Top Ten Players of The Mike Price Era: #10 Donald Buckram

Over the next couple of weeks, we will walk down Miner Memory Lane as we profile who Miner Rush thinks were the top-ten players during the Mike Price era.

Some will call it the "golden era" of UTEP Football with a number of talented offensive players, and eight former Mike Price players still playing in the NFL today.

We start with number ten: Donald Buckram.

Donald Buckram finished his UTEP career in the ranks of the top-ten rushers in school history, after a historic junior year that saw him smash the UTEP single season rushing record.

Buckram starts our list at number ten, though if knee issues didn't plague his senior year, Buckram probably could have landed way higher, and possibly still be playing in the pros.

His breakout year was in 2009 when he broke the aforementioned UTEP single season rushing record, running for 1,594 yards with a 6.1 yard per carry average during that season.

The main highlight of several eye poppers that particular campaign was his 262 yard, four touchdown BCS busting performance against then BCS hopeful Houston.

Buckram went over 100 yards eight times that season, and tied the UTEP record for three 200 yard ground games as well.  He also found the end zone on the ground 18 times, which was the second highest single season rushing touchdown mark in school history.

Finishing as a Doak Walker award semi-finalist in 2009, Buckram was ranked third in the nation in scoring, fourth in rushing yards per game, and 11th overall in the nation in all-purpose yards to garner that recognition.  Buck also lead the C-USA in rushing yards in 2009.

Another huge accomplishment during his special 2009 season saw him as the fourth ever division one skill player at that time to rush for 200 yards, and also record 100 yards receiving in a single game against Tulane.

Buckram signed an un-drafted free agent deal with the Browns in 2011, though was released before camp started after his knee was not stable enough to pass a physical.  Buckram also ran track his freshman year in 2007, posting a third place 10.69 time in the 100-meters at the C-USA Championships.

To this today Buck remains a living gridiron legend in the Copperas Cove/Killeen area after being a Dave Campbell Texas Top-300 player out of high school there, and for his historic season at UTEP he still remains a recent Miner legend in my opinion as well.

UTEP Athletics

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