Jeff Atkins (born April 7, 1964) is a former American football running back.[1]
Atkins grew up in the Butler housing project in Fort Worth, Texas. He attended Fort Worth's Eastern Hills High School. As a senior, he rushed for 2,333 yards and scored 25 touchdowns. He was the No. 1 recruit from Texas.[2] He rushed for 310 and 329 yards in individual games and was later described as "the most celebrated player in the history of Fort Worth high school football."[3]
He played college football as a tailback for the SMU Mustangs from 1983 to 1986, tallying 3,260 rushing yards and scoring 31 touchdowns.[4] He set an SMU freshman record with 218 rushing yards against Rice.[3] He also broke Earl Campbell's Southwest Conference freshman rushing record.[5]
He was not selected in the NFL draft and tried out, unsuccessfully, with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 1987.[3] [6] He attempted a comeback and played in several games for the Dallas Texans of the Arena Football League during the 1991 season.[7] [8]