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, scored 37 touchdowns, and never recorded a fumble in his college career. He ranks second in Stanford football history for most touchdowns and third for most rushing yards. Vardell held the record for most rushing yards in a season by a Cardinal running back, with 1084 yards in 1991. His record was broken by Toby Gerhart in 2008.

In 1990 as a Junior, he carried the ball just 120 times for 441 yards but scored an impressive 14 TDs (1 TD every 9 carries). As a Senior, he would carry the ball 226 times for 1,084 yards and score 20 TD in only 11 games.

NFL career

NFL Draft

Vardell's 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

He displayed solid running ability in his first two years with the Browns rushing for 1,013 yards on 270 carries but only scored 3 TD. He would only play 10 games combined due to injuries in the 1994 and 1995 seasons before he ended up with the San Francisco 49ers in 1996 and Detroit Lions in 1997.

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 in 1999 with 22 touchdowns.

He was the starting fullback when Barry Sanders rushed for 2,053 yards in the 1997-1998 NFL season.

NFL stats

Rushing Stats

Year	Team	Games	Carries	Yards	Yards per Carry	Longest Carry	Touchdowns	First Downs	Fumbles	Fumbles Lost
1992	CLE	14	99	369	3.7	35	0	14	0	0
1993	CLE	16	171	644	3.8	54	3	37	2	1
1994	CLE	5	15	48	3.2	9	0	2	0	0
1995	CLE	5	4	9	2.3	6	0	1	0	0
1996	SF	11	58	192	3.3	17	2	12	0	0
1997	DET	16	32	122	3.8	41	6	15	1	1
1998	DET	14	18	37	2.1	17	6	9	1	1
1999	SF	6	6	6	1.0	5	1	2	0	0
Career		87	403	1,427	3.5	54	18	92	4	3

Receiving Stats

Year	Team	Games	Receptions	Yards	Yards per Reception	Longest Reception	Touchdowns	First Downs	Fumbles	Fumbles Lost
1992	CLE	14	13	128	9.8	23	0	8	0	0
1993	CLE	16	19	151	7.9	28	1	8	1	1
1994	CLE	5	16	137	8.6	19	1	6	0	0
1995	CLE	5	6	18	3.0	7	0	0	0	0
1996	SF	11	28	179	6.4	22	0	7	0	0
1997	DET	16	16	218	13.6	37	0	10	0	0
1998	DET	14	14	143	10.2	31	1	6	0	0
1999	SF	6	7	36	5.1	11	0	1	0	0
Career		87	119	1,010	8.5	37	3	46	1	1

Personal life

Vardell was a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity at Stanford. Vardell is married to Andrea, and he with his family reside in California. 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.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]