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Antowain Smith career statistics

Last year, Antowain Smith was the #9 running back in the NFL. He was 29 years old.

I'm not sure if people realize how old that is for a running back, and how rare it is to see someone of his age in the top 10. Over the period 1970-2001, only 13 percent of all top 10 running backs were aged 29 or older. For comparison, the corresponding figure for WRs is 31 percent.

But Smith is a much more rare specimen indeed. For a running back to crack the top 10 for the first time at age 29 is almost unprecented. Almost, but not quite. Two other backs have done it:

1. Charles White did it in 1987 (the strike year). White was a terrific college RB, but he was a complete zero in the NFL. Until 1987, when he led the league in basically every rushing category. Then he immediately went back to being a complete zero.
2. Kevin Mack did it in 1991. Odd case here. Despite the fact that 10th in 91 was the highest Mack ever ranked, he had several other seasons near that level. 1991 was just a dismal year for running backs, which allowed Kevin to backdoor his way into the top 10 with fewer than 1000 total yards and 10 total TDs.

Neither White nor Mack ever had another good season again. Both were out of football within two years.

Note that this is presented for trivia purposes only. While I'm not at all high on Smith, I am by no means suggesting that he'll be out of football in two years.