Alvin Kamara Bio
Alvin Mentian Kamara is an American professional football running back for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). Born on July 25, 1995, in Atlanta, Georgia, Kamara rose from a decorated high school career to become one of the league’s most productive dual-threat running backs. He played college football at the University of Tennessee after transferring from Hutchinson Community College and was selected by the Saints in the third round of the 2017 NFL draft. Throughout his NFL career, he has earned the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award, two Second-team All-Pro selections, and five consecutive Pro Bowl honors.
Early Life and Background
Alvin Mentian Kamara was born on July 25, 1995, in Atlanta, Georgia, to a Liberian mother. He grew up in the nearby suburb of Norcross, Georgia, where he attended Norcross High School. At Norcross, Kamara starred for the Blue Devils football team, emerging as one of the most explosive running backs in the state. As a junior in 2011, he rushed for 1,300 yards and 17 touchdowns, and as a senior in 2012, he followed up with 2,264 rushing yards, 26 rushing touchdowns, and 22 receptions for 286 yards and five receiving touchdowns, leading the Blue Devils to their first state championship.
For his standout senior season, Kamara was named Georgia’s Mr. Football by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, selected as Class 6A Player of the Year, and earned first-team All-State honors from the Georgia Sports Writers Association. He was also chosen to participate in the 2013 Under Armour All-America Game. Rated as the No. 1 all-purpose back in the 247Composite and a top-50 national recruit, Kamara was one of the most coveted running back prospects in the country.
Path to American Football
Coming out of high school, Kamara received a scholarship offer from Syracuse University as a junior and, as a senior, committed to play college football at the University of Alabama under head coach Nick Saban. His time at Alabama was difficult. Kamara redshirted as a true freshman in a recruiting class that featured future NFL running backs Derrick Henry, T. J. Yeldon, and Kenyan Drake, and he later had knee surgery. He also encountered behavioral issues that led Saban to ban him from practicing with the team and suspend him from their bowl game. After that rocky stretch, Kamara transferred to Hutchinson Community College in Kansas for his redshirt freshman season.
At Hutchinson, Kamara was a star, running for 1,253 yards and 18 touchdowns in nine games and adding 1,477 yards of total offense and 21 total touchdowns. He was named an NJCAA All-American and earned a five-star rating from Rivals.com and Scout.com, becoming one of the top junior college prospects in the nation. In 2015, Kamara transferred to the University of Tennessee, where he joined the Volunteers as a redshirt sophomore under head coach Butch Jones.
Alvin Kamara Career
Early Career (2015–2016)
Kamara made an immediate splash at Tennessee. In his 2015 debut against Bowling Green, he set a school record with 144 rushing yards and finished the year with 698 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns, averaging 6.5 yards per carry, which ranked third in the Southeastern Conference. As a redshirt junior in 2016, he delivered one of the most productive individual performances in program history. In a double-overtime loss at Texas A&M, Kamara set a Tennessee single-game record with 312 all-purpose yards, including 127 rushing yards and 161 receiving yards, and finished third in the SEC in touchdowns for the season. Across two seasons in Knoxville, he started only eight of 24 games while sharing the backfield with Jalen Hurd, but he still amassed nearly 2,000 scrimmage yards and averaged about a touchdown per game.
Kamara entered the 2017 NFL Draft after his redshirt junior campaign. He posted the highest Wonderlic test score among running backs at that year’s NFL Combine and was projected as a second-round pick by most analysts. He attended Tennessee’s Pro Day and private workouts with five teams, including the Carolina Panthers, Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings, New Orleans Saints, and Philadelphia Eagles.
New Orleans Saints Era (2017–Present)
The New Orleans Saints selected Kamara in the third round with the 67th overall pick of the 2017 NFL Draft. He shared backfield duties with Mark Ingram II as a rookie, finishing with 728 rushing yards and 826 receiving yards to become the first Saint and the third NFL rookie to record a 700/700 season. He scored his first professional touchdown in Week 3 against the Panthers, and he tied Todd Gurley for the league lead in total touchdowns with 11 in Week 13. After the regular season, Kamara was named the 2017 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and became the first Saint to make the Pro Bowl as a rookie, joining Ingram as the first running back duo from the same team to earn Pro Bowl honors.
