CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

• Made the 53-man roster as an undrafted free agent last season, finishing his rookie campaign with 260 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 47 carries (5.5 avg.), and 27 catches for 279 yards (10.3 avg.) and three touchdowns.
• Became the first Chargers undrafted rookie RB to post three touchdown catches in a season, while tying RB Don Woods (1974) and RB James Brooks (1981) for the team record by a rookie RB.
• In Week 10 at Jacksonville, became the first RB to post two touchdown catches of 20-plus yards in a single game since Jamaal Charles (Dec. 15, 2013).

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

• Made the 53-man roster as an undrafted free agent last season, finishing his rookie campaign with 260 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 47 carries (5.5 avg.), and 27 catches for 279 yards (10.3 avg.) and three touchdowns.
• Became the first Chargers undrafted rookie RB to post three touchdown catches in a season, while tying RB Don Woods (1974) and RB James Brooks (1981) for the team record by a rookie RB.
• In Week 10 at Jacksonville, became the first RB to post two touchdown catches of 20-plus yards in a single game since Jamaal Charles (Dec. 15, 2013).

2017: Appeared in all 16 games…Scored a 35-yard TD on the first carry of his career…Registered 47 carries for 260 yards (5.5 avg.) and two TDs…Posted 27 receptions for 279 yards (10.3 avg.) and three TDs…Recorded two TD catches of 20-plus yards in the contest at Jacksonville, becoming the first RB to do so in a single game since RB Jamaal Charles (Dec. 15, 2013)…His three TD catches were the most by an undrafted rookie RB in Chargers history and tied RB Don Woods (1974) and RB James Brooks (1981) for the most by a rookie RB in team annals…Returned five kickoffs for 85 yards (17.0 avg.)…Added 17 special teams tackles...at Denver (Sept. 11): Made his NFL debut in his home state of Colorado…Posted two receptions for 18 yards (9.0 avg.) while seeing action on three offensive plays and 17 on special teams…Registered a special teams tackle on punt coverage, pinning Denver inside its own 20…vs. Miami (Sept. 17): Returned three kickoffs for 49 yards (16.3 avg.) with a long of 22 yards on 17 plays on special teams…Added a special teams tackle on punt coverage…vs. Kansas City (Sept. 24): Registered a six-yard reception…Saw action at RB on six offensive snaps and 19 on special teams…vs. Philadelphia (Oct. 1): Recorded a TD on the first carry of his career, a 35-yard score in the fourth quarter…Forced a missed tackle by OLB Mychal Kendricks on second down before running away from defenders for the score…Added two receptions for 23 yards (11.5 avg.)…Contributed with two special teams tackles on punt coverage that pinned the Eagles inside the 20-yard line…at New York Giants (Oct. 8): Participated on 13 offensive snaps and 16 on special teams…Posted four carries…Registered career highs in receptions (three) and receiving yards (28) for a 9.3 yards-per-reception average…Contributed with a tackle on kickoff coverage, pinning the Giants inside their own 20-yard line…at Oakland (Oct. 15): Recorded a one-yard run and an eight-yard reception on seven offensive plays…Contributed on 11 special teams plays, totaling two special teams tackles on punt coverage…Converted a reception on third-and-eight to move the chains on the team’s first scoring drive…Caught the pass from QB Philip Rivers in the right flat and juked past CB David Amerson to get enough yardage for the first down…vs. Denver (Oct. 22): Registered the first TD catch of his career, finishing the game with four catches for six yards (1.5 avg.) and the score…On the play, started in shotgun formation to the right of Philip Rivers before motioning left out of the backfield to catch a swing-pass in the left flat from Rivers for the one-yard score…Posted 38 rushing yards on seven carries (5.4 avg.)…Added a special teams tackle on kickoff coverage that forced Denver to start inside the 20…Contributed on punt coverage by downing a punt by P Drew Kaser at the Denver one-yard line in the third quarter…Saw action on 18 plays on offense and 13 on special teams…at New England (Oct. 29): Saw action on 17 plays on offense and 14 on special teams…Posted two rushes for eight yards (4.0 avg.) and hauled in a 13-yard catch…Returned two kickoffs for 36 yards (18.0 avg.)