Twitter: @patrickmlaird | @calfootball
Instagram: patricklaird | cal_football
Other: walkonthenrun.com (Patrick Laird Website)
After Cal
• Selected to play in the 2019 NFLPA Collegiate Bowl and participated in activities leading up to the game but unable to play due to injury
Laird's Career Game Highs
Rushes: 33 (vs. Oregon State, 2017)
Rushing Yards: 214 (vs. Oregon State, 2017)
Rushing TDs: 3 (vs. Weber State, 2017)
Long Rush: 73TD (vs. Weber State, 2017)
Receptions: 8 (at Arizona, 2018)
Receiving Yards: 59 (at North Carolina, 2017)
Receiving TDs: 1 (five times, last vs. Colorado, 2018)
Long Reception: 54TD (at North Carolina, 2017)
All-Purpose Yards: 241 (at Oregon State, 2018)
Pass Completions: 1 (twice, last vs. UCLA, 2018)
Pass Attempts: 1 (twice, last vs. UCLA, 2018)
Passing Yards: 14 (vs. Oregon, 2018)
Long Pass: 14 (vs. Oregon, 2018)
Points: 18 (twice, last at Oregon State, 2018)
Tackles: 1 (twice, last vs. TCU, 2018)
Cal Career (2014-18)
• Played in 41 games with 21 starts and rushed for 2153 yards with 14 touchdowns on the ground over 425 carries, while adding 99 receptions for 608 yards receiving and five touchdowns for totals of 2761 all-purpose yards and 19 touchdowns as well as one successful two-point conversion reception to total 116 points
• Recorded career highs of 223 rushes, 51 receptions and four touchdown catches as a 2018 senior with the receptions the most in recorded history by a Cal running back while also picking up his lone two career tackles against Idaho State and TCU
• Set many of his offensive season career highs during his 2017 junior campaign with 1127 yards rushing, eight touchdowns on the ground, 322 yards receiving and 1449 all-purpose yards
• Racked up career highs of 33 carries and 214 yards rushing as a junior against Oregon State with the 214 yards rushing the 10th highest single-game rushing total in school history
• Registered a career-high 241 all-purpose yards and a career-high-tying three total touchdowns at Oregon State as a senior
• Had a career-high three touchdowns on the ground including a career-long 73-yarder as a junior against Weber State
• Picked up a career-high eight receptions at Arizona as a senior while posting a career-high 59 yards receiving including the first of five career touchdown catches on a career-long 54-yard reception as a junior at North Carolina while his second career scoring grab also came against the Tar Heels in the first game of his senior campaign, his third at BYU, his fourth at Oregon State and his fifth against Colorado, all also as a senior
• Had seven career 100-yard rushing games with five as a junior and two in his senior campaign
• Became the first Cal player to rush for 100 yards in back-to-back Big Games since Marshawn Lynch in 2004 and 2005 as junior (153 yards) and senior (116 yards)
• Caught at least one pass in each of the 24 games he played in as a junior and senior
• Picked up CoSIDA Academic All-District® 8 recognition as both a junior and senior
• A three-time Pac-12 All-Academic selection, earning first-team honors as a junior and senior after picking up second-team recognition in his sophomore campaign
• Selected by his teammates as one of the team's season captains in both his junior and senior campaigns
Senior (2018)
• One of 10 players including four on the offensive side of the ball to start all 13 games
• Paced the team in rushing with 961 yards and five touchdowns on the ground while he also had a team-high 51 receptions for 288 yards and co-led the squad with four touchdown catches with his 51 catches the most in recorded history by a Cal running back while finishing with a team-high 1249 all-purpose yards
• Also completed both of his pass attempts for a total of 25 yards to give him a team-high 205.00 passer rating
• Added two tackles
• A Senior CLASS Award second-team Senior All-American and one of 10 national finalists for the honor
• A member of the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team®
• One of three finalists for the Burlsworth Trophy
• A semifinalist for the Campbell Trophy and the Coach Wooden Citizenship Cup
• Named first-team Pac-12 All-Academic and also picked up CoSIDA Academic All-District® 8 recognition
• Earned Cal's Bear Backers Award as the team's Most Valuable Offensive Player and the Ted Agu Award for being the squad's most consistently involved in community service
