Former Spiders Running Back Aaron Dykes Signs With Minnesota Vikings

Richmond, Va. — Former University of Richmond running back and kick returner Aaron Dykes has signed with the Minnesota Vikings, the team announced Thursday morning. Dykes signed as a rookie undrafted free agent after a successful five-year career with the Spiders.

A standout returner, Dykes concluded his career ranked sixth among active kick returners with 1,802 yards. He wrote his name into the Richmond record book as he secured the second all-time position among Spiders in all-purpose yards. A versatile player, he accumulated 4,521 all-purpose yards– amassing 1,969 rushing yards, 750 receiving yards, and and 1,802 kick return yards.

In 2022, Dykes started all 13 games and picked up 772 rushing yards, 196 receiving yards, and 301 kick return yards along with four touchdowns. He recorded 100+ yard games on two occasions, running for 102 yards at Elon (Oct. 1) and 109 yards in the final game of his collegiate career at Sacramento State (Dec. 3).

He appeared in 42 games for Richmond and served as a team captain in 2022.

Dykes became the first Richmond player to return two kickoffs for touchdowns (100 yards and 88 yards against Delaware) in the same game on Oct. 26, 2019.

Dykes is the second Spider to sign with a pro team this week after the Canadian Football League's Montreal Alouettes announced the signing of quarterback Reece Udinski on Monday. Dykes follows Kobie Turner (Los Angeles Rams) as two former Spiders currently signed to NFL teams.

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