Avon Cobourne Avon Cobourne ( born March 6 , 1979 ) is an American professional Canadian football running back who is currently a free agent . He was a running back for West Virginia University from ( 1999 – 2002 ) before entering the NFL . Cobourne became the Montreal Alouettes ' s starting running back in 2008 , in which he finished the season with 1 , 557 all - purpose yards and was named a CFL East Division All - Star . He followed this up with an outstanding 2009 season where he rushed for 1 , 214 yards and 13 touchdowns , culminating in CFL All - Star recognition and being named the MVP of the 2009 Grey Cup . High school years . Cobourne attended Holy Cross High School in Delran , New Jersey , and was a letterman in football . In football , he rushed for 1 , 400 yards and 32 touchdowns as a junior . College career . Freshman season . Cobourne entered WVU right after Amos Zereoue , the star running back from 1996 to 1998 , left early for the NFL . He immediately started the 1999 season . As a freshman , Cobourne ranked 13th in the NCAA in rushing with 1 , 139 yards first in the Big East , and was the leading freshman rusher in the nation . Cobourne also made 1st - team all - Big East and broke Zereoue ' s freshman rushing yardage record at West Virginia . Cobourne rushed for 142 yards in only three quarters against Miami ( Ohio ) and 141 yards against Rutgers . His best performances of the season though came against Virginia Tech , whose defense was ranked # 1 in the nation against the run , when he ran for 133 yards ; and against Pitt , when he rushed for a then Mountaineer Field record of 210 yards , which was the best single - game performance for a WVU freshman . Sophomore season . As a sophomore in 2000 , Cobourne was " Athlon " magazine ' s third running back in the nation in the preseason . Cobourne again finished in the top 20 in the nation in rushing and earned second - team all - Big East honors . Cobourne only totaled 1 , 028 yards with 6 TDs that season , both lower than his freshman output , but he was plagued by injuries during the season . He rushed for 132 yards and a TD against Boston College , 166 yards against Syracuse , and then 117 yards against Rutgers before leaving the game with an irritated hip joint . His best performance was in coach Don Nehlen ' s final game as the Mountaineers ' coach against Ole Miss in the Music City Bowl when he rushed for 125 yards in the win . Junior season . Cobourne was a pre - season second - team all - Big East selection . He finished the season 14th in the nation rushing with a career - high 1 , 298 yards and 9 TDs . The season was his third consecutive of gaining over 1 , 000 yards . Cobourne was also named team MVP and was the only player to rush for over 100 yards against the national champions , the Miami Hurricanes ( 132 ) . Cobourne started the season out with a 173 yard performance against Ohio , followed by a 181 yard performance against Kent State . He then rushed for 128 yards against Maryland ; totaled four TDs in two quarters against Rutgers along with 147 yards ; and rushed for 169 yards against Notre Dame in South Bend , Indiana , highlighted with a career - long 60 yard run . He then finished the season with four consecutive 100 - yard games . He earned second - team all - Big East honors . Senior season . Going into Cobourne ' s senior season , he was a candidate for the 2002 Heisman Trophy Race . Although Cobourne did not win the award , he set a school record of most rushing yards in a season with 1 , 710 yards . The record was broken in the Mountaineers ' 2006 season by Steve Slaton , who some fans consider is greater than both Cobourne and Zereoue only as a junior . Cobourne also set a career - high scores with 17 TDs . He rushed for 260 yards and 2 TDs in a win against ECU early in the season , and then rushed for 175 yards and a score in a loss to Miami . His 260 yards against the Pirates was a career - high . Legacy . He ended his career with the all - time Big East Conference and WVU rushing record with 5 , 164 rushing yards , breaking Zereoue ' s previous record . In all of his four seasons , Cobourne rushed for over 1 , 000 yards , including his redshirt - freshman season . Cobourne , Amos Zereoue , and Steve Slaton are often considered the greatest backs in school history . Although Slaton did not surpass Cobourne ' s career rushing record , he did break numerous school records and achieved greater national attention than Zereoue or Cobourne . Zereoue is often considered the greatest back , due to breaking the school rushing record in only three seasons , rather than the four it took for Cobourne to break Zereoue ' s mark . Professional career . National Football League . Cobourne was signed by the Detroit Lions in 2003 after being undrafted . He played in seven games , recording seven carries for 27 yards , returning seven kickoffs for 123 yards , and catching four passes for 30 yards . In 2004 , Cobourne was moved to the Lions practice squad . During the 2004 season , Cobourne was allocated to the Cologne Centurions of NFL Europe . He recorded 525 yards on 117 carries in Europe . Cobourne signed with the Miami Dolphins for the 2005 NFL season , but never played . Canadian Football League . 2006 season . Cobourne then left the National Football League for the Canadian Football League ' s Montreal Alouettes . Through Cobourne ' s first season , he totaled 21 yards on seven attempts and punt return 3 fumbles . He also totaled 14 yards on two catches and led the team on special teams tackles with 21 . Cobourne also had the league ' s longest missed field goal return at 95 yards . 