• On preseason watch lists for the Maxwell Award and Wuerffel Trophy, as well as a candidate for the Doak Walker Award and Pac-12 Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year
• On the ballot for CoSIDA Academic All-America® honors
• Selected by his teammates as one of the team's two season captains along with Jordan Kunaszyk prior to the start of the campaign
• Rushed for season highs of 193 yards and two touchdowns at Oregon State on 22 carries while adding three receptions for 48 yards and a career-high-tying one scoring grab to total a career-high 241 all-purpose yards and a career-high-tying three total touchdowns
• Rushed 19 times for 116 yards against Stanford including a season-long 62-yard run while adding four receptions for 16 yards
• Rushed a season-high 29 times for 95 yards and one touchdown against North Carolina, while adding four receptions for 14 yards and a career-high-tying one scoring grab to give him a rushing and receiving touchdown in the same contest for the first time in his career
• Rushed 17 times for 94 yards and one touchdown against UCLA while adding four catches for 13 yards and one pass completion for 11 yards on a single attempt
• Rushed 18 times for 92 yards with one touchdown on the ground against Oregon, while also throwing a 14-yard completion on the first pass attempt of his career and adding one catch for one yard
• Rushed 22 times for 83 yards while adding four receptions for 28 yards against Washington
• Rushed 19 times for 71 yards and had a team-high five receptions for 18 yards at USC
• Rushed 14 times for 54 yards while adding a career-high eight receptions for 34 yards at Arizona
• Rushed 18 times for 45 yards while adding three receptions for six yards and his final collegiate touchdown against Colorado
• Rushed 18 times for 40 yards while adding four receptions for 38 yards at Washington State
• Rushed seven times for 29 yards and had one reception for a loss of three yards as well as the second of his two career tackles all in the first half before not playing after halftime in his final collegiate game against TCU in the Cheez-It Bowl
• Rushed nine times for 27 yards while registering seven receptions for 53 yards and a career-high-tying one touchdown at BYU
• Rushed 11 times for 22 yards and caught three passes for 22 yards against Idaho State, while adding the first of his two career tackles
• Earned second-team preseason All-Pac-12 honors from Athlon and Lindy’s while he was a fourth-team pick of Phil Steele
• Hosted the Patrick Laird Summer Reading Challenge with participants who completed the challenge receiving an opportunity to meet Laird following Cal’s 2018 season-opener September 1 against North Carolina at California Memorial Stadium and receive four complimentary tickets to the game
• Had over 3,600 students sign up for the challenge and promoted the event thru social and traditional media, as well as during visits and speaking engagements with 23 schools and three camps in the Bay Area and his hometown area of Arroyo Grande on the Central Coast since the announcement of the challenge in April
• Published a series of #ReadWithPat videos with head coach Justin Wilcox, Director of Athletics Jim Knowlton, best-selling author Michael Lewis and UC Berkeley Chancellor Carol Christ
• Spoke to a group of early signups for the reading challenge following the Cal Spring Football Game in April
• Did not play in the spring game
Junior (2017)
• An honorable mention All-Pac-12 selection, first-team Pac-12 All-Academic pick and one of 10 national semifinalists for the Burlsworth Trophy awarded annually to the nation's most outstanding football player who began his career as a walk-on
• Also earned a team-high four team awards as Cal's Bear Backers MVP Award (Most Valuable Offensive Player), as well as being the winner of the Berkeley Breakfast Club Award as Cal's Outstanding Player in the Big Game, the Stub Allison Award for his work in strength and conditioning before being named Cal's Jonathan and Judy Hoff Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year at the annual Academic Honors Luncheon in April
• CoSIDA Academic All-District® selection
