Ciatrick Antione Fason (born October 29, 1982) 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

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 American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

for two seasons with 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 ...

of 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) during the early 2000s. Fason played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville, Florida, Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni an ...

Early life

Fason was born in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

.Pro-Football-Reference.com, Players
Ciatrick Fason
Retrieved March 21, 2011. He attended Duncan U. Fletcher High School in

Neptune Beach, Florida Neptune Beach is a beachfront city east of Jacksonville in Duval County, Florida, United States. When the majority of Duval County communities consolidated with Jacksonville in 1968, Neptune Beach, along with Jacksonville Beach, Atlantic Bea ...

,databaseFootball.com, Players, . Retrieved March 21, 2011. and he was a star running back and four-time most valuable player for the Fletcher Senators high school football team.GatorZone.com, Football History, 2004 Roster
Ciatrick Fason
. Retrieved March 21, 2011. He rushed for over 7,400 career yards—twice for over 2,000 yards in a season—and finished his high school career as Florida's fifth all-time leading rusher and tops in Northeast Florida history. ''

Parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety ...

'' magazine and PrepStar recognized Fason as a high school

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

in 2001. Rated as a five-star recruit by

Rivals.com Rivals.com (stylized as ''rivals'') is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was found ...

, Fason was listed as the top running back prospect in the nation in 2002.

College career

Fason received an athletic scholarship to attend the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach

Ron Zook Ronald Andrew Zook (; born April 28, 1954) is an American football coach who is a special teams quality control coach at the University of Maryland. He was the head football coach at the University of Florida from 2002 to 2004 and the Universit ...

Florida Gators football The Florida Gators football program represents the University of Florida (UF) in American football, American college football. Florida competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the ...

team from

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

.
2011 Florida Gators Football Media Guide
'', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 89, 97, 98, 103, 125, 127, 138–140, 147–148, 159, 171, 181 (2011). Retrieved August 28, 2011. As a sophomore in

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, he had a 75-yard touchdown run against the

Arkansas Razorbacks The Arkansas Razorbacks, also known as the Hogs, are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams representing the University of Arkansas, located in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Fayetteville. The University of Arkans ...

and rushed for 190 yards against the

South Carolina Gamecocks The South Carolina Gamecocks represent the University of South Carolina in the NCAA Division I. The University of South Carolina uses "Gamecocks" as its official nickname and mascot. While the men's teams were traditionally known as the Fight ...

. During his junior season in 2004, Fason was named a team captain, and rushed for 1,267 yards on 222 carries and caught thirty-five passes for 266 yards—a total of 1,533 offensive yards (fourth best in Gators history). After the season, he was recognized as an

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

first-team

All-Southeastern Conference The All-SEC football team is an annual Southeastern Conference (SEC) honor bestowed on the best players in the conference following every college football season. Seasons

Following is a list of all-conference teams in the history of the SEC: ...

(SEC) selection and a

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-''

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'' honorable mention

, and was the recipient of the Gators' most valuable player award and their

Fergie Ferguson Award The Forest K. Ferguson Award, commonly known as the "Fergie Ferguson Award," is presented annually to a senior member of the Florida Gators football team in memory of one of the University of Florida's greatest athletes. Namesake The award ta ...

—recognizing the team member who "displayed outstanding leadership, character and courage." After his junior year, he decided to forgo his final season of NCAA eligibility and declared for the

NFL Draft The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...

Professional career

Minnesota Vikings

The

selected Fason in the fourth round (112th pick overall) of the

2005 NFL draft The 2005 NFL draft, the 70th in league history, took place on April 23 and 24, 2005 NFL season, 2005. The draft was held at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City and was televised for the 26th consecutive year, with coverage on E ...

. He played for the Vikings for two seasons in and .National Football League, Historical Players
Ciatrick Fason
Retrieved March 21, 2011. During his two years with the Vikings, he appeared in eighteen regular season games, rushing for 161 yards and five touchdowns on fifty carries. On August 31, 2007, the Vikings released him.

Jacksonville Jaguars

In 2008, Fason worked out for his hometown

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

. He wrote a letter to Jaguars GM James Harris asking if he could at least try out. Fason stated in a press conference, "No matter what I did in my NFL career, I just wanted to wear a Jaguars' uniform, even if it was just for a tryout." On August 25, 2008, Fason was signed by the Jaguars; on August 30, he was released.

Edmonton Eskimos

Fason was signed by the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at Commonwealth Stadium. The E ...

on April 24, 2009.Gerry Moddejonge,
Focus on Fason
" ''The Edmonton Sun'' (June 20, 2009). Retrieved March 21, 2011. He was released on June 25, 2009, re-signed on July 5, and released again on August 25.

References

Bibliography

* Carlson, Norm, ''University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators'', Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (2007). .

External links

* – Florida Gators player profile
Ciatrick Fason
– National Football League player profile {{DEFAULTSORT:Fason, Ciatrick 1982 births Living people American football running backs Players of Canadian football from Georgia (U.S. state) Canadian football running backs Edmonton Elks players Florida Gators football players Jacksonville Jaguars players Minnesota Vikings players Players of American football from Jacksonville, Florida Players of American football from Atlanta Players of Canadian football from Florida