Class of 1996
The most prolific running back in Anaheim Colonists football history, Droughns is one of only five players to have his jersey retired. As a sophomore, he rushed for a team-record 2,083 yards and propelled the Colonists to the quarterfinal round of postseason play. He followed that performance with 1,752 yards as a junior to break Mickey Flynn’s career rushing record. Droughns is the only Anaheim running back to surpass 1,000 yards rushing three times, and ended his career with 4,958 yards, the second highest total in Orange County history up to that time. He was a three-time All-Orange League first teamer, and twice earned All-CIF recognition. His excellence was not limited to the gridiron, as Droughns was a CIF champion wrestler in 1996 for the 189-pound weight class.
Droughns continued his football career at Merced College,where he was a two-time JC All-American. Moving on to the University of Oregon, he starred for two seasons and was named first team All-PAC-10 as a senior. He was selected in the third round of the 2000 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions, but was injured in his first game as a professional and spent two injury-plagued years with the Lions before being picked up by the Denver Broncos in 2002. After playing on special teams and at fullback, Droughns stepped into the starting tailback slot and excelled, rushing for 1,240 yards and helping the Broncos to a playoff spot in 2004. However, he was traded in the offseason to Cleveland, where he continued his excellent play. Droughns rushed for 1,232 yards, becoming the first Browns running back to surpass the 1,000-yard mark in 20 years.
After two years in Cleveland, he joined the New York Giants, where he was a backup running back and special teams player. His game-winning touchdown run in the final seconds of a 21-16 win at Chicago in early December proved crucial as the Giants went on to win Super Bowl XLII.
Following another year with in New York, Droughns’ career as a player came to an end. He is currently in business in Orange County, and spent time as an assistant coach with Vukovi Beograd, a highly-successful American football club in the former Yugoslavia.
