Cedric Houston
Encyclopedia
Cedric Leonard Houston is a former American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 running back
Running back
A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...

 of the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

. He was drafted by the New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

 in the sixth round of the 2005 NFL Draft
2005 NFL Draft
The 2005 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 23–24, 2005. The league also held an supplemental draft that year, which was held after...

. He played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 at Tennessee
Tennessee Volunteers football
The Tennessee Volunteers football team are an American college football team at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville . The NCAA Division I team is also a member of the Southeastern Conference ....

.

Early years

Houston played basketball, baseball and track & field while at Clarendon High School in Clarendon, Arkansas
Clarendon, Arkansas
Clarendon is a city in Monroe County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 1,960 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Monroe County.-Geography:Clarendon is located at ....

. He played in the first ever U.S. Army All-American Bowl
U.S. Army All-American Bowl
The U.S. Army All-American Bowl is a high school football all-star game held in early January in San Antonio, Texas. Currently played in the Alamodome, the game brings 90 of the nation's top high school football players in an East versus West matchup. In addition to the Bowl game, there is the U.S...

 on December 30, 2000. He holds the Arkansas Activities Association
Arkansas Activities Association
The Arkansas Activities Association is the primary sanctioning body for high school sports in state of Arkansas. AAA is a member association of the National Federation of State High School Associations...

 record for career touchdowns with 97 from 1998-2000 at Clarendon High.

College career

Houston was a three-year starter
Starting lineup
A starting lineup in sports is an official list of the set of players who will actively participate in the event when the game begins. The players in the starting lineup are commonly referred to as starters, whereas the others are substitutes or bench players.The starters are commonly the best...

 at the University of Tennessee
University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...

. He and Gerald Riggs, Jr.
Gerald Riggs, Jr.
Gerald Antonio Riggs, Jr. is a football running back for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. He played college football at Tennessee.He is the son of former Pro Bowl running back Gerald Riggs....

 became the first players in Volunteers
Tennessee Volunteers football
The Tennessee Volunteers football team are an American college football team at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville . The NCAA Division I team is also a member of the Southeastern Conference ....

 history to both amass 1,000 yards in the same season.

New York Jets

The New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

 selected Houston using their sixth round pick in the draft
2005 NFL Draft
The 2005 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 23–24, 2005. The league also held an supplemental draft that year, which was held after...

. Houston struggled in training camp as a thyroid condition, discovered at the NFL Combine
NFL Combine
The National Invitational Camp or NFL Scouting Combine, as it is more widely known, is a week-long showcase, occurring every February in Indianapolis, Indiana's Lucas Oil Stadium , where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Football League coaches, general...

, caused frequent fatigue issues. He was given medication to treat the condition. Heading into the season, Houston served as backup to Curtis Martin
Curtis Martin
Curtis James Martin, Jr. is a former American football running back. He is an alumnus of Taylor Allderdice High School in Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh...

 and Derrick Blaylock
Derrick Blaylock
Derrick Blaylock is an American football running back in the National Football League who is currently a free agent.-High school career:...

 however, Blaylock suffered a broken right foot in October 2005 thus elevating Houston to second on the depth chart. Martin suffered a knee injury that he played through for 10 weeks before Houston replaced him as the starter on December 11.

Houston was involved in a car crash in April 2006 sustaining non-life threatening injuries. He was later released from the hospital.

A day before the start of training camp, on July 26, 2007, Houston left the Jets for what was cited as personal reasons. It was later revealed Houston had decided to quit professional football to return to Tennessee to earn his degree. Houston remained on the Jets' reserve list the entire season and was eventually released on March 11, 2008.

External links

  • Cedric Houston at ESPN.com
    ESPN.com
    ESPN.com is the official website of ESPN and a division of ESPN Inc. Since launching in 1995 as ESPNet.SportsZone.com, the website has developed numerous sections including: Page 2, SportsNation, ESPN 3.com, ESPN Motion, My ESPN, ESPN Sports Travel, ESPN Video Games, ESPN Insider, ESPN.com's...

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