2007 season . In his second year for the Alouettes , 2007 , Cobourne played backup to Jarrett Payton , the son of NFL legend Walter Payton . While also playing linebacker , Cobourne became one of the league ' s most feared returners during an exhibition game against the Toronto Argonauts . With five seconds left before halftime , and the score 11 - 7 Toronto , Cobourne returned a missed field goal for a 111 - yard touchdown to make the score 14 - 11 Montreal at halftime . The play was featured on ESPN ' s " SportsCenter " as the " Teamwork Play of the Week " . However , shortly after , Cobourne suffered an ankle injury that took him out for one game . The next game after the injury , he rushed for 33 yards on seven attempts while backing up former college rival Payton ( who played at Miami ; versus Cobourne ' s WVU ) . Cobourne finished third on the team in special teams tackles and rushed for 160 yards and 2 touchdowns on the season . After the 2007 season , Cobourne signed an extension with the Alouettes in January 2008 . 2008 season . In 2008 , after an injury to starting running back Jarrett Payton during the preseason , Cobourne inherited the starting job for the first game of the season against the Hamilton Tiger Cats . Cobourne rushed for 107 yards and 1 TD on 12 attempts and caught 6 passes for 55 yards . Week 2 against Winnipeg , Cobourne rushed for 89 yards and 1 TD on 17 carries and caught 10 passes for 96 yards . After these 2 performances , the Alouettes decided to name Cobourne the starter for the rest of the season and cut Jarrett Payton . In the following game against Calgary , he rushed for 23 yards on 5 carries and had 66 yards from 5 receptions . In the following loss to Saskatchewan , Cobourne rushed 4 times for 6 yards and had 7 receptions for 83 yards and a touchdown . Cobourne then rushed for 127 yards on 14 carries and had two receptions for 14 yards in a loss to B . C . However , as Montreal defeated Hamilton , Cobourne rushed for 119 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries and had 4 receptions for 21 yards . He then led Montreal past Winnipeg with 21 carries for 137 yards and a touchdown and 25 yards off of 7 receptions . As Montreal then defeated Toronto , Cobounre posted his fourth - straight 100 - yard rushing game with a 107 - yard performance off of 16 carries . He also led the team with 5 receptions for 103 yards and a touchdown , totaling 210 yards of offense . Montreal then defeated B . C . , as Cobourne rushed 16 times for 100 yards and a touchdown - his fifth consecutive 100 - yard rushing performance . Cobourne missed the following games against Toronto , Calgary , and Edmonton with an injury . However , he continued his 100 - yard rushing streak within the Saskatchewan game , rushing 17 times for 125 yards and a touchdown . Cobourne ' s 100 - yard rushing game streak ended at six consecutive games , as he only rushed for 10 yards off of 6 carries against Hamilton , but did have 10 receptions for 83 yards . Cobourne had no carries in the following game against Hamilton , but had 3 receptions for 29 yards . Cobourne missed the following Toronto victory , the 24 - 23 Winnipeg loss , and the loss to Edmonton . However , Cobourne was active for the Grey Cup Playoff Finals matchup . The first half of the season saw Cobourne leading the league in rushing with 715 yards and , when combined with his 463 yards receiving , put him on a record pace to become the first player in league history to register 1 , 000 yards rushing and receiving in the same season . However , due to injury , Cobourne finished the regular season with 145 carries for 950 yards with six touchdowns and 64 receptions for 607 yards for two touchdowns . Cobourne was named an East Division All - Star at running back while his rushing yards was third in the CFL , his receiving yards were 24th in the CFL , and his 1 , 557 yards from scrimmage was third in the CFL . 2009 season . Cobourne opened up his second season as the full - time starting back for Montreal with a 19 carry , 107 yard performance with a touchdown against Calgary . Then against Edmonton , Cobourne rushed for 65 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries . Then against the Saskatchewan Roughriders , Cobourne produced a career - high 146 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries . In the next four games , Cobourne totaled 216 yards rushing with 3 TDs and 146 receiving yards . In the next game against Saskatchewan , Cobourne rushed for 101 yards on 19 carries and 20 receiving yards and a touchdown . Against the BC Lions in the next game , he totaled 122 total yards of offense . In the final game of September against Hamilton , Cobourne rushed for a career - high 193 yards and two touchdowns with 46 yards receiving . 2011 season . On February 16 , 2011 Avon Cobourne signed as a free agent with the Hamilton Tiger - Cats . He started 17 regular season games at running back as well as two playoff games for the Tiger - Cats . He was released by Hamilton on February 1 , 2012 after the team had signed Martell Mallett . 2012 season . After Martell Mallett suffered a torn achilles tendon , the Tiger - Cats elected to re - sign Cobourne for the 2012 season . Cobourne would go on to be named a CFL East Division All - Star for the third time of his career . 2013 season . On February 16 , 2013 Cobourne was released by the Tiger - Cats . Awards . He won the Most Valuable Player award in the 97th Grey Cup when the Montreal Alouettes defeated the Saskatchewan Roughriders 28 - 27 on November 29 , 2009 . Pre - Game Enterprises . Cobourne has a degree in marketing from West Virginia University . In the off - season , he is a businessman , operating and acting as president of Pre - Game Enterprises , a sporting goods company based out of Charleston , West Virginia . For now , the company is selling T - shirts , caps , and mouthpieces with Cobourne ' s signature slogan , Chill Son , in the shape of a football . During the season , the company is run by his wife , Rebecca .