While no one else has seemingly been able to stop Portis, we were able to slow him down long enough to chat with us about everything from playing for a Hall of Fame coach to growing up with the toughest mom in the NFL.

Where are you originally from and what was your childhood like?
Laurel, Mississippi, and it was filled with getting whuppins' every day for something I didn't do. I was the baby in the family and growing up if one of us got a whuppin', all of us got it. I think some of my cousins would dispute that claim and say I never got a whuppin', but I got more of them than anybody.

How many brothers and sisters are we talking about?
I got two older brothers, but cousins ... I got a heap of cousins, you know. It was just one big family vibe.

How early did you start playing football and how many other positions did you play when you were younger?
I played football as a shortie. We played a lot of football out in the yard and in the church parking lot because they had a big open area up there. As far as organized football, I tried to play pee wee one year and they didn't play me because they said I was too young to play. So the following year I went out and I ended up punching a little boy in the stomach for messing with my cousin. My momma wouldn't let me play again, so I really didn't play organized football until high school, in the ninth grade.

Are you naturally athletic, or did you have to work harder to get to the highest level of competition? What other sports, if any, are you good at?
I think it's natural, but you know, the older you get the more work you gotta put in. Back in the day I never worked out, I never did anything, I'd just come out and play football. I think now that I'm getting older the athletic ability is still there - I still make some moves that are amazing to myself and make me wonder "Damn, how did I just do that?"

The athletic side of it comes from my upbringing - playing basketball, football or anything else. I can shoot, I can hoop a little bit. I ran track and did the high jump. I can play volleyball. I'm pretty sure if we get a kickball game going I could play kickball. I really want to work on playing tennis. My hand-eye coordination ain't that good to play baseball, but I'm really just a sports fan.

Weren't you a pretty accomplished track and field guy coming out of high school and college?
Yeah, we still have the high school state record in Florida right now. We ran the 4x100-meter relay team in 40.8 seconds. Most colleges don't run that fast, and we ran it in high school. Coming out of high school, I competed in the 4x100, the 4x400, the high jump, the long jump and I actually medaled at state in five events - that's the most you can compete in. So, I did alright.

You went to the University of Miami and were the second true freshman to start at running back for the Hurricanes since 1975. With the insane amount of talented running backs to go through Miami we gotta ask - how were you able to start so quickly when so many others had to sit and wait their turn?
It was just the right timing. Najeh Davenport went down the first game of the season and I really think they wanted to red shirt me or move me to defensive back. We had myself, Jarrett Payton, James Jackson, Najeh Davenport, and we were all competing. Because of all the people who doubted me and said I can't do it, I was eager to go out and prove myself and I prevailed.

In 2001 you were able to experience something most college athletes only dream of, winning the national championship. How stacked was that Hurricanes squad and what's your favorite memory looking back on that season?
I tell people about all of those players to come out of that team and some of the players I had the opportunity to play with. You go back to Bubba Franks, Dan Morgan, Santana Moss, Reggie Wayne, Jeremy Shockey, Kellen Winslow, William Joseph, Sean Taylor, Ed Reed, Phillip Buchanan, Mike Rumph, Nate Webster, Jonathan Vilma, D.J. Williams, Rocky McIntosh, Frank Gore, Willis McGahee ... the list goes on.

It was really exciting and looking back at those times and seeing how everybody competed back then, it's no wonder they're successful now.

Photo by Brian Murphy

You were drafted by the Denver Broncos with the 19th pick in the second round (51st overall) of the 2002 NFL draft. Talk to us about what it felt like to finally get drafted to play in the NFL. Were you happy to be drafted or were you disappointed you weren't picked in the first round?
I was so mad I actually left the draft. After Carolina picked DeShaun Foster in the second round, I didn't watch anymore of the draft. I was actually on the highway, going to Tallahassee, when I got the phone call telling me I had been drafted. I was really disappointed that I wasn't an earlier pick. I swear, I thought I was a top ten pick after my pro day. I ran a 4.27 in the 40, didn't drop a pass, my vertical jump was a 38 or 39. I had an unbelievable pro day, but then all of the sudden it was that I was "too cocky" and people questioned my attitude. People didn't think I would pan out, and didn't think I could take the pounding of being an every-down back in the NFL. A lot of people thought I was going to be too wild, but to this day I've never gotten into trouble.