• Played in 11 games with eight starts and set all of his offensive career highs while leading Cal with 191 carries for 1127 yards rushing with eight touchdowns on the ground while ranking among Pac-12 and national leaders in rush yards per carry (5.9 ypc, 6th Pac-12, 31st NCAA), rushing yards per game (102.5 ypg, 7th Pac-12, 27th NCAA) and rushing yards (8th Pac-12, 39th NCAA)
• Became the 16th Cal player to rush for 1000 yards or more and the first since Daniel Lasco in 2014 while recording the 19th 1000-yard rushing season in school history with Russell White (three times) and Marshawn Lynch (twice) the only other Cal players to rush for 1000 or more yards in a season on multiple occasions
• Had more receptions than any Cal running back since 1988 with career bests of 45 receptions, 322 yards receiving and one touchdown catch as well as a career-best and team-high 1449 all-purpose yards
• Had a team-high-tying 13 explosive plays of 20 or more yards from the line of scrimmage including team highs of nine explosive plays on the ground and a total of three plays over 50 yards
• Had five 100-yard rushing games including four in his last five contests when he rushed for 727 yards and four scores during the stretch including 545 yards and two touchdowns on the ground in his final three games all with 100 or more yards per contest
• Had the two biggest rushing yardage totals by a Cal player since 2009 against Oregon State (214) and Weber State (191)
• Had career highs of 33 rushes and 214 yards rushing with one touchdown on the ground against Oregon State as well as a career-high six receptions for 19 yards to total a career-high 233 all-purpose yards, earning Athlon Sports' Pac-12 Unsung Hero of the Week honors
• Rushed for 191 yards and a career-high three touchdowns against Weber State including a 73-yard score that was both a career-long run and the second-longest play from scrimmage by Cal in 2017 while adding one reception for seven yards to total 198 all-purpose yards
• Rushed 32 times for 178 yards in the season finale at UCLA while adding five receptions for 30 yards
• Rushed 20 times for 153 yards and one touchdown against Stanford for the most rushing yardage in the Big Game by a Cal player since Shane Vereen had 193 yards on the ground in 2009 while his 47-yard run was the longest by a Cal player in the contest since a 60-yard run by Jahvid Best in 2008 while adding four receptions for 47 yards
• Had a game-high 130 yards rushing and two touchdowns on the ground on 28 carries against Arizona while adding five receptions for 42 yards to total 172 all-purpose yards
• Rushed 15 times for 82 yards against USC while adding three receptions for four yards
• Rushed 22 times for 78 yards and one touchdown against Ole Miss while adding five receptions for 28 yards
• Rushed 13 times for 52 yards at Colorado while adding four receptions for 35 yards
• Rushed 11 times for 28 yards at Oregon while adding five receptions for 23 yards
• Rushed twice for 12 yards at Washington and recorded a team-high five receptions for 28 yards
• Had two catches for a career-high 59 yards receiving including his first career touchdown catch for a career-long 54 yards, as well as three rushes for nine yards in the 2017 season-opener at North Carolina
• A Jonathan and Judy Hoff Football Scholar-Athlete of the Week
• Rushed four times for eight yards and was the first player of the day in the end zone with a two-yard touchdown run at the spring game, while also adding one catch for two yards
Sophomore (2016)
• Returned to running back after spending the team's 2015 spring practices as a receiver before redshirting the 2015 campaign
• Earned second-team Pac-12 All-Academic honors
• Played in all 12 games and contributed eight rushes for 59 yards on the ground with a team-high average of 7.4 yards per rush as well as his first career rushing touchdown
• Added three receptions for a loss of two yards to total 57 all-purpose yards
• Had season highs of four carries and 23 yards rushing as well as his first career rushing touchdown against Washington while adding one reception for two yards to total a season-best 25 all-purpose yards
• Had two receptions for a loss of four yards and his longest run of the season for 19 yards at Washington State
• Added two carries for 14 yards with a pair of seven-yard rushes in the season finale against UCLA
• Had a significant role on the first play of the college football season when he recovered an onside kickoff by Hawai’i at the College Football Sydney Cup
