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| Date of birth: | February 20, 1969 |
| Place of birth: | El Cajon, California |
| Career information | |
|---|---|
| Position(s): | Fullback |
| College: | Stanford |
| NFL Draft: | 1992 / Round: 1 / Pick 9 |
| Organizations | |
| As player: | |
| 1992-1995 1996 1997-1998 1999 |
Cleveland Browns San Francisco 49ers Detroit Lions San Francisco 49ers |
| Playing stats at DatabaseFootball.com | |
Thomas "Tommy" Arthur Vardell (Born February 20, 1969, in El Cajon, California) is a former professional American football fullback in the National Football League.
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College career
Tommy Vardell was a star running back for the Stanford Cardinal. In 1990, Vardell was given the nickname "Touchdown Tommy" by then Stanford head coach Denny Green after scoring four touchdowns (all from the one yard line) against Notre Dame. For the Cardinal, Vardell rushed for 1,843 yards with 37 touchdowns in his college career. He never fumbled once for Stanford, and ranks second in Stanford football history for most touchdowns and third for most rushing yards. Until his record was broken by Toby Gerhart in 2008, Vardell held the record for most rushing yards in a season by a Cardinal running back, with 1084 yards in 1991.[1]
NFL career
NFL Draft
Vardell's stellar performance for Stanford in 1991 resulted in him being one of the top draft picks in 1992 NFL draft. He was selected by the Cleveland Browns under then head coach Bill Belichick in the first round (9th overall) of the 1992 NFL Draft.
NFL career
In his pro career, Vardell played in eight NFL seasons as the fullback for the Browns, the Detroit Lions, and the San Francisco 49ers. He overcame a career threatening knee injury early in his career and retired with 22 touchdowns.
He was the starting fullback when Barry Sanders rushed for 2,053 yards in the 1997–1998 NFL season. Vardell was also the first fullback used by Sanders in his career.
Personal life
Vardell is married to Andrea, and he with his family reside in California. Vardell is an avid collector of antiques and oriental rugs.[2]
Upon retirement from football in 1999, he co-founded Northgate Capital, a private equity investment firm with offices in Danville, California and London, UK. He currently serves as a Managing Director of the firm.[3] He is also a key grip on the reality show COPS.[4]
References
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