Melvin Gordon

Early years

Gordon attended Mary D. Bradford High School in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where he was a two-sport star for the Red Devils in both football and track. In football, he tallied 1,098 yards and 11 scores on 99 carries, and had five receiving touchdowns, and was an honorable mention All-state and All-region by the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association (WFCA) as a junior. He was a first-team All-state selection by the Associated Press and the WFCA as a senior, after he rushed for 2,009 yards with 38 touchdowns. He was the Wisconsin Gatorade Football Player of the Year.

Gordon's high school teammate, cornerback Trae Waynes, was drafted four spots ahead of Gordon in the 2015 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings.

As an outstanding track & field athlete, Gordon was one of the state's top performers in the long jump. At the 2011 Racine Invitational event, he ran the 55-meter dash in a PR 6.39 seconds on his way to a first-place finish. He earned a second-place finish in the 100-meter dash at the 2011 SEC Outdoor Conference, recording a career-best time of 10.95 seconds. At the 2011 WIAA Track & Field State Championships, he took silver in the long jump event after posting a career-best leap of 7.20 meters (23 ft 7 in).

Regarded as a four-star recruit by the Rivals.com recruiting service, Gordon was ranked the No. 24 running back in the nation. He was ranked the top player in Wisconsin by ESPN.com. He chose Wisconsin over scholarship offers from Iowa, Louisville, and Michigan. Gordon originally committed to the University of Iowa but decommitted and chose the University of Wisconsin–Madison instead.

College career

Gordon attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he played for the Wisconsin Badgers football team from 2011 through 2014 under head coaches Bret Bielema, Barry Alvarez, and Gary Andersen.

2011 season

As a freshman in 2011, Gordon played in three games rushing 20 times for 98 yards with a touchdown. Gordon rushed for his first career collegiate touchdown against South Dakota on September 24. He was given a medical redshirt after suffering a groin injury.

2012 season

In 2012, Gordon was the third string running back behind Montee Ball and James White. Gordon set a career-high record of 216 yards on nine carries averaging 24 yards per carry in the 2012 Big Ten Football Championship Game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers where the unranked Badgers defeated the #12 Cornhuskers by a score of 70-31. During the 2013 Rose Bowl, he had nine carries for 51 yards against #6 Stanford but ultimately the unranked Badgers lost by a score of 20-14.

Over the course of the 2012 season, Gordon rushed 62 times for 621 yards and three touchdowns.

2013 season

On November 14, Gordon was named one of the ten semifinalists for the 2013 Doak Walker Award. In December 2013, Gordon announced after much speculation that he would be returning to Wisconsin for his junior season. In explaining his decision, Gordon stated that,"I love the University of Wisconsin and feel that there is still a lot of room for growth...academically, another year in school will help me get closer to completing my degree, and on the field I hope to help my team get back the Big Ten championship." In the 2013 season, Gordon recorded 1,609 rushing yards with 12 touchdowns.

2014 season

Prior to the season, Gordon was widely viewed as a Heisman Trophy contender. He was also on preseason watchlists for the Maxwell Award, Doak Walker Award, and Walter Camp Award. 2014 was the first year where Gordon was Wisconsin's featured running back; in 2012, he was behind both Montee Ball and James White, and 2013 he was behind James White with Corey Clement as the third string running back after Gordon.

Gordon began the season with 16 carries for 140 yards against #13 LSU on 30 August at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. LSU came back from a 7-24 deficit to win the game by a score of 28-24. Wisconsin's head coach, Gary Andersen, was criticized for Gordon only having three carries in the second half and when questioned Anderson stated he "didn't know why Gordon had limited carries". Gordon stated to the media after the game that he wasn't injured. However, two days later Andersen stated that Gordon strained his hip-flexor on the last play in the second quarter of the game against LSU and "we were trying to be smart with him as the rest of the game went on". In the second game of the season against the Western Illinois Leathernecks (FCS), Gordon was held to a season-low 38 rushing yards on 17 rushing attempts.

On September 20 against Bowling Green, Gordon had a career-high five rushing touchdowns and 253 rushing yards. Just two weeks later, Gordon surpassed his 253-yard game rushing against Bowling Green when he reached 259 yards rushing against Northwestern at Ryan Field in a losing effort. After week six Gordon was named to the CBSSports.com Midseason College Football All-America Team. Gordon was one of 20 semifinalists for the Maxwell Award.

On November 15, Gordon set the FBS single game rushing record with 408 yards versus the #16 Nebraska Cornhuskers. Gordon accomplished this, as well as scoring four rushing touchdowns, on only 25 carries in three quarters of play. The previous mark of 406 yards was set by TCU running back LaDainian Tomlinson and had stood as a record since 1999. In addition, he broke the 339-yard school record, held by Ron Dayne since 1996, and the 377-yard Big Ten Conference record, held by Indiana running back Anthony Thompson since 1989. Gordon garnered multiple Player of the Week awards for his performance against the Huskers. The Walter Camp Football Foundation, Athlon Sports and CBSSports.com named him National Offensive Player of the Week, and the Big Ten named him the conference Offensive Player of the Week.

