Kansas State University Athletics
SE: Catching Up With K-State Athletics HOF Inductee Darren Sproles
Sep 22, 2021 | Football, Sports Extra
Darren Sproles, a multi-record holder during his All-American career at Kansas State (2001-04) and Ring of Honor member at Bill Snyder Family Stadium, will be inducted into the K-State Athletics Hall of Fame during a ceremony on Oct. 1.
A father of three girls and homeowner with wife Michel in the Los Angeles valley, Sproles discusses life after the NFL and reflects upon his memories at K-State while sharing his thoughts on current sophomore running back Deuce Vaughn publicly for the first time.
Sproles currently serves as personnel consultant with the Philadelphia Eagles football operations department, enjoys playing golf with nearby neighbor Terence Newman, and instills into his children the values that he learned while playing under Hall of Fame head coach Bill Snyder.
D. Scott Fritchen of K-State Sports Extra spoke with Sproles ahead of his return to K-State for his Hall of Fame induction:
DSF: Can you update the K-State family on everything Darren Sproles is involved with these days?
DS: We're living in Los Angeles in the valley. We were in San Diego for 15 years and we've been here going on two years now. My wife, Michel, is from LA. We always said that we wanted to move there. I never wanted to live in the city of LA, so we live in the valley, which is a lot like San Diego. It's more chill and a good place to raise a family. I'm just enjoying retirement and spending time with my family. My kids are 20, 12 and 9 years old — all girls — and they're growing up fast. They keep me going and keep me young, so it's been fun. They all run track, so we travel a lot. I've been playing a lot of golf with Terence Newman, who lives nearby, so it's been cool. Last year, I began to serve as a personnel consultant for the Philadelphia Eagles in their football operations department.
DSF: Who wins in golf — you or TNew?
DS: Oh, TNew all day. The dude can play. TNew can legit play. I'm still working on identifying my handicap. TNew is like my coach. I like how we're out there and he'll tell me pointers. I'm getting better.
DSF: What is it like fully wearing the dad hat now and having the opportunity to pour into the lives of your children every day? How special is that?
DS: It's really special. When I was playing all of those years, I felt like I missed out on some things. Now, I'm just trying to make up for lost time. I'm doing everything with them. It's really been fun. I enjoy seeing them grow.
DSF: You were the first player in NFL history with more than 2,000 all-purpose yards in four different seasons and hold the NFL record for all-purpose yardage in a single season. You rank sixth in NFL history in career all-purpose yards behind the likes of Jerry Rice, Walter Payton and Emmitt Smith. How truly amazing are those achievements to you?
DS: You know what, I never really have thought about it yet. When I think back, I just really hope that I opened the door for the short players. I hope college and NFL coaches give shorter players a chance now. You know what I mean? It's not all about the size, but it's all about the heart. As for any records, it's actually a blessing. I never would've thought about that. Football was just something that I liked to do. I never thought about all of the records. For me to look back at it, I'm proud. I'm up there with some great names. It's a blessing.
DSF: Is the Darren Sproles story about proving people wrong all of your life, or is your story something different?
DS: The Darren Sproles story, I had to prove a lot of people wrong. You could say that's my story. That's what kept me driven and kept me going for so long. It shaped me into the man I am today because I always wanted to work hard and outwork the next person. In everything that I do, I'm just trying to be the best at it. I see a lot of that in my kids now, too. Whatever they do, they try to be the best at it.
DSF: When you talk about opening the doors for shorter players, Kansas State currently has a sophomore running back named Deuce Vaughn, who is 5-foot-6 and 173 pounds. Have you seen him play and what are your impressions of Deuce so far?
DS: Yes, I've seen him play. I like him. I like him a lot. I like his drive and I like his heart. He does more out of the backfield than what I did at that stage when I was at K-State. I never got into the route running until I got to the NFL. The stuff that Deuce is doing right now, he's ahead of me with the route running.
