Sport: Football
Born: December 21, 1989
Town: Hackensack, New Jersey
Mark Ingram II was born in Hackensack, NJ on December 21, 1989. Mark was named after his father, Mark Ingram, Sr., who played wide receiver for the Giants, Dolphins, and Packers. Mark’s father and mother, Shonda, were always supportive of him, cheering him on during his baseball, football, track and basketball events. For most of his life, Mark was known as “Little Mark” and his father was known as “Big Mark.”
The Ingrams raised Mark in Michigan. He attended Grand Blanc Community High School through his junior year and transferred to Flint Southwestern Academy for his senior year. Mark continued to play four sports in high school. In football, he was a four-year varsity starter. In his last two seasons, he racked up 2,546 rushing yards and 38 touchdowns. He was also a standout cornerback. Mark was also a two time all-state selection in track and in baseball. He was a four-year varsity starter on the diamond with a career average of .563.
When it came time for Mark to pick a college and a sport, it was a no-brainer. A four-star recruit in football, he accepted a football scholarship from the University of Alabama. He chose football because he wanted to play in the NFL, like his dad.
Mark came out running for the Crimson Tide. In his freshman year, he made the 2008 SEC All-Freshman team. His sophomore year was one of the most impressive seasons in school history. Mark’s best game in 2009 was against the South Carolina Gamecocks when he rushed for 246 yards. By the end of the season, Mark had a total of 1,658 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns. He led the Crimson Tide to the 2010 BCS National Title with a 14-0 record. His performance was so good that he won the Heisman Trophy. He was the first Alabama player to win the award.
Mark was sidelined for the first three weeks of his junior year due to minor knee surgery. Though he fell short of his fantastic sophomore season, he still decided to declare himself eligible for the 2011 NFL draft. Mark was the 28th overall pick (the same as his dad) and was taken by the New Orleans Saints. Mark’s first season as a Saint was a good one. He was part of a four-man backfield rotation that included Chris Ivory, Darren Sproles, and Pierre Thomas. Mark rushed for 474 yards and 5 touchdowns, and he led the team in attempts with 122.
Mark upped his rushing total in 2012 to 602 yards and scored 5 touchdowns again. He continued to play a reserve role through 2013 before finally winning a starting job in 2014. He rewarded the team with a career-best 964 rushing yards and 29 receptions, earning his first trip to the Pro Bowl. Mark was on his way to another solid season in 2015 when he inured his shoulder in a November game against the Redskins. He ended up starting 10 games, but still finished with a team-high 769 yards, as well as 6 touchdowns. Mark’s biggest impact was as a receiver. He caught 50 passes to lead all New Orleans running backs.
Mark was healthy and back in the starting lineup for the Saints in 2016. He was particularly good against New Orleans’ division rivals. Mark racked up 158 yards and a pair of touchdowns in a 41–23 victory over the 49ers and 146 yards and two scores three weeks later in another blowout win, over the Rams. He was named NFL Offensive Player of the Week after the Rams game. Mark finished with 1,043 yards, becoming the first Saint since Deuce McAllister in 2006 to reach four figures.
The Saints added veteran Adrian Peterson and rookie Alvin Kamara to their backfield in 2017, but Mark took it up a notch and was among the NFC leaders in rushing yards and touchdowns for most of the season. He finished with 1,124 yards and 12 touchdowns. He and Kamara each racked up over 1,500 yards from scrimmage; no running back duo in history had ever done that. Mark got his second Pro Bowl nod for his performance. Unfortunately, he was suspended for the first four games of 2018 for violating the league’s performance-enhancing drug policy, and lost the starting job to Kamara.
Prior to that, Mark had demonstrated great maturity and poise in his off-the-field life, in particular dealing with his father’s legal and financial problems, which started when Mark was a teenager. Big Mark was arrested for money laundering and bank fraud. He was released from prison in 2015. Through it all, Little Mark was still proud of his dad and was willing to do whatever he could to help. They continue to speak several times a week.
As for 2018, Mark’s overall numbers dropped accordingly. He played in 12 games and carried the ball 138 times for 645 yards and 6 touchdowns. He also caught 21 passes for 170 yards and another TD. He had a good game in the playoffs against the Eagles, but the Rams stopped him cold in the NFC Championship.
In 2019, Mark signed with the Baltimore Ravens. He teamed with Gus Edwards in the backfield to keep defenses honest while the team’s young quarterback, Lamar Jackson, ran amok. Mark racked up his third 1,000-yard season in four years, but actually finished second on the Ravens to Jackson in rushing yards, 1,206 to 1,018. Mark scored 10 touchdowns on the ground for Baltimore and another 5 through the air on 26 catches. He had five games with multiple touchdowns and was picked for the Pro Bowl for the third time in his career. Unfortunately, Mark picked up only 22 yards in the Ravens’ disappointing playoff loss to Tennessee.
Mark’s age-30 season in 2020 found him eased into a backup role by the Ravens. He ran for a mere 299 yards and sat out several games as a healthy scratch. Baltimore waived him after the season and he caught on with the Houston Texans in 2021. He started seven games for Houston and ran for 294 yards before an October trade landed him back in New Orleans. He tacked on 260 yards for the Saints to end the year with 554 on 160 carries to go with 27 receptions.
Mark played his final NFL season in 2022, battling through various injuries to gain 233 yards. He finished his career with 8,111 rushing yards, 303 receptions and 75 touchdowns. In 2023, Mark began his new career as a football commentator.