Austin Ekeler attended Eaton High School before heading to Western Colorado University. As a freshman, Ekler started 9 games and put up 1,049 rushing yards with seven rushing touchdowns. Ekeler followed that up with 14 rushing touchdowns along with a school-record 1,676 rushing yards. Ekeler led all of Division II in all-purpose yards per game with 203.9 and scoring as he averaged 12.6 points per game with 19 rushing touchdowns. In his final season with the team, Ekeler had nearly 1,500 rushing yards with 15 rushing touchdowns.
Despite the success in college, Ekeler went undrafted by signed with the Los Angeles Chargers as an undrafted free agent following the 2017 NFL Draft.
Ekeler finished his rookie campaign with over 500 yards from scrimmage with 5 touchdowns in a supporting role. He followed that up with another impressive showing in his second season with the Chargers, compiling 958 yards from scrimmage with 6 total touchdowns.
In the early part of the 2019 season, Ekeler operated as the Chargers primary running back due to Melvin Gordon holding out for a better contract. Ekeler shined in this role, putting up 490 yards from scrimmage with six touchdowns. Gordon returned in Week 5 but Ekeler continues to show that he will be an integral part of the Chargers offense moving forward.