Texas A&M football: 30 greatest players of all-time
By Jeff Shull
Stats – 448 carries, 2,442 yards, 29 rushing touchdowns; 53 catches, 645 yards, seven receiving touchdowns; 36.6 kick return average with four kickoff return touchdowns.
Accolades – Consensus All-American returner in 1994, All-American as a running back in 1995
Team signature moment – Winning the Southwest Conference title in 1993
Strictly in terms of talent level and explosiveness, Leeland McElroy might be the best running back who ever played for Texas A&M. He doesn’t have the numbers as some of the other guys on this list, a lot of that had to do with the fact he split time with Rodney Thomas and Greg Hill in 1993 and Thomas again in 1994. There was no one more explosive than McElroy.
He earned the nickname “Letric Leeland” which was his Heisman campaign slogan in the 1995 season, when he became the unquestioned starter and began the year rushing for 229 yards against the LSU Tigers.
McElroy would miss two games and his Heisman campaign sputtered, but he still put up 1,122 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns to go along with 25 catches for 379 yards and three more touchdowns.
He holds the NCAA record for kickoff return touchdowns in a single game when he had two against the Rice Owls. His three kickoff return touchdowns in 1993 set the NCAA record and his 36.3 kickoff return average set the NCAA record.
McElroy was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals with the 32nd overall pick in the 1996 NFL Draft. Injury concerns dropped him out of the first round and he remains the lowest drafted player to attend the NFL Draft in the green room. He would play four years in the NFL.