The NFL world is witnessing the Kansas City Chiefs trend worldwide, claiming three Super Bowl victories since 2019 while producing household names in Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce.
But the franchise additionally has opened the door for unknown talent to emerge. Their “Sunday Night Football” contest against the Atlanta Falcons will soon thrust undrafted 2024 rookie Carson Steele into the national spotlight. We take a closer look back at Steele’s collegiate career before the Chiefs call on his running, receiving, and blocking.
Carson Steele Briefly Played for a Former NFL Head Coach
Here’s the irony with Steele as he steps in for an injured Isiah Pacheco: Steele’s college football head coach last season was the same guy who replaced Andy Reid on the Philadelphia Eagles.
Steele played for Chip Kelly in 2023 while with UCLA. The 6’1″, 215-pounder proved he was versatile enough to become an option in Kelly’s vaunted ground attack.
He played in 12 total games for a Bruins team that snatched the L.A. Bowl over the Boise State Broncos. He racked up 96 total yards in his UCLA debut against Coastal Carolina, but his role and carries grew from there. He tallied 84 rushing yards in the Week 2 win over San Diego State. Then, in his Pac-12 Rose Bowl debut with Washington State in town, Steele rumbled to 141 yards on 30 carries while UCLA held off the Cougars 25-17.
Steele delivered one last 100-yard outing, which came the subsequent week against Oregon State in Corvallis, Ore., (22 carries for 110 yards). He also busted out a hat trick, scoring three times against Stanford in UCLA’s 42-7 rout of the Cardinal in Week 7.
Even as a rotational option, Steele averaged 5.1 yards per carry and accumulated 1,010 total yards of offense. However, UCLA wasn’t his only collegiate stop.
Where Else Did Steele Play Collegiately?
The native of Greenwood, Ind., came to UCLA as a transfer student. He got his collegiate start at a nearby Group of Five university.
Steele started his CFB career for Ball State University — located one hour and seven minutes north of his home city. He was considered a two-star find for the Cardinals by 247Sports, who also rated him as the state’s 45th best prospect for the 2021 class.
The long-haired RB from the city of more than 63,000 ended up establishing himself as the RB1 for the Mid-American Conference (MAC) school.
Steele proved his versatility, racking up 1,048 total yards in his college debut — 891 yards rushing plus 157 through receiving yardage. But he exploded on the MAC competition his sophomore season.
He piled nine 100-yard contests in 12 games, leading to an epic 1,556 yards on the ground to lead the conference. Steele also finished second in the MAC with 14 rushing touchdowns. He included 166 receiving yards through receptions and finished with 1,722 total yards with 15 scores.
Pac-12 Defenses — Beware of Carson Steelepic.twitter.com/HHoD1tos8K
— College Football Network (@CFN365) April 22, 2023
Steele went from former two-star prospect to four-star transfer portal entry by 247Sports before finding his way to Westwood, Calif. By betting on himself in the leap of faith to the Power Five conference realm, Steele managed to lead Kelly’s offense in rushing.
The 2024 NFL Draft prospect never received a phone call during the draft’s three days. But now, he gets the call to take handoffs and potentially catches for Reid’s offense as Kansas City returns to the national stage for Week 3.