Darius Vito Victor (born March 6, 1994) is a Liberian professional

gridiron football Gridiron football,"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Ret ...

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. The ...

for the

New Jersey Generals The New Jersey Generals were a franchise of the United States Football League (USFL) established in 1982 to begin play in the spring and summer of 1983. The team played three seasons from 1983 to 1985, winning 31 regular season games and losing ...

of the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

(USFL). He played college football at

Towson University Towson University (TU or Towson) is a public university in Towson, Maryland. Founded in 1866 as Maryland's first training school for teachers, Towson University is a part of the University System of Maryland. Since its founding, the university ...

. Victor was named 2022 Offensive Player of the Year of the

as a member of the

Early years

Victor was born to Liberian parents as one of seven children in a refugee camp in the

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

after their parents fled the

First Liberian Civil War The First Liberian Civil War lasted from 1989 to 1997. President Samuel Doe had established a regime in 1980 but totalitarianism and corruption led to unpopularity and the withdrawal of support from the United States by the late 1980s. The Na ...

. He lived there until 1999, when his family came to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

High school career

Victor attended Northwestern High School in

Hyattsville, Maryland Hyattsville is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, and also a close, urban suburb of Washington, D.C. The population was 21,187 at the 2020 United States Census. History Before Europeans reached the area, the upper ...

. As a senior, Victor was the leading rusher in the state of Maryland with 2,107 yards and 31 touchdowns. His efforts would be rewarded with all-state honors. During his time at Northwestern, Victor also played basketball and ran track. Despite his success in high school Victor was only ranked a 2-star recruit (73) by

247Sports 247Sports is an American network of websites that focus mainly on athletic recruitment in college football and basketball. It is owned and operated by Paramount. The website hosts a large network of team-specific subsites, with each subsite ...

College career

Victor attended

Towson, Maryland Towson () is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 55,197 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Baltimore County and the second-most populous unin ...

. As a true freshman in 2013, Victor found success as the backup to record-breaking running back

Terrance West Terrance West (born January 28, 1991) is a former American football running back. He played college football at Towson and was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the third round of the 2014 NFL Draft. West has also played for the Tennessee Tita ...

. He made his debut at North Carolina Central and ran for 53 yards and two touchdowns on six carries. Victor would go on to appear in 14 games his first year, amassing 629 yards and seven touchdowns on 98 carries. Following the season, he would be named the CAA Offensive Rookie of the Year. The 2014 season would be another successful one for Victor. With Terrance West departing for the NFL, Victor saw his workload increase. Despite the Tigers' rough 4-8 season, he was able to gain 1,305 yards and 12 touchdowns on 250 carries. Victor averaged 108.8 yards a game and scored a touchdown in 9 of the team's 12 games. He finished his college career with more than 3,300 yards and 41 touchdowns. Throughout his career at Towson,

Johnny Unitas Stadium Johnny Unitas Stadium is a multi-purpose sports stadium in Towson, Maryland, United States. The home of several Towson University athletics teams, it is also known as Minnegan Field at Johnny Unitas Stadium or Unitas Stadium. History The stadiu ...

played part of his brother's song about him each time he got a carry called "VITO".

Professional career

New Orleans Saints

Victor declared for the

2017 NFL Draft The 2017 NFL Draft was the 82nd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It was held in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 27–29, returning to Philadelphia ...

, however he was not drafted. Victor later attended the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

rookie minicamp. On August 1, 2017, Victor signed with the Saints. He was waived on September 2, 2017.

Arizona Cardinals

On November 29, 2017, Victor was signed to the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division, an ...

' practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Cardinals on January 2, 2018. On May 1, 2018, Victor was waived by the Cardinals. He was re-signed on August 28, 2018. He was waived on September 1, 2018.

Hamilton Tiger-cats

In February 2019, Victor was signed by

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...

. He was released on April 30, 2019 between mini-camp and before start of main training camp.

New York Guardians

In October 2019, Victor was selected by the

New York Guardians The Orlando Guardians are a professional American football team based in Orlando, Florida. The team was founded by Vince McMahon's Alpha Entertainment and is an owned-and-operated member of the XFL. The Guardians played their home games at Met ...

in the

2020 XFL Draft The 2020 XFL Draft was the inaugural player selection process to fill the rosters of the eight teams of the 2020 reboot of the XFL. The draft was held on October 15–16, 2019, via conference call, with results released through the XFL's social ...

. He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.

New Jersey Generals

Victor was drafted by the

of the

. He was named to the All-USFL team following the season and would be named the 2022

Offensive Player of the Year after leading the league with nine touchdown runs. On July 19, 2022, Victor worked out with the

, but no deal was reached.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Victor, Darius 1994 births Arizona Cardinals players Living people Liberian players of American football New Orleans Saints players New York Guardians players Players of American football from Baltimore Towson Tigers football players New Jersey Generals (2022) players