Durell Price
Encyclopedia
Durell Price was a football
player for the UCLA Bruins
and Sylmar High School
Spartans between 1993 and 1999. Despite being highly regarded out of college, he was never drafted and did not make it to the NFL except for a short stint with the San Diego Chargers
in 2000.
history. He faxed his letter of intent to Ohio State University
from a local drugstore, only to realize that he did not want to attend college so far from home. Although Price believed that his choice was already made, he learned that his fax had not been transmitted properly. The next day, he signed with UCLA.
At UCLA he played as a running back and did get some touches at running back his freshman year, 1996, including a career-high 110 yard rushing game verses Northeast Louisiana University (now known as UL-Monroe). In 1997, he switched to fullback, and saw little time. It was not until his junior year in 1998 when he became a starter at fullback. The highlight of his career, undoubtedly, was a 61 yard touchdown, on a trick pass play from wide receiver
Freddie Mitchell
, in the 1999 Rose Bowl
. He changed his number each season, increasing the number each time.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player for the UCLA Bruins
UCLA Bruins
The UCLA Bruins are the sports teams for University of California, Los Angeles . The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pacific-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation . For football, they are in the Football Bowl Subdivision of Division I...
and Sylmar High School
Sylmar High School
Sylmar High School is a public school in the northeast San Fernando Valley in the Sylmar district of Los Angeles, California. Established in the 1950s, it is part of the Los Angeles Unified School District, District 2, and serves more than 3,600 students in grades 9-12. The school mascot is the...
Spartans between 1993 and 1999. Despite being highly regarded out of college, he was never drafted and did not make it to the NFL except for a short stint with the San Diego Chargers
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
in 2000.
High school
Durell was a major component of the hayday of Jeff Engileman's powerhouse Sylmar High School's dominance of the City Section. In 1994 and 1995, he was named 4A City player of the year and team MVP, and lead the Spartans to a 1994 City Championship with a 38-6 win over Crenshaw. In the game, he had 166 yards on 19 carries, with 3 touchdowns. He set career Sylmar High records of 4,144 yards and 78 touchdowns.UCLA
Price's college signing led to the most notable incident of fax machine failure in National Letter of IntentNational Letter of Intent
The National Letter of Intent is a document used to indicate a student athlete's commitment to participating NCAA colleges and universities in the United States. The NCAA Eligibility Center manages the daily operations of the NLI program while the Collegiate Commissioners Association provides...
history. He faxed his letter of intent to Ohio State University
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
from a local drugstore, only to realize that he did not want to attend college so far from home. Although Price believed that his choice was already made, he learned that his fax had not been transmitted properly. The next day, he signed with UCLA.
At UCLA he played as a running back and did get some touches at running back his freshman year, 1996, including a career-high 110 yard rushing game verses Northeast Louisiana University (now known as UL-Monroe). In 1997, he switched to fullback, and saw little time. It was not until his junior year in 1998 when he became a starter at fullback. The highlight of his career, undoubtedly, was a 61 yard touchdown, on a trick pass play from wide receiver
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
Freddie Mitchell
Freddie Mitchell
Freddie Lee Mitchell, Jr. is a former American football wide receiver who played for the Philadelphia Eagles in the National Football League for four seasons. A four-sport athlete at Kathleen High School, Mitchell committed to the University of California, Los Angeles to play football for the Bruins...
, in the 1999 Rose Bowl
1999 Rose Bowl
The 1999 Rose Bowl was the 85th Rose Bowl game and was played on Friday January 1, 1999 at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California. It was a college football bowl game at the end of the 1998 college football season. Wisconsin defeated by a score of 38-31. Ron Dayne of Wisconsin was named...
. He changed his number each season, increasing the number each time.
Stats
| Year | Att | Yards | TD | Long | Rec | Yards | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 (Sr, SHS) | 1,666 | 36 | ||||||
| 1996 (Fr, UCLA) | 61 | 210 | 0 | 28 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| 1997 (So, UCLA) | 12 | 36 | 0 | 7 | 5 | 48 | 0 | 24 |
| 1998 (Jr, UCLA) | 33 | 141 | 0 | 40 | 14 | 222 | 1 | 61 |
| 1999 (Sr, UCLA) | 16 | 46 | 0 | 9 | 6 | 85 | 0 | 34 |