Burudi Ali "Rudi" Johnson (born October 1, 1979) is a former American football running back who played professionally from 2001 - 2008. Rudi was born in Petersburg, Virginia approximately 30 miles south of Richmond. His first name "Burudi" is Swahili and means "cool'" and his middle name "Ali" represented his family's respect and admiration for Muhammad Ali. He began playing football at the age of six with the Ettrick Trojans of the Chesterfield Quarterback League. During his high school career, he played both offense and defense for the Thomas Dale Knights under head coach Victor Williams following in the footsteps of Ken Oxendine and William Henderson. During his career, he broke the school's rushing record which was held by his friend, mentor and coach Henry Jefferson. Upon graduation he enrolled at Butler Community College in El Dorado, Kansas joining the same junior college network which produced his NFL teammate Corey Dillon who played earlier for Butler's arch rival Garden City. After completing his Associates Degree at Butler, he was recruited and transferred to Auburn University playing under the coaching staff of Tommy Tuberville and running backs coach Eddie Gran. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the fourth round of the 2001 NFL Draft.
Johnson was selected to the Pro Bowl with the Bengals in 2004 leading the AFC team in rushing. His bruising style of nose to the grindstone running Johnson made quite a reputation, and led to nicknames such as "The Auburn Rambler"
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“Wine gives a man nothing. It neither gives him knowledge nor wit; it only animates a man, and enables him to bring out what a dread of the company has repressed. It only puts in motion what had been locked up in frost.”
—Samuel Johnson (1709–1784)