Lorenzo Booker

Lorenzo Booker

Lorenzo Booker with Florida State in 2006.
No. 27     Minnesota Vikings
Running back
Personal information
Date of birth: June 14, 1984 (1984-06-14)
Place of birth: Oxnard, California
Height: 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	Weight: 201 lb (91 kg)
Career information
College: Florida State
NFL Draft: 2007 / Round: 3 / Pick: 71
Debuted in 2007 for the Miami Dolphins
Career history
Miami Dolphins (2007) Philadelphia Eagles (2008) Hartford Colonials (2010) Minnesota Vikings (2010–present)
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
Hall Trophy (2001) PARADE All-American (2001) USA Today All-American (2001)
Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2011
Rushing yards	230
Average	3.8
Rushing TDs	0
Receptions	47
Receiving yards	362
Receiving TDs	0
Stats at NFL.com

Lorenzo Booker (born June 14, 1984) is an American football running back for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the third round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at Florida State.

Booker has also been a member of the Philadelphia Eagles and Hartford Colonials.

Early years

Booker attended St. Bonaventure High School in Ventura, California. In his senior year, Booker ran for 2878 yards and 50 touchdowns, and also had 16 receptions for 300 yards along with three more touchdowns. He was widely regarded as the nation's top running back prospect and was named a Parade All-American and to the PrepStar Dream Team. He also earned USA Today All-USA first-team honors and was ranked by Rivals.com as the number 3 overall prospect in the country and a five star recruit. In his junior year, Booker had an equally-impressive 3103 yards and 49 touchdowns, and for his three-year career had 8502 rushing yards and 137 touchdowns, both state records. During this time, he led his team a 42-0 record. After an initial verbal commitment to Notre Dame,Booker chose Florida State over Notre Dame and USC in a press conference televised nationally on ESPN. Following his high school career, Booker played in the 2002 U.S. Army All-American Bowl alongside fellow Florida State Seminoles Kamerion Wimbley and Buster Davis. Following his senior season, he was awarded the Gatorade High School Heisman, honoring the top high school athlete in the nation.

College career

Booker (#28) about to score a touchdown in 2006 as a Florida State Seminole against Rice.

Booker redshirted his first year at Florida State. In his freshman year with the Seminoles in 2003, Booker was fourth on the team in carries with 62, third in rushing yards with 334, and third in rushing touchdowns with three, and also recorded 19 receptions for 86 yards. In his sophomore year in 2004, Booker led the team in carries with 173, and was second in both rushing yards (887) and touchdowns (four), and also had 24 catches for 160 yards. Booker led the Seminoles in rushing yards, carries, and touchdowns in his junior year in 2005, with 119 carries for 552 yards (4.8 average) and four touchdowns. He also recorded 38 receptions for 329 yards and two touchdowns. While in college, Booker earned the nickname L-Boogie.

Professional career

Miami Dolphins

Booker was selected in the third round (71st overall) of the 2007 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins. He signed a four-year contract with the Dolphins on May 24, 2007.

Booker got his first significant action in the loss to the Jets on December 12, 2007, when he was used primarily as a receiver. He had one carry for six yards and six catches for 63 yards.

Philadelphia Eagles

Booker with the Eagles in 2009.

Booker was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles on April 26, 2008 for a fourth round pick in the 2008 NFL Draft. He rushed for 53 yards on 20 carries and caught six passes for 11 yards in 2008. He was waived on September 5, 2009 during final cuts.

Hartford Colonials

Booker signed with the Hartford Colonials of the United Football League on August 17, 2010. He was named the UFL Offensive Player of the Week for week 7 during the 2010 season after rushing for 147 yards and a touchdown.

Booker boycotted the Colonials' November 20, 27-14 win over the Las Vegas Locomotives to protest the league's $150,000 transfer fee. The fee was payable to a UFL team if one of its players is signed by an NFL team. Booker and other players believed they were led to believe the fee would be waived once the season is over, not until February 1, 2011, since the previous season the fee was waived and 43 UFL players eventually were signed by NFL teams. On November 22, Booker was suspended by the UFL for the boycott.

Minnesota Vikings

On December 6, 2010 Booker was signed by the Minnesota Vikings after the UFL transfer fee was reduced to $25,000.

In his four games with the Vikings, Booker was used primarily as a kick returner. On 18 returns, he amassed 429 yards for an average of 23.8 yards a return. He also had 5 catches for 32 yards.

External links

• Philadelphia Eagles bio
• Miami Dolphins bio
• Florida State Seminoles bio