Jon Reginald Dupard (born October 30, 1963) 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 five seasons 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). Dupard was selected by the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

in the first round of the

1986 NFL draft The 1986 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 29–30, 1986, at the Marriott M ...

with the 26th overall pick. His best season was arguably in 1987 when he had 318 yards on 94 carries; He also had 3 touchdowns that season. He played for the Patriots until he was traded to the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

midway through the

1989 NFL season The 1989 NFL season was the 70th regular season (NFL), regular season of the National Football League. Before the season, NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle announced his retirement. Paul Tagliabue was eventually chosen to succeed him, taking over o ...

. Dupard prepped at

John Curtis Christian High School John Curtis Christian School is a co-educational, non-sectarian, private Christian K-12 school in River Ridge, Louisiana, in the United States. The school colors are red, white and blue and the school's nickname is Patriots. History The school w ...

River Ridge, Louisiana River Ridge is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is a suburb of New Orleans. The population was 13,591 i ...

, and went on to play

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

SMU Mustangs The SMU Mustangs are the sport, athletic teams that represent Southern Methodist University in University Park, Texas, United States. SMU was founded in 1911 and joined the Southwest Conference, competing against Baylor Bears, Baylor, Rice Owls, ...

. He was drafted one spot behind his college teammate Roderick Jones. After retirement from the NFL, Dupard returned to SMU to complete his undergraduate degree, and graduated in 1999. Today, he works for high schools in Texas to help marginalized youth finish high school and inspires them to continue to pursue higher education and/or career certifications. Dupard is also cofounder with his wife o
Fit and Faithful Living
a charity whose mission is to grow youth and families strong by positively impacting lives through after-school programs, summer camps, family health and wellness programs, education, awareness, and empowerment.

References

1963 births Living people All-American college football players American football running backs New England Patriots players SMU Mustangs football players Washington Redskins players Players of American football from New Orleans 20th-century American sportsmen John Curtis Christian School alumni {{runningback-1960s-stub