Mark Valentino Ingram Jr. was born on December 21, 1989 in Hackensack, New Jersey. His parents are Shonda and Mark Ingram Sr. He was raised alongside 3 younger sisters; Malia, Mia and Miya. Mark had his first 3 years of high school at Grand Blanc Community High School and later transferred to Flint Southwestern Academy for his senior year. Ingram was a rookie all through high school and for his outstanding performance, he won Saginaw Valley MVP and the region’s Player of the Year award. He also earned All-State selection in his senior season.
Ingram’s college career with the Alabama Crimson Tidal Football Team spanned 3 years from 2008 to 2010. Over 14 appearances in his freshman season, he scored a total of 12 rushing touchdowns, which was also a school record.
His second season (2009) with The Tides is undoubtedly his breakthrough season as he premiered several new records. He won the coveted Heisman Trophy in December 2009, becoming the first University of Alabama player to achieve the feat. As he was a few years under 20, Ingram was the youngest Heisman winner at that time as well as the third consecutive sophomore to win the award. He finished the season with 1,658 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns, and 334 extra yards with three touchdowns for which he was named a unanimous first-team All-American. In January 2010, Ingram also led the team to win the 2010 Citi BCS National Championship game in which he was named Offensive MVP.
Mark Ingram’s junior season wasn’t as spectacular with 875 rushing yards on 158 carries with 13 touchdowns and 282 yards with a touchdown. Forgoing his senior season, Ingram declared for the 2011 NFL Draft on January 6, 2011. He was selected in the first round by the New Orleans Saints as the 28th overall pick.
NFL Career
In his rookie season, Mark Ingram was limited to just 10 appearances for the Saints due to a toe injury. He ultimately finished the season with 474 rushing yards and 5 touchdowns. Ingram didn’t see much improvement over the next 2 seasons as he rushed for 602 yards with five rushing touchdowns in 2012 and finished with 386 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown in 2013.
Mark Ingram finally overcame his first struggle in the 2014 NFL season as he finished with a career-high 1,109 yards (964 rushing yards and 145 receiving yards) from scrimmage, a performance for which he earned his first Pro-Bowl selection. After a not-so-impressive 2015 season, the talented player found his winning way again in 2016 by finishing with a career-high 1,043 rushing yards. He also had 319 receiving yards and 10 total touchdowns.
Ingram took his performance a notch higher in the 2017 season as he finished with career bests 1,124 rushing yards, 12 rushing touchdowns, 58 receptions, and 416 receiving yards. He helped the Saints win their fourth NFC South title by also earning his 2nd Pro-Bowl selection.
Mark Ingram was handed a 4-game suspension on May 8, 2018 for violating the league’s drug policy.