DSF: How excited are you to come back to Manhattan to be inducted into the K-State Sports Hall of Fame?
DS: I'm really excited to see the changes in the stadium and facilities, and I'm really honored to be going into the K-State Sports Hall of Fame. That means a lot to me. You think of Alabama and all of the rest of the schools, and they have all of the talent, while us at K-State, we've always been the underdogs, but we still can play. I remember the grind. I remember Saturday gamedays in the stadium, all of the purple, all of the chants. I tell people all of the time, there's no place in the nation like Manhattan, Kansas on a gameday. It's a special place.
DSF: People said Terence Newman out of Salina was too skinny, people said Darren Sproles out of Olathe was too small, Jordy Nelson from Riley arrived as a walk-on defensive back. How does that typify the foundation of K-State?
DS: K-State is tough. We're built tough at K-State. We have to work for everything. For us to have the type of careers that we've had, I hope we give other players from K-State and the state of Kansas hope.
DSF: How long does it seem like since you lifted up the 2003 Big 12 Championship trophy at Arrowhead Stadium?
DS: Man, it still feels like yesterday, but it's been a lot of years. That was a great feeling, though. Everybody talks about that 2003 team, but I tell people all of the time that our 2002 team was very special, too, but we lost by four points at Colorado and by three points against Texas, and it took us out of the conversation for a national title. It's important to remember that 2002 team was special, too.
DSF: What are some of the values that you learned from Coach Snyder that you find yourself instilling into your own children?
DS: Hard work, never give up at anything you do, and discipline. You must be disciplined in everything that you do. I tell everybody that you haven't done anything until you made it through a Coach Snyder training camp. You talk about brutal? That just made you tough, you know?
DSF: How do you hope to be remembered in K-State history?
DS: I want to be remembered as one of the greatest running backs to ever come through K-State. That's how I want to be remembered. I'm grateful for my teammates. We came to K-State as teammates and we left as family. We all still talk to this day. That's what I'm grateful for. K-State is a true brotherhood. When I came on my recruiting trip, the first thing I noticed was that the team was a family. Everybody was close. I loved that. I got a chance to play for Coach Snyder and I'm grateful for that.
A father of three girls and homeowner with wife Michel in the Los Angeles valley, Sproles discusses life after the NFL and reflects upon his memories at K-State while sharing his thoughts on current sophomore running back Deuce Vaughn publicly for the first time.
Sproles currently serves as personnel consultant with the Philadelphia Eagles football operations department, enjoys playing golf with nearby neighbor Terence Newman, and instills into his children the values that he learned while playing under Hall of Fame head coach Bill Snyder.
D. Scott Fritchen of K-State Sports Extra spoke with Sproles ahead of his return to K-State for his Hall of Fame induction:
DSF: Can you update the K-State family on everything Darren Sproles is involved with these days?
DS: We're living in Los Angeles in the valley. We were in San Diego for 15 years and we've been here going on two years now. My wife, Michel, is from LA. We always said that we wanted to move there. I never wanted to live in the city of LA, so we live in the valley, which is a lot like San Diego. It's more chill and a good place to raise a family. I'm just enjoying retirement and spending time with my family. My kids are 20, 12 and 9 years old — all girls — and they're growing up fast. They keep me going and keep me young, so it's been fun. They all run track, so we travel a lot. I've been playing a lot of golf with Terence Newman, who lives nearby, so it's been cool. Last year, I began to serve as a personnel consultant for the Philadelphia Eagles in their football operations department.
DSF: Who wins in golf — you or TNew?
DS: Oh, TNew all day. The dude can play. TNew can legit play. I'm still working on identifying my handicap. TNew is like my coach. I like how we're out there and he'll tell me pointers. I'm getting better.
DSF: What is it like fully wearing the dad hat now and having the opportunity to pour into the lives of your children every day? How special is that?
