Ricky Watters Richard " Ricky " James Watters ( born April 7 , 1969 ) is a former American football running back who played for the San Francisco 49ers , Philadelphia Eagles , and the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League . Watters played college football at the University of Notre Dame where he played wide receiver on the school ' s 1988 national champion team . He also won a Super Bowl as a member of the 1994 San Francisco 49ers . Watters was known throughout his playing career for his outstanding receiving skills and his unique high - step running style , which earned him the nickname Ricky " Running " Watters , from ESPN sportcaster Chris Berman . Currently Watters is a motivational speaker for kids who , like himself , are adopted . He is also a recording artist , music producer , President and CEO of Tigero Entertainment and an author , having written the book , " For Who For What , a Warrior ’ s Journey " . He was the recent head football coach for Oak Ridge High School , Orlando , Florida until resigning on October 1 , 2013 . High school years . Watters attended Bishop McDevitt High School in Harrisburg , Pennsylvania , where he was a four year letterman in football . He played pewee , pony , and varsity grade school football for Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament ( OLBS ) Golden Gales . College career . Recruitment and 1987 season . Watters arrived at Notre Dame in 1987 as a highly touted member of head coach Lou Holtz ' s second recruiting class . The class was Notre Dame ' s second consecutive top 10 recruiting class , following on the heels of the ' 86 class which included star quarterback Tony Rice . Watters began the season backing up Mark Green and occasionally returning kickoffs . Behind Rice and an infusion of new talent , the team went 8 - 4 and appeared in the Cotton Bowl Classic against Texas A & M . 1988 national championship season . Following the departure of Heisman Trophy winner Tim Brown , Holtz moved Watters to Brown ' s flanker position for the 1988 season to ignite the Irish passing attack . The move paid dividends as Watters led the team in receiving . Watters ' contribution on special teams was equally impressive as he returned two punts for touchdowns . Suspension against USC . Before the annual Notre Dame - USC game , Holtz suspended Watters and running back Tony Brooks for disciplinary reasons . Playing their biggest road game of the season against the # 2 ranked Trojans without their leading receiver and rusher , Notre Dame pulled out a convincing 27 - 10 victory . Fiesta Bowl . In a memorable season filled with victories over ranked opponents , Notre Dame defeated the # 3 ranked West Virginia 34 - 21 in the Fiesta Bowl to secure the school ' s 11th national championship . With six All - Americans , the team cemented its place as one of the greatest teams in the history of college football . 1989 season . 1989 would again see Notre Dame contending for the national championship . With teammate Tony Brooks suspended for the season for academic reasons , Holtz switched Watters back to tailback . Watters did not disappoint as Notre Dame spent 13 weeks ranked # 1 before losing to Miami 27 - 10 in their regular season finale . The Irish concluded the season with a convincing 21 - 6 win over # 1 ranked Colorado in the Orange Bowl , and finished the year ranked # 2 behind Miami . For the season , Watters finished second on the team in rushing behind quarterback Tony Rice . Professional career . Watters played for ten seasons in the NFL with San Francisco , Philadelphia , and Seattle . He was selected by San Francisco in the second round of the 1991 NFL Draft , but sat out the entire 1991 season with injuries . He started at running back for the 49ers during the next three seasons and San Francisco ' s offense led the NFL in scoring and yardage each year . The 49ers reached the NFC Championship Game in 1992 and 1993 , falling both times to the Dallas Cowboys , before finally vanquishing Dallas in the 1994 NFC title game on their way to a Super Bowl championship . In a January 1994 divisional playoff , Watters set an NFL postseason record with five rushing touchdowns in the game , as the 49ers trounced the New York Giants 44 - 3 . In Super Bowl XXIX the following season , Watters scored three touchdowns in San Francisco ' s 49 - 26 victory over the San Diego Chargers , tying a Super Bowl mark shared by fellow 49ers Roger Craig and Jerry Rice , and later matched by Terrell Davis of the Denver Broncos . Watters joined the Philadelphia Eagles in 1995 as a free agent . He gained notoriety in Philadelphia for his infamous line " For who ? For what ? " after his first game as an Eagle on September 3 , 1995 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers , when he " short armed " a pass to avoid contact in a 21 - 6 loss . But he quickly established himself as a very productive player for the Eagles and helped Philadelphia get to the playoffs in 1995 and 1996 . In 1998 , Watters joined the Seahawks and played with them until his retirement in 2001 . He finished his professional career with 10 , 643 yards rushing and 4 , 248 yards receiving and 91 total touchdowns in regular season play . As of the end of the 2011 NFL season , Watters is one of the two only NFL running back to rush for over 1 , 000 yards in a season for three different teams , along with Willis McGahee . Watters was on the ballot along with Terrell Davis , former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue , and others for the February 3 , 2007 Pro Football Hall of Fame selections . On a 2008 episode of NFL Top 10 , a documentary series produced by the NFL Network , Watters was ranked # 7 out of the top 10 players yet to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame . Despite his 5 Pro Bowl selections and his high rankings in total rushing yards , rushing touchdowns and total touchdowns , criticism of his lack of professional demeanor was cited by voters as a primary reason for his failure to be inducted . In particular , he was considered to be a " loud mouth " by some critics , who argued it overshadowed his on - the - field accomplishments . Others interviewed said his behavior was no different than other inductees , in particular , Joe Namath and Lawrence Taylor . The " For Who , For What ? " incident is considered by former voters as a defining moment that could hurt his chances , as one Hall of Fame voter said that it would be brought up as a negative by someone whenever Watters ' name came up in the future . Another explanation of why he has not yet been voted into the Hall was that despite scoring three touchdowns in Super Bowl XXIX , his achievement was overshadowed by the play of quarterback Steve Young , who threw for six touchdowns and won MVP honors .