Autry Denson facts for kids
| Arizona Cardinals | |||||||||||||
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| Position: | Running backs coach | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born: | December 8, 1976 Lauderhill, Florida, U.S. |
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| Height: | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight: | 203 lb (92 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school: | Nova (Davie, Florida) |
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| College: | Notre Dame | ||||||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 1999 / Round: 7 / Pick: 233 | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||
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| Head coaching record | |||||||||||||
| Career: | NCAA: 14–22 (.389) | ||||||||||||
Autry Lamont Denson (born December 8, 1976) is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the running backs coach for the Arizona Cardinals in the National Football League (NFL). Before this, he was the head coach at Charleston Southern University from 2019 to 2022.
Denson played college football as a running back at the University of Notre Dame. He also played professionally for four seasons in the NFL with teams like the Miami Dolphins, Indianapolis Colts, and Chicago Bears. He spent one season in the Canadian Football League (CFL) with the Montreal Alouettes.
Contents
Playing Career
High School Years
Autry Denson went to Nova High School in Davie, Florida. There, he played football for coach Willie Dodaro.
College Football Star
Denson became a legend at the University of Notre Dame. He holds the record as Notre Dame's all-time leading rusher. He gained an amazing 4,318 yards and scored 43 touchdowns during his college career. He also holds many other rushing records for the university.
In 1997, he ran for 1,268 yards and scored 12 touchdowns. The next year, in 1998, he ran for 1,306 yards and scored 18 touchdowns. Denson was also named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the Gator Bowl in 1999. This was a big game against Georgia Tech.
Professional Play
In the 1999 NFL draft, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers picked Denson in the seventh round. However, he did not play in a regular season game for them.
He then played for the Miami Dolphins for two years (1999–2000). During this time, he ran for 206 yards and caught 18 passes for 133 yards. In 2000, he also returned 20 kickoffs for 495 yards. In 2001, Denson played for the Chicago Bears. He mostly played on special teams, returning 23 kickoffs for 534 yards. He also returned one punt for 5 yards. In 2002, he played briefly for the Indianapolis Colts.
In 2004, Denson moved to the Canadian Football League (CFL) and joined the Montreal Alouettes. He had a great season, finishing with 772 rushing yards and nine touchdowns. He even earned "player of the week" honors during that season.
Coaching Career
Starting Out
After taking some time away from football, Denson returned to the game in April 2010. He became the head football coach at Pope John Paul II High School in Boca Raton, Florida.
College Coaching
In 2011, Denson started coaching at the college level. He was hired as the running backs coach at Bethune–Cookman University. In 2014, he moved to Miami University (Ohio) as their running backs coach.
A year later, in 2015, Denson returned to his old college team, the University of Notre Dame. He became the running backs coach there, helping to train new players.
Head Coach Role
On January 14, 2019, Denson was named the head coach at Charleston Southern University. He led the team for four seasons. His overall record as head coach there was 14 wins and 22 losses. After the 2022 season, he left the position.
Arizona Cardinals
On March 1, 2023, Autry Denson joined the Arizona Cardinals as their running backs coach. He continues to work with professional football players in this role.