DS: It's really special. When I was playing all of those years, I felt like I missed out on some things. Now, I'm just trying to make up for lost time. I'm doing everything with them. It's really been fun. I enjoy seeing them grow.
DSF: You were the first player in NFL history with more than 2,000 all-purpose yards in four different seasons and hold the NFL record for all-purpose yardage in a single season. You rank sixth in NFL history in career all-purpose yards behind the likes of Jerry Rice, Walter Payton and Emmitt Smith. How truly amazing are those achievements to you?
DS: You know what, I never really have thought about it yet. When I think back, I just really hope that I opened the door for the short players. I hope college and NFL coaches give shorter players a chance now. You know what I mean? It's not all about the size, but it's all about the heart. As for any records, it's actually a blessing. I never would've thought about that. Football was just something that I liked to do. I never thought about all of the records. For me to look back at it, I'm proud. I'm up there with some great names. It's a blessing.
DSF: Is the Darren Sproles story about proving people wrong all of your life, or is your story something different?
DS: The Darren Sproles story, I had to prove a lot of people wrong. You could say that's my story. That's what kept me driven and kept me going for so long. It shaped me into the man I am today because I always wanted to work hard and outwork the next person. In everything that I do, I'm just trying to be the best at it. I see a lot of that in my kids now, too. Whatever they do, they try to be the best at it.
DSF: When you talk about opening the doors for shorter players, Kansas State currently has a sophomore running back named Deuce Vaughn, who is 5-foot-6 and 173 pounds. Have you seen him play and what are your impressions of Deuce so far?
DS: Yes, I've seen him play. I like him. I like him a lot. I like his drive and I like his heart. He does more out of the backfield than what I did at that stage when I was at K-State. I never got into the route running until I got to the NFL. The stuff that Deuce is doing right now, he's ahead of me with the route running.
DSF: How excited are you to come back to Manhattan to be inducted into the K-State Sports Hall of Fame?
DS: I'm really excited to see the changes in the stadium and facilities, and I'm really honored to be going into the K-State Sports Hall of Fame. That means a lot to me. You think of Alabama and all of the rest of the schools, and they have all of the talent, while us at K-State, we've always been the underdogs, but we still can play. I remember the grind. I remember Saturday gamedays in the stadium, all of the purple, all of the chants. I tell people all of the time, there's no place in the nation like Manhattan, Kansas on a gameday. It's a special place.
DSF: People said Terence Newman out of Salina was too skinny, people said Darren Sproles out of Olathe was too small, Jordy Nelson from Riley arrived as a walk-on defensive back. How does that typify the foundation of K-State?
DS: K-State is tough. We're built tough at K-State. We have to work for everything. For us to have the type of careers that we've had, I hope we give other players from K-State and the state of Kansas hope.
DSF: How long does it seem like since you lifted up the 2003 Big 12 Championship trophy at Arrowhead Stadium?
DS: Man, it still feels like yesterday, but it's been a lot of years. That was a great feeling, though. Everybody talks about that 2003 team, but I tell people all of the time that our 2002 team was very special, too, but we lost by four points at Colorado and by three points against Texas, and it took us out of the conversation for a national title. It's important to remember that 2002 team was special, too.
DSF: What are some of the values that you learned from Coach Snyder that you find yourself instilling into your own children?
DS: Hard work, never give up at anything you do, and discipline. You must be disciplined in everything that you do. I tell everybody that you haven't done anything until you made it through a Coach Snyder training camp. You talk about brutal? That just made you tough, you know?
DSF: How do you hope to be remembered in K-State history?
DS: I want to be remembered as one of the greatest running backs to ever come through K-State. That's how I want to be remembered. I'm grateful for my teammates. We came to K-State as teammates and we left as family. We all still talk to this day. That's what I'm grateful for. K-State is a true brotherhood. When I came on my recruiting trip, the first thing I noticed was that the team was a family. Everybody was close. I loved that. I got a chance to play for Coach Snyder and I'm grateful for that.
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