 10 100 10.0 25 1

Broadcasting career 790 The Ticket (WAXY)

Leroy Hoard was part of the morning drive radio show on WAXY 790 AM in South Florida with Brendan Tobin from 6 AM to 10 AM EST until September 2022. The show was formerly on from 1 PM to 3 PM.

560 WQAM

Starting in October 2022, the radio show was moved to WQAM and changed to a 10 AM to 2PM schedule.