Charlie Garner III (born February 13, 1972) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Th ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...

. He was drafted by the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

in the second round of the

1994 NFL Draft The 1994 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 24–25, 1994, at the Marriott Ma ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 36th-largest by ...

. Garner has also been a member of the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's Nationa ...

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Ra ...

, and

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...

Early years

Garner grew up in

Falls Church, Virginia Falls Church is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,658. Falls Church is included in the Washington metropolitan area. Taking its name from The Falls Church, an 18th-century Ch ...

and attended J.E.B. Stuart High School (now known as Justice High School). His senior year, he was selected first-team All-Metropolitan ( Northern Virginia, Suburban Maryland and the District of Columbia), first-team All-State, and named Virginia's player of the year after rushing for more than 2,000 yards and 38 touchdowns. On October 16, 2009, Garner had his JEB Stuart High School number 30 jersey retired during a halftime ceremony.

College career

In 1991, Garner set junior college records for rushing yards in a game (430) and yards in two consecutive games (765) at Scottsdale (Ariz.) Community College. Garner then transferred to the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th sta ...

and graduated with a business degree. He is notable for starting ahead of fellow NFL RB

James Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military pilot. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morality ...

at Tennessee. *1992: 154 carries for 928 yards with 2 TD. 5 catches for 25 yards. *1993: 159 carries for 1161 yards with 8 TD. 12 catches for 81 yards.

Professional career

Garner was drafted by the

in the second round of the

. He was a multi-talented running back and an excellent receiver. In the 2002-03 season with the

, he was the team's leading rusher with 962 yards and seven touchdowns, while also leading all NFL running backs in receiving with 91 receptions for 941 yards and another four touchdowns. The 91 receptions for 941 yards were the fifth and fourth most in NFL history by a running back, respectively. He also previously held the record for most rush yards in a game by a 49er (201) later broken by

Frank Gore Franklin Gore Sr. (born May 14, 1983) is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons. A member of the San Francisco 49ers during most of his career, he ranks third in NFL career rus ...

. The crossed forearm symbol he displayed after scoring was a tribute to his neighborhood of

Bailey's Crossroads, Virginia Bailey's Crossroads is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The population was 24,749 at the 2020 census. Bailey's Crossroads lies at the crossroads of State Route 7 (Leesburg Pike) and State Route 244 ( Co ...

. In August 2005, Garner was released by the

after suffering a knee injury the previous season. During his career, he rushed 1,537 times for 7,097 yards scoring 39 touchdowns, caught 419 passes for 3,711 yards and 12 touchdowns. During his career, Garner was nicknamed "IO," which stood for "Instant Offense," because he excelled at both rushing and receiving. In 2017, post-football, Doctors have told Garner they believe he has Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, which in recent years has become a plague for former NFL players. It can only be diagnosed post-mortem. "I don't have all my faculties anymore," Garner said. "I can't remember things. When I go to the mall or grocery store, I have to take one of my kids with me to remember where the car is parked. I have trouble remembering conversations I had five minutes ago. Bright lights bother me. I just don't feel right all the time."

NFL career statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garner, Charlie 1972 births Living people African-American players of American football American football running backs National Conference Pro Bowl players Oakland Raiders players Philadelphia Eagles players San Francisco 49ers players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Tennessee Volunteers football players People from Falls Church, Virginia Scottsdale Fighting Artichokes football players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople Ed Block Courage Award recipients