Former Texas Christian University running back LaDainian Tomlinson is being recognized as the countdown to the Horned Frogs’ 2025 football season opener continues. Tomlinson, who wore No. 5 during his time at TCU from 1997 to 2000, had a significant impact on both college and professional football.
Tomlinson began his career sharing the backfield before becoming the team’s starting running back in 1999. He recorded a breakout sophomore year with 717 rushing yards and eight touchdowns. In his junior year, he ran for 1,550 yards and scored 16 touchdowns, averaging 6.3 yards per carry.
During his senior season in 2000, Tomlinson rushed for at least 100 yards and one touchdown in every game, totaling 2,158 yards and 22 touchdowns on 369 carries. He was named a unanimous All-American, finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting, and earned both the Jim Brown Trophy and Doak Walker Award.
In recognition of his achievements at TCU, Tomlinson became only the third player in school history to have his jersey number retired in 2005. He was later enshrined into the TCU Athletic Hall of Fame (2012), College Football Hall of Fame (2014), and Pro Football Hall of Fame (2017). Selected fifth overall by the San Diego Chargers in the first round of the NFL Draft in 2001, Tomlinson went on to play eleven seasons in the league—nine with San Diego—amassing over thirteen thousand rushing yards and one hundred forty-five touchdowns.
His NFL career included five Pro Bowl appearances (2002, 2004-07), five All-Pro honors (2002, 2004-07), three First-Team All-Pro selections (2004, 2006-07), two league rushing titles, three rushing touchdown crowns, inclusion on the NFL’s All-Decades Team for the 2000s, an MVP award after a record-setting season in which he rushed for eighteen hundred fifteen yards and twenty-eight touchdowns (2006), as well as recognition as Walter Payton Man of the Year that same year.
The countdown series highlights current or former players whose jersey numbers correspond with days remaining until kickoff; with five days left before TCU takes on North Carolina under new coach Bill Belichick to start their season.
