Players

• Led the team with 578 rushing yards on 133 carries (4.3 avg.) in 2011.
• Posted a league-leading 315 rushing yards in the 2010 postseason, third most ever by a rookie RB in the postseason behind only Washington’s Timmy Smith (342 in 1987) and Baltimore’s Jamal Lewis (338 in 2000).
• Rushed for 123 yards at Philadelphia in an NFC Wild Card contest, the most by a Green Bay rookie in franchise postseason history.
• Recorded 73 yards on 18 carries in his NFL debut vs. San Francisco in Week 13, the highest yardage total by a Green Bay rookie RB in his first game since Ralph Earhart had 78 in his debut at Boston (Sept. 17, 1948).
• In three years, became the University at Buffalo’s all-time leader in rushing yards (3,140), rushing TDs (34) and points scored (222). Missed his senior season due to a shoulder injury that required surgery.
• Set single-season school records for carries (272), rushing yards (1,333), points scored (102) and all-purpose yards (1,694) in 2008 despite missing two-plus games with injuries.
• Became first running back drafted into the NFL from his school and the first player drafted by the Packers out of Buffalo.

Pro Highlights:

• Led the team with 578 rushing yards on 133 carries (4.3 avg.) in 2011, while also leading the running backs with 29 receptions for 216 yards (7.4 avg.).
• Along with RB Ryan Grant (559 yards), became the first pair of Green Bay backs to eclipse the 550-yard mark in the same season since Edgar Bennett and Dorsey Levens did so in 1996.
• Limited to just three games as a rookie in 2010 as he worked his way back from a hamstring injury, but burst onto the scene with a league-leading 315 rushing yards in the 2010 postseason.
• Those 315 yards in the ’10 playoffs were the third most ever by a rookie RB in the postseason behind only Washington’s Timmy Smith (342 in 1987) and Baltimore’s Jamal Lewis (338 in 2000).
• Posted 73 yards on 18 carries in his NFL debut vs. San Francisco in Week 13, the highest yardage total by a Green Bay rookie RB in his first game since Ralph Earhart had 78 in his debut at Boston (Sept. 17, 1948).
• Originally injured his hamstring during OTAs in May of his rookie campaign, and spent the entire preseason and the first nine regular-season games on the physically unable to perform list.
• Was chosen by the Packers in the sixth round (193rd overall), the 13th running back taken in the draft and the first running back drafted into the NFL from his school.

 
2011 SEASON: Played in 13 games with two starts and led the team with 578 yards and a TD on 133 carries (4.3 avg.)…Also led the Green Bay running backs with 29 receptions for 216 yards (7.4 avg.)…Appeared in team’s playoff contest…Sidelined for three games with an ankle injury…Vs. New Orleans (Sept. 8): Led the team with 57 yards on 12 carries (4.8 avg.) and scored his first career regular-season TD, a 17-yard run in the second quarter…At Carolina (Sept. 18): Carried nine times for a regular-season career-high 85 yards (9.4 avg.) and added three catches for 30 yards (10.0 avg.). Posted a career-long 40-yard run in the second half, the longest run by a Packer since RB Brandon Jackson’s 71-yarder at Washington (Oct. 10, 2010)…Vs. Denver (Oct. 2): Made his first career regular-season start in the absence of an injured Ryan Grant (kidney) and rushed for 63 yards on 13 carries (4.8 avg.). Added five receptions for 38 yards (7.6 avg.)…At Minnesota (Oct. 23): Led the team with 75 yards on 13 carries, a 5.8-yard average that was a career high (min. 10 attempts). Carried six times for 55 yards to run the final 2:30 off the clock in the 33-27 win despite eight- and nine-man fronts by Minnesota…Vs. Tampa Bay (Nov. 20): Tied for the team lead with six catches for 53 yards (8.8 avg.), career highs in both categories. Added 38 yards rushing on 11 carries (3.5 avg.). Suffered a knee injury at the tail end of a carry with just over three minutes remaining and did not return…At Detroit (Nov. 24): Started just four days later and carried four times for 19 yards (4.8 avg.). Rested for most of the second half with the game in hand…At N.Y. Giants (Dec. 4): Carried three times for 5 yards (1.7 avg.), but sustained an ankle injury in the first half and did not return. The injury would sideline him for the next two games as well as the regular-season finale.