Using that as motivation, you immediately made your presence known by earning Offensive Rookie of the Year honors and joining Eric Dickerson and Edgerrin James as the only rookies to rush for more than 1,500 yards in each of your first two seasons. What enabled you to make such an instant impact at the NFL level?
You know, I told Coach Shanahan when he called me, "I really appreciate this and you'll never regret it. I will be rookie of the year and I will give you everything I've got." Coach Shanahan gave me an opportunity and I am grateful for it. To win rookie of the year and go to the Pro Bowls each of your first two years in the league, that's pretty amazing.

Then, to come out and be the highest-paid back in the league in my third year and have the expectations of the world be placed on my shoulders, I had 1,300 yards and for the longest time I beat myself up about it. But now, any time I get 1,300 yards I'm going to be glad and take it in stride because most of the people that they give all the credit to or are all excited about never even did that. So if I was a 1,300-yard back over my career, that's a nice average for me.

One of our favorite moments in your career occurred when you torched the Kansas City Chiefs for 218 yards and five touchdowns. What inspired you to celebrate the moment by breaking out a wrestling-style championship belt and where is that belt today?
I still got the belt, but it's put up. That's the attitude that I need to get back to. When I did that there was a lot going on, and I knew I wanted to be a feature back, a big-time back. I was going against the league's hottest back at the time, Priest Holmes, and with the rivalry between Denver and Kansas City being as big as it is I was ready to play. Shannon [Sharpe] and Rod Smith came at me like, "C.P., whatcha gonna do? We gotta do something, we're at home." So that week I put it all on the line. That same week I went out and bought two new cars - an SL500 and a G-Wagen 500 - because if I'm going to make my money, I'm gonna make it this game.

At halftime I had like 12 carries for 52 yards. But the third quarter, man, was one of the most spectacular quarters ever. I didn't even play in the fourth quarter of that game, which people fail to realize. But in the third quarter I had something like 150 yards on six carries, and three consecutive carries for touchdowns. You'd really have to be a stat freak to know that, but to this day I look back and have conversations with people and they say, "Man, you had 100 yards rushing in a quarter, let alone a game, and to get 100 yards in a game is kind of tough."

I remember when Jamal Lewis broke the single-game rushing record. We were playing in San Diego and Sharpe asked me if I had seen what had happened and told me I needed to top Lewis. I was like, "Let's go get it." The first quarter I had seven carries for 121 yards and ended up hurting my sternum on a fluke play. I got caught in the clay and was falling on the play while my chest was left open; I got hit and couldn't finish the game. I had seven carries for 121 yards in the first quarter and think I would have broken the record, but that will forever be unknown.

In March of 2004, the Denver Broncos traded you to the Washington Redskins for Champ Bailey and a second-round draft pick. What was your reaction to the trade and, looking back, which team got the better end of the deal?
I think it panned out for both. I think Denver got what they were looking for and Champ is a helluva player, probably the top DB in the NFL. And for myself, coming to Washington to gel with these guys, bringing that attitude, bringing that character and bringing my style to Washington, I think this was a perfect fit. I got the opportunity to be around guys who I came up with in Santana Moss and Sean Taylor and I was excited about getting them here. Just having the opportunity to come here was major.

Photo by Brian Murphy

I think Champ wanted to make a move and I did too, and to this day I'm still excited that Denver got Champ and a draft pick, which was Tatum Bell, out of the deal and Washington just got me.

Talk about making a strong first impression, on your very first carry for Washington you earned the love of every Redskins fan when you busted out for a 64-yard touchdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Memorable moment.

(Redskins fullback Mike Sellers walks up and asks Portis, "Who made that block for you though?")

I don't know because I didn't follow my block on that one.

(Both players crack up and Sellers heads to the locker room.)