Kevin Troy Faulk (born June 5, 1976) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons with the New England Patriots. Faulk played college football for the LSU Tigers, winning SEC Freshman of the Year in 1995 and receiving first-team All-American honors the following season. He was selected by the Patriots in the second round of the 1999 NFL draft.
Faulk held a variety of offensive and special teams roles during his professional career and contributed to the Patriots' first three Super Bowl titles. For his accomplishments in New England, he was inducted to the Patriots Hall of Fame in 2016. After retiring from the NFL, Faulk returned to LSU as a coach from 2018 to 2021. He was inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2022.
Early life
Born in Lafayette, Louisiana, Faulk attended Carencro High School in Carencro, Louisiana, where he helped his team win the 1992 State Championship (Class 5A). In high school, Faulk rushed for 4,877 yards on 603 carries (8.1 yards per carry). He also had 7,612 all-purpose yards and 89 touchdowns.
Faulk ran for 1,144 yards on 205 carries in 1997, scoring 15 touchdowns. He improved on those numbers as a senior in 1998 when he ran for 1,279 yards on 229 carries and scored 12 rushing touchdowns. He added 287 yards receiving and three receiving touchdowns.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+College career statistics*
New England Patriots (1999–2011)
right|thumb|Faulk with the Patriots
Faulk was selected by the New England Patriots in the second round (46th overall) of the 1999 NFL draft.
Dubbed the Patriots' "Swiss Army knife" because of his multitude of tools and versatility, he played a wide variety of roles on the team. Besides his primary position as running back, he also played some as a wide receiver, special teams as a gunner and a return specialist. He was rarely the team's feature back, but was adept at catching the ball, blocking, and running as needed. In 2016, he was inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame.
1999–2000 seasons
Pete Carroll was the head coach of the Patriots in Faulk's rookie season in 1999. As a rookie, Faulk started the first two games of the season at running back before an ankle injury kept him out of the next two games. He returned in Week 5 as a reserve behind starter Terry Allen. He suffered a sprained ankle in Week 14 and was placed on injured reserve on December 14, 1999. In 11 games, Faulk recorded 1,358 all-purpose yards and also returned a kickoff for 95 yards against the New York Jets on November 15. He recorded 227 rushing yards on 27 carries and one touchdown, along with 12 receptions for 98 yards and a touchdown. He added 943 kickoff return yards on 39 returns, as well as 10 punt returns for 90 yards.
In 2000, Faulk shared a starting role with rookie J. R. Redmond, with Faulk starting 9 of 16 games played. He led the team with 570 yards rushing on 164 carries with four rushing touchdowns. He added 51 catches for 465 yards and one touchdown. He was also active on special teams, leading the team with 38 kickoff returns for 816 yards while also returning six punts for 58 yards.
In 2002, Faulk finished the regular season with 1,440 all-purpose yards in 15 games, all as a reserve behind Smith. He ran 52 times for 271 yards and two touchdowns, caught 37 passes for 379 yards and three touchdowns, returned 26 kickoffs for 725 yards and two touchdowns, and added 8 punt returns for 65 yards. His seven total touchdowns ranked second on the team. Faulk returned in Week 2 and played in every remaining game, making three starts to mark his tenth consecutive season with the Patriots.
He finished the 2008 season with 83 carries for 507 yards and three touchdowns, as well as a career-high 58 receptions for 486 yards and three touchdowns. On special teams, he added 2 kickoff returns for 36 yards and 10 punt returns for 132 yards. He was placed on the "PUP" list but returned to practice after week six.
NFL career statistics
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Team
! rowspan="2"| GP
! colspan="5"| Rushing
! colspan="5"| Receiving
|-
! Att !! Yds !! Avg !! Lng !! TD !! Rec !! Yds !! Avg !! Lng !! TD
|-
! 1999 !! NE
| 11 || 67 || 227 || 3.4 || 43 || 1 || |12 || 98 || 8.2 || 19 || 1
|-
! 2000 !! NE
| 16 || 164 || 570 || 3.5 || 18 || 4 || 51 || 465 || 9.1 || 52 || 1
|-
! 2001 !! NE
| 15 || 41 || 169 || 4.1 || 24 || 1 || 30 || 189 || 6.3 || 28 || 2
|-
! 2002 !! NE
| 15 || 52 || 271 || 5.2 || 45 || 2 || 37 || 379 || 10.2 || 36 || 3
|-
! 2003 !! NE
| 15 || 178 || 638 || 3.6 || 23 || 0 || 48 || 440 || 9.2 || 27 || 0
|-
! 2004 !! NE
| 11 || 54 || 255 || 4.7 || 20 || 2 || 26 || 248 || 9.5 || 31 || 1
|-
! 2005 !! NE
| 8 || 51 || 145 || 2.8 || 13 || 0 || 29 || 260 || 9.0 || 23 || 0
|-
! 2006 !! NE
| 15 || 25 || 123 || 4.9 || 11 || 1 || 43 || 356 || 8.3 || 43 || 2
|-
! 2007 !! NE
| 16 || 62 || 265 || 4.3 || 14 || 0 || 47 || 383 || 8.1 || 23 || 1
|-
! 2008 !! NE
| 15 || 83 || 507 || 6.1 || 41 || 3 || 58 || 486 || 8.4 || 22 || 3
|-
! 2009 !! NE
| 15 || 62 || 335 || 5.4 || 29 || 2 || 37 || 301 || 8.1 || 38 || 1
|-
! 2010 !! NE
| 2 || 8 || 45 || 5.6 || 11 || 0 || 6 || 62 || 10.3 || 21 || 1
|-
! 2011 !! NE
| 7 || 17 || 57 || 3.4 || 9 || 0 || 7 || 34 || 4.9 || 18 || 0
|-
! colspan="2"| Career || 161 || 864 || 3,607 || 4.2 || 45 || 16 || 431 || 3,701 || 8.6 || 52 || 15
|}
Retirement
On October 9, 2012, Kevin Faulk announced his retirement at a ceremony at the Hall at Patriot Place. After retirement, Faulk appeared on NESN every Monday and Friday for a game recap and preview respectively. He also appeared on The Real Pre-Game Show on WEEI-FM 93.7FM every Sunday at 9am for a 1pm kickoff and Noon for a 4:25pm kickoff.
In 2015, Faulk was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.
On May 18, 2016, Faulk was elected into the Patriots Hall of Fame, beating Raymond Clayborn and Mike Vrabel in a fan vote.
Coaching career
High school coach
Carencro High School
Faulk was an assistant coach and offensive coordinator at his alma mater, Carencro High School, from 2013 to 2017.
College coach
LSU
On January 24, 2018, Faulk was named the Director of Player Development for the LSU football program and served in that role for two seasons. On February 24, 2020, he was promoted to running backs coach at LSU. He was not retained by LSU after the 2021 season.
Professional coach
New York Giants
In August 2022, Faulk was named running backs intern for the New York Giants.
Personal life
Kevin Faulk is married and has three children. He is a cousin of NFL Hall of Fame running back Marshall Faulk. Kevione was a student staff member for the LSU football team. On December 6, 2025, Faulk's other daughter, Tanasha, died unexpectedly in Lafayette, Louisiana four years after her sister's death.
See also
- LSU Tigers football statistical leaders
References
External links
- New England Patriots Hall of Fame profile