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LaDainian Tomlinson (born June 23, 1979 in
Rosebud, Texas) is an American football player who
currently plays running back for the San Diego
Chargers of the National Football League|NFL.

==Early years==
By his third birthday, Tomlinson, like his father,
was an avid follower of the Dallas Cowboys. He got
his first taste of football playing Pop Warner
Football as a youngster. At University High School
in Waco, Texas, he starred at linebacker as a
sophomore and at fullback as a junior.  However,
he did not get to play tailback until his senior
year. As a fullback, he rushed for 2,554 yards and
39 touchdowns. Because of Tomlinson's small size
(195 pounds) and lack of experience, few college
football recruiters showed interest in him. He
chose to attend Texas Christian University because
the school was near his hometown and because the
football team's head coach, Pat Sullivan, treated
Tomlinson with great deference.

==College career==
Tomlinson attended college at TCU, where he
starred at running back.  He was a Heisman Trophy
finalist as a senior, and completed his college
career with 5,263 rushing yards, ranking sixth in
NCAA Division I history.

Tomlinson was selected in the 1st round of the NFL
Draft in 2001 in sports|2001 with the 5th overall
pick.  The Chargers had the 1st pick in the draft
that year but anticipated that they would be
unable to sign Michael Vick, who was perceived as
the best player in the year's draft class. 
Therefore, they traded their number one pick to
the Atlanta Falcons, for which they received the
number five pick and other considerations.  In
this way, Tomlinson and Vick are forever linked as
having been "traded" for each other, although the
transaction was actually the result of traded
draft picks and contract negotiations.

Tomlinson immediately became the starting running
back with the Chargers, and has started every game
since for the Chargers at that position.  He has
achieved considerable success in the NFL, rushing
for over 1,000 yards in each of his four seasons. 
Other important career milestones include reaching
his 50th touchdown in only his 4th season (60th
game), receiving 100 passes and rushing for 1,000
yards in the same season (the first time this feat
had ever been accomplished), and election to the
Pro Bowl team in 2003 in sports|2003 and 2005 in
sports|2005.  He is widely recognized as one of
the top running backs in the game today.
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