2010: Appeared in just three regular-season contests as he worked his way back from a hamstring injury, but started all four postseason games…Rushed for 101 yards on 29 carries (3.5 avg.) and caught two passes for 15 yards (7.5 avg.) during the regular season…Led the NFL with 315 rushing yards on 81 carries (3.9 avg.) in the playoffs, the third-highest postseason total by a rookie behind only Smith (342 in ’87) and Lewis (338 in ’00)…Returned two kickoffs for 25 yards (12.5 avg.) during the regular season and five for 70 yards (14.0 avg.) in the postseason…Originally sustained hamstring injury during OTAs in May, and was placed on active/PUP at the start of training camp…Later transferred to reserve/PUP at the first roster reduction on Aug. 31, where he would stay for the first nine games…Activated from reserve/PUP on Nov. 9…Was inactive for two games following his activation plus another two contests in December…Vs. San Francisco (Dec. 5): Served as the backup to Jackson and responded with 73 yards on 18 carries (4.1 avg.). Yardage total was the most by a Green Bay rookie RB in his debut since Earhart’s 78 at Boston (Sept. 17, 1948). Carried the ball nine times for 35 yards on a 17-play, 74-yard drive in the fourth quarter that milked 8:35 off the clock. Shook loose for a 16-yard gain by bouncing out around the right end…At Philadelphia (NFC Wild Card, Jan. 9): Posted the top rushing total by a Packers rookie in franchise playoff history, racking up 123 yards on 23 carries (5.3 avg.). The yardage total was the third highest in team postseason annals behind only Ryan Grant (201, vs. Seattle, Jan. 12, 2008) and Ahman Green (156, at Philadelphia, Jan. 11, 2004)…At Chicago (NFC Championship, Jan. 23): Continued to provide a consistent rushing threat for the Packers’ balanced attack, posting 74 yards on 22 carries (3.4 avg.). Scored the first TD of his career on a 4-yard run early in the second quarter to put Green Bay ahead 14-0…Vs. Pittsburgh (Super Bowl XLV, Feb. 6): Became the first rookie RB to start the Super Bowl since Indianapolis’ Joseph Addai in 2006. Carried 11 times for 52 yards (4.7 avg.), providing a consistent complement to an Aaron Rodgers-led passing attack. His impressive average per carry came against the league’s No. 1-ranked rushing defense in the regular season, a unit that allowed opponents a 3.0-yard average…2010 NFL Draft: Drafted by the Packers in the sixth round (No. 193 overall), the 13th running back taken in the draft and the first player ever drafted out of Buffalo by Green Bay. Became the first running back in school history to be selected in the NFL Draft.

