To answer your first question, Trung is actually his real name, and no it’s not short for anything (I originally thought it might have been a sick nickname for Theodore). Canidate is from Phoenix, Arizona, and consequently became an Arizona Wildcat. In his freshman year he had 138 rushes for for 804 yards and 4 TDs. One of his touchdowns was a career long 96 yards, he was a quick little guy I tell ya. His Sophomore year he rushed for 1220 and 10 touchdown. His Junior year he was a huge part of the Arizona offense with 253 carries, 1602 yards, and 16 touchdowns. In his 3 years at Arizona he averaged 6.5 yards per carry totaling for a beastly average of 117 yards per game.
Trung entered the 2000 NFL Draft and was selected 31st overall by the St. Louis Rams. Somewhat of an odd draft pick considering they had star runningback in Marshall Faulk. Imagine if they had drafted Marvel Smith or Chad Clifton (both 2nd rounders) to go along with Orlando Pace….but they didn’t. As a rookie Canidate had 3 attempts for 6 yards and wasn’t voted for rookie of the year. But in 2001 Trung was able to find the end zone 6 times with his 78 carries as he rushed for 441 yards. He also had 17 receptions for 154 yards, and did some kick returning. Unfortunately, Trung was not as involved in the Ram’s offense the next season, and only rushed for 48 yards. After the season he was traded to the Washington Redskins for David Loverne and a fourth round draft choice.
Trung earned the starting role in Washington over Ladell Betts and Rock Cartwright. That season he had 142 rushing attempts for 600 yards and touchdown. He also caught 10 balls out of the backfield for 71 yards and another touchdown. The next season the Redskins acquired Clinton Portis, and we never saw Trung play again.
Trung’s finals stats were 240 attempts, 1095 rushing yards, 8 total touchdowns, 32 receptions, 260 receiving yards, and 5 fumbles. In 2004, Portis nearly matched Canidate’s career numbers, rushing for 343 carries, 1315 rushing yards, and 7 total touchdowns.
Although Trung didn’t put up the most spectacular statistics, a wise man once told me that he was the toughest player to bring down in NFL Street. This just illustrates that you shouldn’t judge a player by his statistics, but rather by their padded stats in video games.
-Schotz
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