Darren Sproles Becomes a Saint

With each of Pierre Thomas, Chris Ivory, and Mark Ingram available for backfield duty, few figured that the departure of Reggie Bush would prompt a transaction to replace him. But Saints general manager Mickey Loomis went right ahead and signed running back Darren Sproles as a free agent from the San Diego Chargers. Seems like quite an upgrade over Bush to me...

Marshall Faulk Elected to Pro Football Hall of Fame

Congratulations to New Orleans native Marshall Faulk for being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Faulk attended Carver High School in New Orleans where he starred on both sides of the ball. His senior season playing cornerback for Carver, Faulk intercepted 11 passes and returned 6 of them for touchdowns. He went on to play 3 seasons at San Diego State, where he became a 2-time All-American in the process of rushing for 4,589 yars and scoring 62 touchdowns. Drafted by the Indianapolis Colts, Faulk was awarded as the Offensive Rookie of the Year in 1994. Over the course of his 12-year NFL career, Faulk amassed 12,279 rushing yards and scored 136 touchdowns. He was a Pro Bowler 7 times, an NFL MVP in 2000, and won a Super Bowl as a member of the St. Louis Rams in 1999.

My 10 Favorite LSU Running Backs of All-Time

Actually, let's go with my 10 favorite LSU running backs of my own lifetime, in that I never got to see old-timers such as Steve Van Buren, Billy Cannon, Jim Taylor, and Jerry Stovall play.

1. Charles Alexander

2. Dalton Hilliard

3. Garry James

4. Kevin Faulk

5. Joseph Addai

6. Terry Robiskie

7. Rondell Mealey

8. Domanick Davis

9. Jacob Hester

10 Harvey Williams

Honorable Mentions: Hokie Gajan, Sammie Martin, Cecil Collins, LaBrandon Toefield, Justin Vincent, Alley Broussard, Charles Scott.

Steve Foley

Steve Foley played football at Jesuit High School in New Orleans before walking on at Tulane University. Playing quarterback in 1973, Foley led the Green Wave to a 9-3 season including a monumental 14-0 victory over LSU. In 1974, Foley piloted the Green Wave to 5 straight victories before succumbing to injury. After a season playing for the Jacksonville Sharks of the World Football League, Foley emerged as a game-breaking safety for the Denver Broncos. Collecting 44 interceptions over the course of his 11-year NFL career, Foley played in 2 Super Bowls and has since been inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.

Nickie Hall

After 3 years of serving as a back-up to Roch Hontas, Nickie Hall began the 1980 season as the Tulane Green Wave's starting quarterback. He went on to set the Tulane single-season record for touchdown passes with 21. Against Rice, he threw 5 touchdowns with 4 of them going to wide receiver Robert Griffin. Against SMU, Hall threw for 347 yards and 3 touchdowns. Tallying 2,561 passing yards and a respectable 7-4 team record for the season, Hall drew enough attention to himself to be selected by the Green Bay Packers in the 1981 NFL Draft.

Roch Hontas

Roch Hontas was a four-year starter at quarterback for the Tulane Green Wave from 1976-79. Hontas finished his college career with 5,669 passing yards and threw for 39 touchdowns. His greatest success was leading the 1979 Green Wave team to a 9-3 record and an appearance in the Hall of Fame Bowl against Penn State. Hontas passed up a chance at playing in the NFl to go to medical school at Tulane. Hontas is currently an orthopedic surgeon based out of Covington, Louisiana.

John Fourcade

John Fourcade was born on the West Bank of New Orleans in Gretna and became a high school quarterback phenomenon at Archbishp Shaw in Marrero. Fourcade was the 4A All-State MVP in 1977 despite falling to Bobby Hebert's eventual state champion South Lafourche sqaud in the state semi-finals. Fourcade would go on to quarterback the Ole Miss Rebels, breaking most of Archie Manning's school passing records and being named the MVP of the 1982 Senior Bowl. After stints in the CFL, USFL, and the Arena Football League, Fourcade filled in as the starting quarterback for the New Orleans Saints during the strike of 1987. Fourcade did so well during those 3 games that he made the Saints' regular roster and started 8 games during the 1988 & 1989 seasons.