Justin Alejandro Fargas (born January 25, 1980) 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 ...

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). He 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

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except wo ...

and

USC Trojans The USC Trojans (also Southern California Trojans) are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ...

and was selected by the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

in the third round of the

2003 NFL draft The 2003 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League (NFL) teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936 NF ...

College career

Fargas attended the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, as a highly regarded football prospect, for three years (1998–2000). He was named one of the Top 10 Freshmen in the country by

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

. During his freshman year, he ran for 277 yards with 1 TD on 77 carries (3.6 avg.) in 10 games. He started there as a running back before switching to

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

in the middle of the 2000 season. Yet his college career at Michigan was cut short during his freshman season when he broke his leg. He was redshirted in 1999 while he rehabilitated his broken right leg. After considering both

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

, Fargas chose to transfer to USC in 2001.Eric Sondheimer
Fargas Makes Contact With California, USC
''Los Angeles Times'', December 22, 2000, Accessed July 15, 2008. Due to NCAA transfer rules he sat out the 2001 season. In 2002, his final season in college, Fargas rushed for 715 yards on 161 carries (4.4 yards per rush) with the Trojans.

Track and field

Fargas was also a track star at the

. He recorded personal best of 10.37 seconds in the

100 meters The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...

while in high school at Notre Dame High School in

Sherman Oaks, California Sherman Oaks (founded in 1927) is a neighborhood of the city of Los Angeles, California within the San Fernando Valley region. The neighborhood includes a portion of the Santa Monica Mountains, which gives Sherman Oaks a lower population density ...

while qualifying for the 1998

CIF California State Meet The CIF California State Meet is the annual championship track and field meet for the California Interscholastic Federation. The meet was started in 1915 for boys and 1974 for girls. Every athlete in every high school in California has a direc ...

and 50.13 seconds in the

400 meters The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is ...

in 2007 during the off season while playing for the Oakland Raiders. Fargas won the state championship in 1997. ;Personal bests

Professional career

Oakland Raiders

Fargas played for seven seasons for the

after being selected in the third round of the

. Fargas did not have many rushing attempts in his first several years. In

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

he started six games and rushed 178 times for 659 yards and one touchdown. In

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

he took over after

LaMont Jordan LaMont Damon Jordan (born November 11, 1978) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Maryland Terrapins and was selected by the New York ...

became injured and had a 1,000-yard season, rushing for 1,009 yards on 222 carries and four touchdowns. He was the starting running back for the Raiders for most of the 2008 season and had 218 carries for 853 yards and one touchdown. He split time in

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

with

Darren McFadden Darren McFadden (born August 27, 1987) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Arkansas Razorbacks football, Arkansas ...

and

Michael Bush Michael Warren Bush Jr. (born June 16, 1984) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Oakland Raiders in the fourth round of the 2007 NFL draft. He p ...

, and he was second on the team in rushing with 129 carries for 491 yards and three touchdowns. On March 6, 2010, he was released by the Raiders after reportedly failing his physical. Fargas disputed the claim.

Denver Broncos

Fargas signed with the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

on August 11, 2010. They needed a running back after

Knowshon Moreno Knowshon Rockwell Moreno (born July 16, 1987) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs football, Geor ...

Correll Buckhalter Correll Buckhalter (; born October 6, 1978) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a running back for eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL). After playing college football for the Nebraska Cor ...

, and

LenDale White LenDale Anthony White (born December 20, 1984) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Tennessee Titans in the second round (45th overall) of the ...

were all injured in training camp. It was his first action with a team since undergoing

arthroscopic knee surgery Arthroscopy (also called arthroscopic or keyhole surgery) is a minimally invasive surgical procedure on a joint in which an examination and sometimes treatment of damage is performed using an arthroscope, an endoscope that is inserted into the j ...

in March. He was released by the Broncos on August 30, 2010.

NFL statistics

Rushing stats

Personal life

Fargas is the son of ''

Starsky and Hutch ''Starsky & Hutch'' is an American action television series, which consisted of a 72-minute pilot movie (originally aired as a '' Movie of the Week'' entry) and 92 episodes of 50 minutes each. The show was created by William Blinn (inspired ...

'' actor

Antonio Fargas Antonio Fargas (born August 14, 1946) is an American actor known for his roles in 1970s blaxploitation and comedy movies, as well as his portrayal as Huggy Bear in the 1970s TV series ''Starsky & Hutch''. Early life Fargas was born in New York C ...

and designer Taylor Hastie. He was indirectly referenced in an early episode of ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...

'', when a show titled "Old Starsky and Hutches" wins an Ace Award at a ceremony hosted by

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...

as a Krusty the Klown impersonator. The award is accepted by "the son of the guy who played Huggy Bear". Fargas is married to basketball coach and executive Nikki Caldwell. Their first child was born in March 2012.

References

External links

Oakland Raiders bio

CNN/SI player page

CBS Sportsline

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fargas, Justin 1980 births Living people People from Encino, Los Angeles Players of American football from Los Angeles American football running backs American sportspeople of Puerto Rican descent American sportspeople of Trinidad and Tobago descent Michigan Wolverines football players USC Trojans football players Oakland Raiders players Denver Broncos players Track and field athletes from Los Angeles