Who Is Bobby Rainey?
David Manning-USA TODAY Sports
The story of the past two weeks in the NFL has been that of former WKU star Bobby Rainey. Last week, after 2 years in the league and 3 teams, he scored is first official touchdown (which also turned out to be the game winner) for the Buccaneers as they got their first win of the season against the Dolphins. Today, Rainey and the Bucs squared off against division rival Atlanta, and absolutely stole the show, rushing for 110 yards and 2 scores at the half alone. While the rest of the country is wondering “who is this guy, and what is he all about?” WKU fans are sitting back proudly, smiling every time they see a positive tweet or a gamebreak in their regional game with another Rainey highlight. ESPN got in on the fun, with one tweet about his hype, and one about how he has done what no Buc had done before today:
via @SportsNation on twitter
via @ESPNStatsInfo on twitter
Rainey finished the afternoon with 163 yards on 30 carries, 2 rushing touchdown and a receiving score in the Bucs 41-28 win over Atlanta.
But, who exactly is this fellow?
Well, Rainey, of course, played his college ball at WKU, and came to the hill via Griffin, GA (a suburb about 50 minutes south of Atlanta) out of Griffin High School. He played all four years at WKU, and totaled 4,542 yards on 895 carries and 35 touchdowns in his 4 years, setting a school record in rushing his senior year. He also became the 8th player since 2000 to have back to back 1,500 yard rushing seasons, a list that includes names like LaDanian Tomlinson, Ray Rice and Steven Jackson. Rainey also received numerous accolades while on the hill, including a 2010 first team All-Sun Belt honor and several SBC Player of the Week awards.
After his senior year, he went to the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent, and was a year-long practice squad member with the black birds and was apart of the team that won the Super Bowl.
During this past off season, the Ravens dropped Rainey, but would quickly be picked up by the Cleveland Browns, before being dropped after week 7 of this season.
The Buccaneers picked Rainey up on Oct. 21st, and so far, it’s looking like a good pickup.
While it’s very possible that Rainey had a once in a lifetime game, it looks like he could become a play after play threat for the Bucs. It all depends on how the coaching staff plans to use him. But, even if today is his 15 minutes of fame, it’s still pretty great to see a former Hilltopper garner so much attention.
Of course, throughout the season, we will keep tabs on Rainey as he is one of our beloved #ProToppers. But, if you’d like more in-depth news on the Bucs, go to thepewterplank.com.
Stand up and cheers. Bobby Rainey is giving you every reason to!