We’ve heard several wild recruiting stories that seem almost made up. Like when WR Dorial Green-Beckham got a visit from Gary Pinkel of Missouri in true Hollywood style — the former head coach landed a helicopter on the field at DGB’s school. Well, while that’s certainly one of the craziest recruiting stories, Clinton Portis arguably has the funniest.
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The former NFL running back was recruited in Miami in 1999. The four-star athlete out of Gainesville High School had gotten several college offers, undoubtedly from coveted programs. His third visit was to the Hurricanes, the team he would ultimately commit to, but the deal was sealed at a strip club. And according to Portis, he actually said “yes” by mistake.
During his appearance on Raw Room, Portis rewound the clock to that fateful night. The misunderstanding occurred while he was being accompanied and entertained by a dancer. At that moment, he was asked a question that put him in a compromising position, and the answer he gave wasn’t what he had intended.
As Portis recalled:
“We in the strip club. You know we got dancers coming, and I got a dancer on me and this mf look at me and say are you coming?”
It was a pretty straightforward question, but the unnamed person had asked Portis if he was committing to the program. Unaware of the gravity of the question, he simply replied, “Yes.”
“I shook my head yes and tilted my head back, eyes rolled back, and that’s the last thing I remember,” he continued.
The next morning when he woke up, Portis was getting greeted and congratulated by several coaches of the program.
“And I go to breakfast, I get on the elevator, I’m hungover, and bing, the door opens. One of the coaches walks on and is like, ‘Aw man, congratulations, we heard you committed last night.’ I said ‘huh? The next coach gets on and says ‘awww man congratulations, we are so excited you are here.'”
The 18-year-old Portis was quite baffled. He didn’t even recall saying yes and looked at his mother in surprise.
Clearly, it wasn’t an ideal situation for him, but Portis was moved by the enthusiasm of the coaches. On top of that, perhaps he felt a sense of belonging in a program that valued him like they did that day.
Eventually, Portis officially committed to the program and went on to win the BCS National Championship before declaring for the NFL.
Clinton Portis’ notable achievements in college and the NFL
His notable record from college is that Portis became the second true freshman to start for the Hurricanes since the 1975 season. He left quite an impression in his debut season with 838 rushing yards and 10 combined touchdowns. But his performance saw a decline in his second year.
In his final year, however, Portis balled out, tallying 11 total touchdowns and 1200 rushing yards. His contribution got him selected as the 51st overall pick in 2002 by the Broncos.
He was exceptional in his first two years with the team, rushing over 1500 yards in each season. But the club still decided to trade him to the Redskins (now Commanders) in 2004. There, he spent his remaining tenure.
Portis called it a career in 2010, having won two Pro Bowl nods, one Second-Team All-Pro, and several other notable accolades.
