Vick Ballard (born July 16, 1990) 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 ...

Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, United States. It is classified among "R ...

, and was selected by the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

170th overall in the

2012 NFL draft The 2012 NFL draft was the 77th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players for their rosters. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held ...

College career

Ballard attended

Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College (MGCCC) is a Public college, public community college with its main campus in Perkinston, Mississippi. It was founded as Harrison County Agricultural High School in 1912. MGCCC has three campuses and sev ...

in 2008 and 2009. Prior to 2010, he transferred to

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, Un ...

. In his two years at Mississippi State, he rushed for 2,157 yards on 379 carries and 29

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

. He was named NCJAA 1st Team All-American. Despite playing only two seasons, he is third on the Mississippi State career rushing touchdowns list, and his 19 touchdowns in

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

are a school single-season record.

Professional career

Indianapolis Colts

During the

NFL Scouting Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foot ...

, Ballard tripped during the 40 yard dash and ran into the timer. On his second attempt, Ballard ran a 4.65 time, ranking 16th out of the 25 running backs. Ballard was drafted in the fifth round by the

on April 28, 2012. His first game as a starting running back was played October 14, against the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

. On October 28, he caught a pass from

Andrew Luck Andrew Austen Luck (born September 12, 1989) is an American football executive and former professional quarterback who is the general manager of the Stanford Cardinal. He previously played in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons ...

and took it 16 yards for his first career touchdown. Ballard, under pressure from several defensive players, leapt and corkscrewed in mid air as he crossed the goal line. Ballard's score was the game winner in overtime against the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

. On December 16, Ballard rushed for a career–high 105 yards on 18 carries in a loss to the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

. On September 13, 2013, head coach

Chuck Pagano Charles David Pagano (born October 2, 1960) is an American football coach who is currently a senior secondary coach for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He served as the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts from 2012 ...

confirmed Ballard was placed on injured reserve with a torn ACL, and as a result missed all but one game in the 2013 season. On July 25, 2014, Ballard was carted off the practice field due to an apparent ankle injury. An MRI revealed that Ballard tore his

Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcane ...

, which caused him to miss the full 2014 season. On September 15, 2015, the Colts placed Ballard on waivers. Ballard cleared waivers and reverted to the Colts roster on injured reserve. The Colts and Ballard reached an injury settlement on September 22, making him a free agent.

New Orleans Saints

On February 3, 2016, Ballard signed a reserve/future contract with 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 National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

. On May 9, Ballard was released by the team.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Postseason

References

External links

Mississippi State Bulldogs bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ballard, Vick 1990 births Living people Players of American football from Pascagoula, Mississippi American football running backs Mississippi Gulf Coast Bulldogs football players Mississippi State Bulldogs football players Indianapolis Colts players New Orleans Saints players