Education
He played college football at Kansas State, where he finished second in the nation in scoring during his senior season in 1969.
He played college football at Kansas State, where he finished second in the nation in scoring during his senior season in 1969.
Standing 5 feet 5 1⁄2 inches (166 metres) and weighing in at 170 pounds (771 kg), Herron was selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the sixth round (143rd overall) of the 1970 NFL Draft, but joined the Canadian Football League out of college. He led the league in all-purpose yards in both of his Canadian Football League seasons. He stepped into the NFL spotlight in 1973, after a short but memorable career in the Canadian Football League, when he joined the Patriots.
In three seasons, (3 with New England and 1 with the Atlanta Falcons) he gained 1,298 rushing yards and 9 rushing touchdowns.
He also caught 61 passes in his career for 789 yards and 6 touchdowns. After leading the NFL in kickoff returns and kickoff return yardage in 1973, Herron"s best season was 1974 with the Patriots, when he set the then-NFL record for all-purpose yards with 2,444.
He remains 16th all time in career punt return average and 86th in kickoff return average. He died on December 6, 2015 at the age of 67.