"I really didn't have an idea what was going to happen, but after the fifth round, I was hoping I didn't get drafted so I could be a free agent and decide where I wanted to go," Rankin told the Stockton Record. He reportedly ran the 40-yard dash in 4.4 seconds, the fastest among a group of players who worked out for the Seattle Seahawks earlier this month. Rankin ran for 1,294 yards as a senior for the Huskies and was the first Washington running back to top 1,000 yards in 10 years. Rankin ran for six touchdowns and caught passes for two more. He returned 40 kickoffs for 976 yards and one touchdown last season. The Raiders haven't returned a kickoff or punt for a touchdown since Dec. 28, 2003.2007: Had, by nearly any measure, the best season by a Husky tailback since 1997 ... became the first 1,000-yard rusher at Washington since Rashaan Shehee in 1997, passing the 1,000-yard mark in the season's 11th game (thus not benefitting from the extra games to pass the milestone) ... earned second-team All-Pac-10 ... named team's MVP (as voted by his teammates) and was a team captain ... 1,294 yards ranked fifth in UW history ... only third UW runner ever to post two 200-yard games in a career (both of them came in 2007 season) ... 2,396 all-purpose yds. ranked second in UW history ... ranks second in Pac-10 in all-purpose yards, fourth in rushing and sixth in kick returns ... rushed for 72 yards on 23 carries vs. Washington State, when he also had 89-yard TD on opening kickoff return ... rushed for 224 yards on 21 carries vs. California, the eighth-highest single-game total in UW history ... had a career game at Stanford, rushing for 255 yards and one touchdown on 36 carries ... 255 yards were fourth-most in UW single-game history while 36 carries tied for fourth ... 20 carries for 60 yards at Oregon St. ... great game at Syracuse: 17 carries, 147 yards and 3 touchdowns ... scored on runs of 13, 47 and 20 yards vs. Orange ... posted 100 or more yards in the season opener in third straight season ... 17 carries for 45 yards vs. Boise State, when he also passed for a 16-yard TD ... 11 carries for 80 yards with 147 yards on kickoff returns at Arizona State ... 73 yards on 11 carries and a 43-yard TD reception vs. Oregon ... 16 carries for 70 yards rushing and four receptions for 35 yards and a touchdown receiving vs. Arizona ... named the Pac-10 Player of the Week after the Stanford and Cal games ... named the UW's offensive team MVP after four times (Syracuse, Arizona State, Stanford, Cal) and the special teams MVP after the Ohio State and Washington State games ... invited to participate in the Texas vs. the Nation All-Star Challenge ... finalist for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sports Star of the Year Award.
2006: Won the Husky Fever 12th Man (offense) award at the team's postseason banquet ... played in all 12 games at tailback ... started vs. Arizona State and Oregon ... led the Huskies in rushing with 666 yards on 142 carries, an average of 4.7 yards per rush ... shared the team lead with four rushing touchdowns ... finished the season ranked eighth in the Pac-10 in rushing at 55.5 yards per game ... also fourth on the team (and first among non-wide receivers) in receiving with 13 catches for 75 yards ... posted three 100-yard rushing games during the season ... opened the year rushing for 145 yards and two touchdowns on only 10 carries vs. San Jose State ... scored on runs of 34 and 68 yards vs. the Spartans ... followed that with a 17-carry, 112-yard game at Oklahoma ... ran for 118 yards on 17 carries at Washington State, including a 77-yard touchdown run, the Huskies' longest play from scrimmage all season ... also scored an eight-yard touchdown in the Apple Cup ... rushed for 63 yards and caught two passes in win at Arizona ... rushed for 88 yards on 22 carries at Cal ... ran for 67 yards vs. Arizona State, when he also caught a season-high six passes for 46 yards ... won the UW's Pepsi Player of the Week Award after the Washington State win.
2005: Started the first seven games of he year before being sidelined with a toe injury ... rushed for 112 yards in first-career start vs. Air Force ... is the first UW back since Corey Dillon (1996) to top 100 yards in his starting debut ... average of 4.7 yards per carry in 2005 was highest by UW back with at least 100 carries since 2001 ... also caught seven passes for 54 yards ... was the first UW back since Rich Alexis (2004) with three 100-yard games in one season ... ironically, Alexis also appeared in only the first seven games that year ... set a new career high with 115 yards on 19 carries vs. Idaho ... scored his first career touchdown on 48-yard run vs. the Vandals ... ran 18 times for 109 yards at UCLA ... also had a 50-yard touchdown run called back against the Bruins for holding.
2004: Appeared in eight games, including each of the final six ... was a regular on special teams as a kick returner ... saw first career game action at Notre Dame, gaining 25 yards on five carries ... returned kicks last five games of the year ... had a 53-yard kick return at Oregon, longest of the year by a Husky ... also had a 46 yard kickoff return vs. California. 2003: Redshirted the season ... received the Bob Jarvis Award as Offensive Scout Squad MVP following the season ... also earned a weekly scout-squad MVP honor, for his work prior to UW's win over Oregon State.
HIGH SCHOOL & PERSONAL: Parents are Cliff and Wendy Smith ... scored 41 touchdowns as a senior to rank second in California ... 41 touchdowns was top mark ever for Stockton prep player and fifth best mark by a San Joaquin Section player ... 34 of Rankin's touchdowns came on the ground ... rushed for 2,245 yards ... 14 receptions led to five scores and 272 yards .... also scored twice on kick returns ... first-team all-state pick by CalHi Sports as a multi-purpose player ... team was 12-2 his senior season and won the San Joaquin League for the second consecutive season ... reached the championship game of the Division I playoffs ... team was 11-2 his junior season ... one of 10 finalists for the Cal-Hi Sports California Mr. Football player of the year award ... also a member of the Trojans' basketball and track teams ... named to PrepStar's All-West Region team. Louis Rankin's uncle is former NFL receiver Webster Slaughter. Slaughter played for five teams in the NFL from 1986-98.
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