On November 19, Gordon was named one of ten semifinalists for the Doak Walker Award and the Walter Camp Foundation listed him as one of the fifteen "Players to Watch" for the Walter Camp Award. The Doak Walker Award National Selection Committee will release a list of three finalists on November 25 and the Walter Camp Foundation will release a list of five finalists on December 3.

On November 22, against Iowa at Kinnick Stadium, Gordon rushed for 200 yards and had four receptions for 64 yards, leading the team in both categories. Gordon went over 2,000 yards rushing for the season, only the 17th player in FBS history to do so. He reached the 2,000 yard mark faster than any of his predecessors, on just 241 carries. The previous holder for fastest 2,000 yards was Penn State running back Larry Johnson who accomplished the feat on 251 carries in 2002. However, Gordon's single game rushing record was broken by Oklahoma running back Samaje Perine, who gained 427 yards in a game against Kansas. When Gordon learned that his record had been broken after only one week, he commented: "That's disappointing, to have that. But congrats to that guy; that's really not easy to do." Gordon was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week for the third time this season as a result of his performance at Kinnick Stadium.

On November 25, Gordon was named as a finalist for the Maxwell Award with quarterbacks Marcus Mariota (Oregon) and Dak Prescott (Mississippi State). Gordon and fellow Big Ten running backs Ameer Abdullah (Nebraska) and Tevin Coleman (Indiana) were named the three finalists for the Doak Walker Award. Gordon would later win the award. On December 1, Gordon was named the Big Ten's Ameche–Dayne Running Back of the Year as well as being a consensus 1st Team All-Big Ten Running Back. The following day, Gordon was named the Big Ten's Graham–George Offensive Player of the Year.

Gordon was one of three Heisman Trophy finalists joining Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota and Alabama wide receiver Amari Cooper. Gordon became Wisconsin's fourth finalist for the Heisman Trophy, all of whom played running back for the Badgers. Alan Ameche (1954) and Ron Dayne (1999) won the award, while Montee Ball (2011) finished fourth in the final balloting. Gordon finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting behind Mariota.

Gordon waived his final year of college eligibility and entered the 2015 NFL Draft.

In Gordon's final college game, the 2015 Outback Bowl, he rushed for 251 yards against the #19 Auburn Tigers in a 34-31 overtime victory. He set the Outback Bowl rushing record with his performance and was named the game MVP. For the season, he gained 2,587 yards, second only in FBS history to the 2,628 yard record held by Barry Sanders since 1988.

College statistics

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College awards/honors

College records

Professional career

After the end of the 2014 college football season, Gordon prepared for the NFL Combine at EXOS San Diego in Carlsbad based on his former Wisconsin teammate, Jared Abbrederis's recommendation.

At the 2015 NFL Combine, Gordon set a new record for the 60-yard shuttle with 11.0 seconds. However, the record was then broken by Byron Jones who had a time of 10.98 seconds.

The San Diego Chargers selected Gordon in the first round with the 15th overall pick. In addition, he was one of two Wisconsin Badgers to be selected that year.

2015 season

On May 15, 2015, the Chargers signed Gordon to a four-year, fully guaranteed contract for $10.66 million, with a $6 million signing bonus. The contract included a fifth-year option.

Gordon began his professional career being named the starting running back for the Chargers' season opener, ahead of veterans Danny Woodhead and Branden Oliver. On September 13, 2015, he received his first career start against the Detroit Lions and finished the season opener with 14 carries, 51 rushing yards, three receptions, 16 receiving yards, and lost a fumble. The next week, he carried the ball 16 times for a season-high 88 yards and made a 10-yard reception in a 19-24 loss at the Cincinnati Bengals. On October 12, 2015, Gordon had 7 catches for a season-high 52 yards and also accounted for 42 yards on 15 carries in a 20–24 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. During a Week 6 matchup at the Green Bay Packers, he had seven attempts for 29 yards and lost two fumbles in a 20-27 loss. After six consecutive starts to begin his career, Gordon was benched for the beginning of a Week 7 contest against the Oakland Raiders. He finished the game with seven carries for 29 yards. Gordon returned to his starting role the next game at the Baltimore Ravens and carried the ball a season-high 18 times for 54 yards in a 26–29 loss. In his last game of the season, he had 15 rushing attempts and 41-yards in a 30-14 victory over the Miami Dolphins.

On December 21, 2015, the Chargers placed Gordon on season-ending injured reserve after sustaining a knee injury the previous day against the Miami Dolphins. He finished his rookie season with 184 carries, 641 rushing yards, 33 receptions, 192 receiving yards, six fumbles, and no touchdowns in 14 games and 12 starts.

2016 season

On May 10, 2016, it was revealed that Gordon had undergone microfracture surgery in January, but would still be ready for training camp and other activities starting in 2016. On September 11, 2016, Gordon scored his first two career rushing touchdowns against the Kansas City Chiefs in an overtime loss. He finished the game with 14 carries for 57 yards. After Danny Woodhead tore his ACL in Week 2 and was out for the season, Gordon became the Chargers' top running back for the 2016 season. He finished the season rushing for 997 yards and 10 touchdowns to go along with 41 receptions for 419 yards and two touchdowns. Gordon missed the final three games of the season after suffering hip and knee injuries, finishing just three yards shy of 1,000 yards rushing. Gordon was named to his first Pro Bowl as a replacement for injured Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell.

NFL statistics