Jeff atkins biography

American football player

Jeff Atkins (born April 7, 1964) is a former American footballrunning back.^[1]

Atkins grew up in the Butler housing project in Fort Worth, Texas.^[2] He attended Fort Worth's Eastern Hills High School.

As a senior, he rushed for 2,333 yards and scored 25 touchdowns. He was the No. 1 recruit from Texas.^[3] He rushed for 310 and 329 yards in individual games and was later described as "the most celebrated player in the history of Fort Worth high school football."^[2]

He played college football as a tailback for the SMU Mustangs from 1983 to 1986, tallying 3,260 rushing yards and scoring 31 touchdowns.^[4] He set an SMU freshman record with 218 rushing yards against Rice.^[2] He also broke Earl Campbell's Southwest Conference freshman rushing record.^[5]

He was not selected in the NFL draft and tried out, unsuccessfully, with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 19