Rayshawn Askew (born March 28, 1979) 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 ...

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 ...

. He played in the

National Indoor Football League The National Indoor Football League (NIFL) was a professional indoor football league in the United States. For their first six years, the league had teams in markets not covered by either the Arena Football League or its developmental league, ...

Continental Indoor Football League The Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL) was an indoor American football, indoor American football, football league based along the Midwestern United States region that played nine seasons from 2006 to 2014. It began play in April 2006 as ...

and

United Indoor Football United Indoor Football (UIF) was an indoor American football league in the United States that operated from 2005 to 2008. Ten owners from the National Indoor Football League, including one expansion (the Dayton Warbirds, which never played a ...

College career

After planning on going to

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

, he decided against it after

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

, Jim Colletto resigned, and instead attended

Elizabeth City State University Elizabeth City State University (ECSU) is a public historically Black university in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. It enrolls nearly 2,500 students in 28 undergraduate programs and 4 graduate programs and is a member-school of the Thurgood Ma ...

. He was a four-year starter and received a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

Biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

/Pre-

Medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

, finishing with honors including a 3.6

GPA Grading in education is the application of standardized measurements to evaluate different levels of student achievement in a course. Grades can be expressed as letters (usually A to F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), percentages, or as num ...

. He was a 2000 2nd Team All-Central Intercollegiate Athletic Associatian All-Academic honoree. Tallied 2,134 career rushing yards and led his team in rushing for three years and receiving two years despite being on a team that won just five games in four years.

Professional career

Askew played with the Lincoln Capitols in 2002, and set a NIFL record with seven touchdown runs in a 120–15 win over the River City Renegades in 2002. He finished that season with 903 rushing yards and 22 touchdowns, and added 126 yards and two scores in a playoff game against Billings. In 2003, Askew returned to outdoor football by signing with the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

of the

CFL The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division and five in the West Division. The CFL is the highest pr ...

. In 2004, Askew returned to the NIFL with the Ohio Valley Greyhounds. He led the league with 1,047 yards on 215 carries with 31 touchdowns, being named an NIFL All-Star Running Back. In 2005, he played for the Cincinnati Marshalls of the NIFL. Askew broke or tied many league records that year en route to being named an All-Star. He tied the single season touchdown record of 46 when he scored three touchdowns against Wyoming on July 4, 2005. The three touchdowns allowed Askew to set a new league record for scoring with 282 points, overcoming the mark of 276 points set by Baron Dockery of the Ohio Valley Greyhounds in 2002. Askew finished the regular season leading the league in scoring (282 points), touchdowns (46), rushing yards (719 yards) and all-purpose yards (2236 yards). In 2006, he joined the

Port Huron Pirates The Port Huron Pirates were a professional indoor American football, indoor football team based in Port Huron, Michigan. The team was a charter member of the Great Lakes Indoor Football League (GLIFL) joining the league in 2006 Great Lakes Indoo ...

, an expansion team that was joining the newly formed Great Lakes Indoor Football League. He went on to lead the Pirates to a 10–0 regular season record, recording 144 carries for 651 yards and 32 touchdowns, and aided in a 2006 Great Lakes Bowl I championship. He was named MVP of the championship game racking up 15 carries for 52 yards as well as 3 touchdowns. He was also named Running Back of the Year for the league In 2007, he ran for the Lexington Horsemen of the

. He had a monsterious season, rushing for 799 yards and 29 touchdowns, receiving 46 passes for 321 yards and 9 touchdowns, as well as throwing a single pass for a touchdown. He was voted into the 2007 UIF Casey's All Star Classic. In the 2008 AAFL Draft, it was announced that Askew had been drafted Team Michigan of the newly formed,

All American Football League The All American Football League (AAFL) was a proposed professional American football minor league. The league, which was to combine a professional pay structure with the requirement that all players be college graduates, had originally been sche ...

. He was the 14th round pick by Michigan and the 80th pick overall. The league however, never played a single game, as the launch of the league was constantly put off. In 2011 Askew was signed by the Cincinnati Commandos of the CIFL, formerly the GLIFL, which he played for in 2006. He played in the team's final regular season game where he posted 9 carries for 28 yards and 0 touchdowns. Askew signed with the Dayton Silverbacks of the CIFL for 2012, where he was going to be coached by his brother, Mister Askew. Just weeks before the season started, the Silverbacks had let Mister go as their head coach, and Rayshawn decided to part ways as well.

Personal life

Askew also has family ties that extend into the NFL and college football ranks. His brother is running back

B. J. Askew Bobby DeAngelo Askew Jr. (born August 19, 1980) is an American former professional football player who was a fullback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football as the University of Michigan. He ranks third all-time amo ...

, who played for the New York Jets and was drafted out of the University of Michigan in 2003. Rayshawn's oldest brother Mister Askew, is currently the running back coach at Bethany College (West Virginia). Mister Askew played football for Alabama A&M and Elizabeth City State University. Rayshawn also has two cousins,

Matthias Askew Matthias Askew (born July 1, 1982) is an American former professional football defensive tackle. He was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the fourth round of the 2004 NFL draft. He played college football at Michigan State. Askew was also ...

(

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

) and

Tab Perry Tab Wilson Perry (born January 20, 1982) is an American former professional football wide receiver. He was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the sixth round of the 2005 NFL draft. He played college football at UCLA. Perry was also a member ...

(

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

) both who played for the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Askew, Rayshawn 1979 births Living people American football wide receivers American football running backs Canadian football running backs Elizabeth City State Vikings football players National Indoor Football League players Winnipeg Blue Bombers players Ohio Valley Greyhounds players Cincinnati Marshals players Cincinnati Commandos players Port Huron Pirates players Lexington Horsemen players Dayton Sharks players Players of American football from Ohio Players of Canadian football from Ohio