A collegiate star with New Mexico State University, Atkins still holds team records as a running back and punt returner for the Aggies' football squad.
[5] An explosive offensive weapon, Atkins hit for a 65-yard touch down run in one game, followed by a three touchdown effort in the next, leading the Dons to an undefeated start and sixth place in the National Junior College rankings.
[11] Atkins' aptitude catching the football, combined with his sprinter's speed (he had run 9.6 seconds for the 100 yard dash on multiple occasions as a track athlete),[10] made him a prime candidate for conversion to "flanker back," forerunner of the modern wide receiver.
[11] Atkins fell into disfavor with the Rams as a receiver midway through the 1963 NFL season, with his last of 14 catches coming in Week 8 against the Minnesota Vikings.
After four largely ineffective games running the ball, gaining just 44 yards on 18 carries,[11] the Redskins and Atkins parted ways.
Atkins landed with the Oakland Raiders of the rival American Football League, playing only in the Week 11 game against the Denver Broncos, during which he caught one ball for just 6 yards.
[11] Also an actor and producer,[12] Atkins appeared in the 1974 feature film The Longest Yard,[1] the made-for-TV movie The Desperate Miles, and the 1976 pilot for the TV series Delvecchio, as well as a guest-starring role in an episode of The Six Million Dollar Man.