Carl Fair

Fair was born on June 8, 1979, in Starkville, Mississippi.^[1] He attended Starkville High School and helped them win a state championship in football.^[2] In 1996, he joined East Mississippi Community College (EMCC), where he spent three seasons.^[3] In 1998, he gained 697 yards, averaged about eight yards per-carry and averaged 31 yards per kick return in seven games with the school.^[4]

Fair was named one of the top junior college players by Jeff Whitaker's Deep South Recruiting Guide and received attention from several colleges.^[4] He was pursued most intensely by UAB, and accepted a scholarship with the school.^[4] "They were really pulling and pulling. You could tell they were real interested. UAB just seemed like the place for me to be," Fair said.^[4] He impressed in practice, showing "a knack for slcing through small openings in the line, then using his speed to run away from defenders."^[4] By October 7, Fair was fifth in the conference in rushing, following a 134-yard^[a] rushing performance against Louisiana–Monroe.^[6]

Against the Cincinnati Bearcats on October 16, Fair suffered a season-ending broken fibula after being hit on a three-yard touchdown rush. He ended his season with 75 rushes for 405 yards, a 5.4 yard average. He was one of the top running backs in the Conference USA before his injury.^[7]

Fair entered his senior year (2000) as the UAB starting fullback.^[8] In his first game of the 2000 season, Fair left with an ankle injury, but was reported to be in "fair condition" afterwards.^[9] He finished the year with ten games played and 55 rush attempts for 211 yards.^[10]

After going unselected in the NFL draft, Fair was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Cleveland Browns on April 27, 2001.^[11] He was released on August 30.^[12] On September 4, he was signed to the Browns' practice squad.^[13] After an injury to top running back James Jackson, Fair was promoted to the active roster on December 21.^[14] He appeared in the final three games of the season: a 7–30 loss at the Green Bay Packers on December 23; a 41–38 win at the Tennessee Titans on December 30, in which Fair recorded one tackle on special teams;^[3] and a 7–28 loss at the Pittsburgh Steelers on January 6.^[15]

In 2002, Fair was sent to NFL Europe, where he played ten games, one as a starter, with the Barcelona Dragons.^[3] He recorded 76 rush attempts for 478 yards, which led the team, and scored two touchdowns while averaging 6.3 yards per-carry.^[16]

Fair was released by the Cleveland Browns on September 2, 2002.^[17] They were the last team of his career.^[1]