9. Tim Biakabutuka — Retired at 27 years old in 2001
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Tshimanga “Tim” Biakabutuka was born in Zaire, grew up in Canada, and enrolled at the University of Michigan after being nicknamed “Touchdown Tim” because of his high school football exploits. At Michigan, he set a single-season rushing record, running for 1,818 yards in 1995, including a 313-yard performance against arch-nemesis Ohio State.
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In 1996, the Carolina Panthers selected him with the 8th overall pick in the NFL Draft. But during his six-year career in the NFL, Biakabutuka never played more than 12 games in a single season due to various injuries, and finished with a grand total of 2,530 rushing yards over his career.
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