In 2018, Kamara served as the Saints’ lead back while Ingram served a four-game suspension, posting career highs of 19 carries, 134 rushing yards, and three rushing touchdowns in Week 4 against the New York Giants. By his 20th career game, he became the first player in NFL history with both 1,000 rushing and 1,000 receiving yards. He finished the year with 883 rushing yards and 14 rushing touchdowns, tied the franchise single-season touchdown record, and was named to his second Pro Bowl.
Kamara was limited to 14 games in 2019 by ankle and knee injuries but still topped 1,300 scrimmage yards and made his third consecutive Pro Bowl. The day before the 2020 season opener, he signed a five-year, $75 million contract extension, and that season he produced one of the most remarkable individual performances in league history. On Christmas Day 2020, Kamara rushed for 155 yards and tied the NFL single-game record with six rushing touchdowns in a 52–33 victory over the Minnesota Vikings, earning NFC Offensive Player of the Week. He led the NFL with 21 total touchdowns and became the first player in league history to record at least 500 rushing and 500 receiving yards in each of his first four seasons.
In 2021, after missing four games with injury, Kamara became the fastest player in NFL history to reach 3,000 career rushing yards and 3,000 career receiving yards, doing so in 66 games. He finished with 898 rushing yards and earned his fifth consecutive Pro Bowl, the first player in franchise history to make the Pro Bowl in each of his first five seasons. In 2023, Kamara passed Marques Colston to become the Saints’ all-time touchdown leader, surpassed Mark Ingram for the most rushing touchdowns in franchise history, and became the first Saint to record 10,000 career all-purpose yards. In 2024, he signed a two-year, $24.5 million contract extension and opened the year with 180 scrimmage yards and four total touchdowns in a Week 2 victory over the Dallas Cowboys, earning NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors.
Driving Style and Strengths
Kamara is best known for his dual-threat versatility as both a runner and a pass catcher out of the backfield. His instincts in the passing game, balance through contact, and ability to turn short receptions into explosive plays have made him a matchup problem for linebackers and safeties throughout the NFL.
Notable Events and Milestones
Kamara’s most iconic performance came on Christmas Day 2020, when he tied the NFL single-game record with six rushing touchdowns against the Minnesota Vikings. He is the Saints’ all-time leader in career touchdowns and rushing touchdowns, the fastest player in league history to reach 3,000 rushing and 3,000 receiving yards, and the first Saint to make five consecutive Pro Bowls.
Alvin Kamara Career Wins
Alvin Kamara has earned five consecutive Pro Bowl selections from 2017 through 2021, two Second-team All-Pro selections in 2017 and 2020, the 2017 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award, and multiple NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors. He has helped lead the Saints to multiple NFC South titles and playoff appearances while setting franchise records in touchdowns, rushing touchdowns, and scrimmage yards.
Alvin Kamara Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
Public information about Kamara’s family background is limited. He was born to a Liberian mother and grew up in the Atlanta area.
2025 Season Performance
Heading into the 2025 NFL season, Alvin Kamara remains a central figure in the New Orleans Saints’ offense following a strong 2024 campaign in which he posted 950 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns despite missing the final three games with a groin injury. He reworked his contract with the team in 2024, signing a two-year extension that runs through 2026, signaling the Saints’ continued commitment to him as a featured offensive weapon.
Kamara enters 2025 holding the franchise’s all-time records for career touchdowns, rushing touchdowns, and scrimmage yards, and he remains one of the league’s premier dual-threat running backs. With his combination of receiving production and red-zone efficiency, he is expected to remain a focal point of the Saints’ offensive game plan and a likely candidate for further honors if he stays healthy.