COLLEGE: Finished his career as the University at Buffalo’s all-time leader in rushing yards (3,140), rushing touchdowns (34) and points scored (222) despite missing his senior campaign due to a shoulder injury…Played 36 games in three seasons, rushing 698 times for 3,140 yards (4.5 avg.) with 34 TDs, adding 127 receptions for 898 yards (7.1 avg.) and three more scores…Reception total ranks seventh on the school’s all-time list…His 3,140 yards broke the previous record of 3,103 held by Anthony Swan (1994-97), his 34 rushing TDs broke the previous record of 29 by Lee Jones (1965-67) and Swan, and his 222 points topped the previous record of 184 by Alan Bell (1989-92)…His 12 100-yard rushing games fell one shy of Swan’s mark, and his 698 carries are also second to Swan (812) in school annals…One of only four players in school history to generate more than 4,000 all-purpose yards, finishing with 4,045…Had his most decorated year as a junior in 2008, when he set single-season school records for carries (272), rushing yards (1,333), all-purpose yards (1,694) and points scored (102)…Was recruited as a QB, converted to CB during his redshirt season in 2005 and then became a part-time starter at RB in ’06…Graduated with a degree in sociology…Senior season (2009): Sat out the entire season after undergoing surgery on his shoulder in August…Was limited by the shoulder injury during spring camp in March, tried to play through it and aggravated the problem, which turned out to be a torn labrum…Began the year as a preseason All-America and All-Mid-American Conference selection and was on the Doak Walker Award watch list as one of the nation’s top running backs…Junior season (2008): Despite missing two-plus games with injuries, set single-season school records with 1,333 rushing yards on 272 carries (4.9 avg.)…Yardage total topped O.D. Underwood’s 1,189 yards in 1986, while the attempts topped his own mark from the previous season…Earned honorable mention All-America from The NFL Draft Report and was named first-team All-MAC by the league’s coaches and media…Ranked third in the MAC and 15th in the nation in rushing with 111.1 yards per game, topping 100 six times, one shy of the single-season school record held by Swan (1996) and Underwood (1986)…Rushed for 16 TDs, tying a school record first set by Jones in 1966…Scored at least one TD in each of the final nine games and multiple TDs in four straight…Added a receiving TD, as he ranked second on the team with 52 receptions for 361 yards (6.9 avg.)…Also set school records for points scored (102) and all-purpose yards (1,694), beating Jones’ point total of 96 (1966) and Andre Forde’s yardage mark of 1,556 (2002)…Earned MAC East Division Offensive Player of the Week honors with 30 carries for season-high 185 yards and two TDs at Ohio (Oct. 28), one a 56-yarder in the fourth quarter to clinch the win…Sophomore season (2007): Earned All-MAC second-team honors for the second straight year with 251 carries (a single-season school record he would break the following year) for 1,103 yards (4.4 avg.) and 12 TDs…Added 41 receptions for 311 yards (7.6 avg.) and two more TDs…Named MAC East Offensive Player of the Week with 183 yards rushing on career-high 36 carries with two TDs, including a 72-yarder, vs. Ohio (Oct. 4)…Named MAC East Offensive Player of the Week for the second straight week with career-high 231 yards and three TDs on 34 carries vs. Toledo (Oct. 13), earning an ESPN “helmet sticker” on the network’s day-end wrap-up show. The 231 yards rank third on the school’s all-time single-game list, behind 266 from Bell (vs. Duquesne, 1991) and 232 from Underwood (vs. Rochester, 1986)…Redshirt freshman season (2006): Moved from CB to RB and started six of 12 games played, leading the team in rushing with 704 yards and six TDs on 175 carries (4.0 avg.), good for second-team All-MAC honors…Finished second on the team with 34 catches for 226 yards (6.7 avg.)…Ran for season-high 162 yards and three TDs on 24 carries vs. Kent State (Nov. 4) to earn MAC East Player of the Week honors.

PERSONAL: Given name James Darell Starks…Nicknamed “Buck”…Born in Niagara Falls, N.Y. …Single…Says his two uncles, who are pastors, have been a big influence on him as an athlete…High school: As a QB at Niagara Falls High, was a three-time team captain…Ran for 1,048 yards and threw for more than 600 yards as a senior, earning All-Western New York honors…Played for coach Joe Shifflet, a former University at Buffalo football player…Also played shooting guard on a basketball team that included future Syracuse stars Paul Harris and Jonny Flynn, who now plays for the Portland Trail Blazers…Was a four-year letterman in basketball as well as track, running sprints and relays and competing in the jumping events…Community involvement: Was given a key to the city of Niagara Falls on Feb. 23, 2011, his birthday, following the Packers’ Super Bowl XLV victory…Participated in the Edgar Bennett Celebrity Bowl-A-Thon, which raises money for a cancer-related charity…Has worked as a counselor at sports camps, made hospital visits and worked with a local Boys and Girls Club among his charitable endeavors…Hobbies/interests: Enjoys drawing and playing basketball…Lists Above The Rim as his favorite movie and R&B and rap as his favorite types of music…Residence: Niagara Falls, N.Y.