Shonn Greene Shonn Greene ( born August 21 , 1985 ) is an American football running back for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League ( NFL ) . He played college football for the University of Iowa , and was recognized as an All - American . He was drafted by the New York Jets in the third round of the 2009 NFL Draft . Early years . Greene was born in the Sicklerville section of Winslow Township , New Jersey . He attended Winslow Township High School in Atco , New Jersey , and played for the Winslow Eagles high school football team as the starting running back and linebacker for the Eagles during his junior and senior years . In his junior year , Greene rushed for 1 , 267 yards and 18 touchdowns in 221 attempts earning first team all - conference , all - South Jersey , and all - state honors . He followed that with 1 , 378 yards and 16 touchdowns on 172 attempts as a senior earning first team all - conference and second team all - state . Greene also recorded 191 career tackles and one interception on defense . College career . Greene attended The University of Iowa , where he played for coach Kirk Ferentz ' s Iowa Hawkeyes football team . He missed the entire 2007 season when he left the University due to academic deficiencies . He enrolled at Kirkwood Community College , improved his grades , and returned to the University in 2008 . Greene had a breakout season in 2008 , winning the Doak Walker Award given to the nation ' s outstanding collegiate running back ( the first Iowa player to win the award ) , and was recognized as a unanimous first - team All - American . He finished the season with 1850 yards rushing and 20 touchdowns ; after the Hawkeyes won the 2009 Outback Bowl on January 1 , 2009 , Greene announced he would enter the 2009 NFL Draft . Greene was the only player that year to rush for over 100 yards in every game . On October 23 , 2010 , Greene was named honorary captain for Iowa ' s game against Wisconsin . Professional career . New York Jets . 2009 season . On April 26 , 2009 the New York Jets traded up 12 spots to select Greene in the third round ( 65th overall ) of the 2009 NFL Draft . On August 30 Greene made an appearance in the Jets preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens . He rushed twice for six yards as well as catching an 85 - yard pass before leaving due to an undisclosed rib injury . Greene made his regular season debut after a season - ending injury of Leon Washington during week 7 against the Oakland Raiders . During the game against the Raiders , Greene ran for 144 yards and two touchdowns in a 38 - 0 victory . On December 27 , 2009 , Greene carried the ball 16 times for 95 yards in a win against the Indianapolis Colts . On January 9 , 2010 , Greene rushed for 135 yards and a touchdown in a 24 - 14 playoff win against the Cincinnati Bengals . His best performance of the season came against the San Diego Chargers in the divisional round of the playoffs . Greene carried the ball 23 times and rushed for 128 yards . He scored a 53 - yard touchdown in the fourth quarter , as the Jets reached their first AFC Championship game since 1998 . The Jets would play the AFC championship game against the Indianapolis Colts . The Jets had the lead at halftime 17 - 13 . In the beginning of the 3rd quarter Greene injured his ribs and missed the rest of the game . He would finish the game with 41 rushing yards as the jets would lose 30 - 17 . Greene finished the 2009 season by playing in 14 games with 108 attempts for 540 yards and 2 touchdowns . 2010 season . In the 2010 offseason the Jets did not resign running back Thomas Jones and signed instead LaDainian Tomlinson to be their starter and Shonn Greene to be the back - up . Shonn Greene got his first rushing touchdown of the 2010 season in a 29 - 20 win over the Minnesota Vikings . Greene finished the game with 57 yards on 10 attempts . On December 26 , 2010 Greene ran for 70 yards on 12 attempts and 1 touchdown in loss to the Chicago Bears 38 - 34 . Greene also rushed for 76 yard on 17 attempts and scored the game - closing touchdown against the Patriots in a playoff game . 2011 season . On June 5 , 2011 Jets offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer announced that Greene will be the starting running back in the 2011 season , with LaDainian Tomlinson taking a 3rd down role . In his first career start , Greene rushed for 26 Yards on 10 Carries in a win over the Dallas Cowboys . Greene got his first TD of the year in a Week 2 Matchup between the Jacksonville Jaguars while adding 49 Yards in 16 Carries . In a Week 5 loss to the New England Patriots , Greene had 83 Yards in 21 Carries while getting a TD . Even though Greene could not follow up the same performance the next week , He had 74 Yards in 21 Carries in a Victory over the Miami Dolphins . In a Week 7 victory over the San Diego Chargers , Greene had 112 Yards in 20 Carries . Greene ended the year with 1 , 054 Yards in 253 Yards with 6 Touchdowns . Greene also carried the load for the Jets while playing the Redskins by rushing 88 yards and 3 TDs . That next week he had 129 yards rushing and 1 TD over the Chiefs . 2012 season . In 2012 , against the Indianapolis Colts , Greene ran for a career - high 161 yards , along with three touchdowns , as the Jets defeated the Colts 35 - 9 . For the season , Greene rushed for 1063 yards and 8 Touchdowns . Tennessee Titans . On March 13 , 2013 , Greene signed a three year , $ 10 million contract with the Tennessee Titans . On August 8 of a pre - season game Greene rushed for 32 yards on 5 carries and a 19 - yard touchdown run in his Titans debut facing the Washington Redskins . Greene also caught the ball for a 13 - yard play . In the Season Opener against the Steelers , Greene rushed for 18 yards on 4 carries before injuring his knee that sidelined him for 5 weeks . 7 weeks later Greene rushed for 38 yards and a Touchdown on 9 carries winning against the Rams . He also had a 28 yard catch and run . Week 14 of the NFL season Greene rushed for 46 yard and 2 Touchdowns on 9 carries , which included a 28 - yard Touchdown in the second quarter even though , they lost to the Broncos 51 - 28 .