…Added a special teams tackle on punt coverage…at Jacksonville (Nov. 12): Led the team in rushing and receiving yards, posting his first game with more than 100 scrimmage yards (119)…Posted 42 rushing yards on 10 carries (4.2 avg.), both career highs…Set career highs with 77 receiving yards and two TDs on five catches (15.4 avg.), including a career-long 28-yard TD catch at the end of the first half…On the play, caught a pass in the right flat and ran away from LB Telvin Smith before breaking a tackle by CB Jalen Ramsey and running down the sideline for the score…Added a 22-yard score after catching another pass in the right flat before turning up the sideline and diving across the goal line for the TD…Became the first RB to post two TD catches of 20-plus yards in the same game since Jamaal Charles (Dec. 15, 2013)…Saw action on 23 offensive snaps and 17 on special teams…Led the team with three special teams tackles, all coming on punt coverage…vs. Buffalo (Nov. 19): Played on 32 offensive snaps and 14 on special teams…Rushed for 40 yards and a TD on six attempts (6.7 avg.)…In the fourth quarter, took a handoff up the middle from QB Kellen Clemens and ran away from Bills defenders for a 21-yard TD after receiving blocks from G/T Michael Schofield, G Kenny Wiggins, TE Cumberland and WR Tyrell Williams…Added two catches for 18 yards (9.0 avg.)…at Dallas (Nov. 23): Saw action on 27 snaps on offense and 11 on special teams…Rushed for 15 yards on six attempts (2.5 avg.) and posted three catches for 55 yards (18.3 avg.), including a career-long 38-yard catch in the third quarter…On third-and-two, was split wide left and put a double-move on LB Justin Durant to get open down the left sideline for the 38-yard completion from Philip Rivers…vs. Cleveland (Dec. 3): Appeared on 20 plays on offense and seven on special teams…Posted 19 rushing yards on four attempts (4.8 avg.) and 21 receiving yards on a pair of receptions (10.5 avg.)…vs. Washington (Dec. 10): Posted a career-high 49 rushing yards on four carries (12.3 avg.), seeing action on 18 plays on offense and 21 on special teams…Three-of-five special teams tackles came on kickoff coverage (one pinning the Redskins inside the 20) and two came on punt coverage (one pinned Washington inside their own 20)…On final play of the first half, took a handoff from Philip Rivers in the shotgun and ran through blocks from T Russell Okung, G Dan Feeney and TE Antonio Gates for a 33-yard gain, finishing just short of the end zone…at Kansas City (Dec. 16): Played 10 snaps on offense and six on special teams before leaving with a hand injury…Finished with a six-yard reception and 13 rushing yards on two attempts (6.5 avg.)…Ran for a 12-yard gain in the first quarter, taking an end-around handoff from Philip Rivers after a fake swing-pass to RB Melvin Gordon past a block from Dan Feeney…at New York Jets (Dec. 24): Limited to four special teams plays due to a hand injury suffered at Kansas City…vs. Oakland (Dec. 31): Still limited with a cast on his hand, appeared on six special teams snaps.

COLLEGE: Played four seasons (2013-16) at Western State Colorado in Gunnison, Colo., totaling 5,857 rushing yards and 55 rushing TDs on 932 attempts (6.3 avg.)…Broke almost every career rushing record in school history…Four-time first-team All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference selection…Posted 1,000-plus rushing yards all four seasons (1,049 in 2013, 1,676 in 2014, 1,637 in 2015 and 1,495 in 2016)…Became the school’s career rushing yards leader as a junior…Candidate for the Harlon Hill Trophy in 2015, which is awarded to the top Division-II player…Set a career high with a 344-yard, five-TD performance at Western New Mexico in 2015…With 1,676 rushing yards as a sophomore in 2014, set the Mountaineers record for rushing yards in a single season.

PERSONAL: Given name Austin Ekeler…Last name is pronounced ECK-uh-ler…Born in Lincoln, Neb. …Completed his collegiate degree in the spring of 2018, following his rookie campaign…Earned a degree in event management…High School: Earned All-Conference and All-State honors in football and track & field at Eaton (Colo.) High…Finished his high school career with 2,398 rushing yards and 42 TDs for a 10.2 avg.

CAREER NFL TRANSACTIONS:

2017             Signed by Los Angeles Chargers as undrafted free agent, May 1.