Chris Darkins

By Brad Berreman
Love of Sports Correspondent

Darrell Thompson, Laurence Maroney, Thomas Hamner, Marion Barber III, Chris Darkins.

Who are these guys, you ask? An astute University of Minnesota football fan would tell you these are the Top 5 rushers in Gopher history.

You’ve probably heard of Maroney and Barber, since they’re both currently playing in the NFL. Thompson and Hamner were both drafted in the NFL, but didn’t last long. Which brings us to Darkins, who was the second-leading rusher in Gopher history when he graduated in 1995.

Darkins was a First-Team All-Big Ten selection as a junior in 1994, during which he rushed for 1,443 yards and 11 touchdowns. The yardage still ranks second in school history (Maroney, 1,464 yards in ‘05).

In fact, 1994 was Darkins’ only 1,000-yard season, which was probably more a product of head coach Jim Wacker’s pass-happy offense then an indictment of his talent level.

Darkins set a Gopher single-game rushing record on October 7th, 1995 against Purdue when he went off for 294 yards. He had three touchdowns on 38 carries that day in a 39-38 win over the conference rival Boilermakers.

The Green Bay Packers selected Darkins with a fourth round draft pick in 1996, but he’d only play two years in the NFL. However, he did manage to stay around long enough to get himself a Super Bowl ring as a member of the 1996 Packers.

In recognition of the Gophers starting the 2008 season 4-0, here’s some Old School Love to Chris “Dark Side” Darkins!