Charles Christopher Way (born December 27, 1972) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a fullback in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for five seasons for the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

. He has been the Second Gentleman of

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

since September 8, 2023, as the husband of

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

Tahesha Way Tahesha Leila Way (née Wright; born 1971 or 1972) is an American politician and jurist from New Jersey. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, she has served as the state's third Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey, li ...

Early life and college

Way was born in 1972 to Jacqueline and Cleveland Way. He graduated from Northeast High School in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, after which he attended the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

Professional career

Way was selected by the New York Giants in the sixth round of the

1995 NFL draft The 1995 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 22–23, 1995 at the Paramount ...

, and played in five games his

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...

year. Primarily used as a fullback, blocking for Rodney Hampton, Way finished the year with 71 total yards (65 of which were receiving yards) and one touchdown, scoring in week six. He started 13 games his second year, again primarily used as a blocker. He scored two touchdowns and finished the year with 79 rushing yards and 328 receiving yards. Way's breakout year was in

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

. Given the starting halfback job after Hampton went down with an injury, Way made the most of his opportunity, rushing for 696 yards and gaining 1,001 all purpose yards, and scored five touchdowns (four rushing). He also rushed for 114 yards against

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

in week twelve, the only time in his career that he broke the century mark. His contributions helped lead the Giants to the division championship and a home playoff game against the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

, but the Giants blew a 19–3 lead and lost the game 23–22. Way's numbers fell off slightly in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

, but he still managed to score four touchdowns and rush for 432 yards. His career was halted by a chronic knee injury, and he announced his retirement in 2000.

Post-playing career

After his playing career, Way spent 14 years with the Giants as their director of player development. In 2014, he became head of the NFL's player engagement department.

Personal life

Way lives in

Wayne, New Jersey Wayne is a Township (New Jersey), township in Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Home to William Paterson University and located less than from Midtown Manhattan, the township is a bedroom suburb of New ...

, with his wife Tahesha, the current

and

Secretary of State of New Jersey The secretary of state of New Jersey oversees the Department of State, which is one of the original state offices. The Secretary is responsible for overseeing New Jersey State Council on the Arts, artistic, cultural, and New Jersey Historical Com ...

, and a former member of the

Passaic County Passaic County ( or ) is a county in the U.S. state of New Jersey that is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the county was the state's eighth-most-populous county,

Board of Chosen Freeholders In New Jersey, a Board of County Commissioners (until 2020 named the Board of Chosen Freeholders) is the elected county-wide government board in each of the state's 21 counties. In the five counties that have an elected county executive, the ...

. They have four children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Way, Charles 1972 births American football running backs Living people New York Giants players Sportspeople from Wayne, New Jersey Players of American football from Passaic County, New Jersey Players of American football from Philadelphia Spouses of New Jersey politicians Virginia Cavaliers football players