• Ranked ninth on the team with 130 special teams snaps including at least five in each contest and at least 10 in eight of 12 games
• Had 52 yards rushing on a game-high 10 carries and was the lone player with two rushing touchdowns in the spring game, picking up the first two scores for the winning Blue squad that was victorious, 38-37, on three and seven-yard touchdown runs to cap his squad's first two series
Sophomore (2015)
• Redshirted
• Did not play
• Moved from running back to wide receiver prior to spring practices
• Participated in the spring game but did not record any statistics
Freshman (2014)
• Played in five games off the bench and contributed six yards rushing on three carries with all of his statistics coming vs. Sacramento State
• Did not play in the final five contests after playing in five of the first seven
Mission Prep (Class of 2014)
• Finished his three varsity campaigns with 4,551 rushing yards and 50 touchdowns on the ground on 547 carries for an average of 8.3 yards per rush, while adding 47 receptions for 734 yards receiving and 11 touchdowns, 483 kick return yards on 16 kick returns, 142 punt return yards on 11 punt returns and 31 interception return yards on five interception returns to total 5,941 career all-purpose yards for a team that reached the finals of the Southern Section Northeast Division playoffs during each of his last two seasons as a 2012 junior and 2013 senior
• Named a Cal-Hi Sports/MaxPreps National Stat Star five times and a three-time KSBY Player of the Week/Legend in the Making
• Scored 398 career points on 64 total touchdowns and 14 points on two-point conversions with six rushing and one receiving
• Also posted career totals of 77 tackles, 5.0 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks, five interceptions, seven pass breakups, one fumble recovery, one quarterback hurry and one blocked punt
• Had a breakout season as a senior when he rushed for 3,117 yards and 32 touchdowns on 408 carries for an average of 7.6 yards per rush for a team that posted an 11-3 record and reached the finals of the Southern Section Northeast Division playoffs
• Rushed for 970 yards and 13 touchdowns on 77 carries for a 12.6 average per carry during his junior campaign when his squad was 11-2 overall and reached the finals of the Southern Section Northeast Division playoffs
• Had 464 yards rushing and five scores on 62 carries as a sophomore when his squad was 8-2 overall
• Registered his biggest receiving campaign as a junior when he had 27 catches for 506 yards receiving and seven touchdowns, while putting up 13 catches for 161 yards and two scores as a sophomore, and seven receptions for 67 yards and two touchdowns during his senior season
• Added 65 kick return yards on four returns, 31 punt return yards on two returns, 51 tackles, 5.0 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks, one interception, five pass breakups and one quarterback hurry as a junior
• Had 227 kick return yards on eight kick returns, 45 punt return yards on three punt returns, 26 tackles, nine interception return yards on two interceptions, one fumble recovery, one pass breakup and one blocked punt as a sophomore
• Also played four seasons of varsity basketball for squads that combined for a 91-32 record and qualified for the playoffs all four years
Other
• Full name is Patrick Michael Laird
• Born August 17, 1995
• Son of Michael and Suzi Laird
• An avid reader who developed his love for reading as a young child with encouragement from his parents and older siblings and helped shine a light on the importance of reading during the 2017 season when he routinely celebrated his touchdowns by simulating the reading of a book and further promoted reading through the Patrick Laird Summer Reading Challenge in the summer of 2018 with more information available from a link on Laird's website walkonthenrun.com
• A music producer that produced a song called Small Town that is available on ITunes among additional music
• A member of the student-athlete Golden Bear Advisory Committee (GBAC) during his first two years at Cal in 2014-15 and 2015-16
• Received two bachelor's degree from Cal in December of 2018 from the prestigious Haas School of Business and in political science
Last Updated
March 13, 2019
