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Philadelphia Eagles celebrate Darren Sproles' birthday with Pop Warner footage

By Alex Butler

June 20 (UPI) -- Darren Sproles is one of the smallest running backs in NFL history, but the Philadelphia Eagles posted a video Tuesday showing an even smaller Sproles' skills.

The franchise wished the running back a happy birthday with a highlight video of Sproles back in his Pop Warner days.

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"Happy birthday to RB @DarrenSproles, who's been making them miss since his Pop Warner days. #FlyEaglesFly," the Eagles posted on Twitter.

Sproles turned 34 years old Tuesday. He is entering his 12th and, possibly, final NFL season. 'Lightning Bug' was born in Waterloo, Iowa but played high school ball in Kansas at Olathe North. He starred at Kansas State before the San Diego Chargers drafted by running back in 2005.

In the Eagles' video, a tiny Sproles wears an Olathe Pop Warner jersey with his No. 43 on it. He introduces himself before unleashing some ridiculous speed and shifty moves on helpless defenders.

The three-time Pro Bowler has 7,888 yards from scrimmage and 61 career touchdowns, including nine scores on punt and kick returns.

Although Sproles told ESPN in December that he expects this to be his last year, he left the door open when the Eagles' website asked about it later.

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"We're going to see," Sproles said in early June. "After we make these playoffs, come back and ask me."

"The main thing I tell him is really it's the more you can do. You want to show them that you can catch punts, you can catch kickoffs, you can play receiver," Sproles said. "It's the more you can do. You'll be in this league for a long time."

Sproles and his wife Michel have two daughters.

"When your kids get to a certain age, you really want to be there for them all the time," Sproles told Philly.com in December. "The reason why I wasn't here during the spring as much was my little girl was running track. So if I missed a track meet she feels bad about it. In the offseason, I really try to spend a lot of time with them."

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