Chris Ivory Christopher Ivory ( born March 22 , 1988 ) is an American football running back for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League . He was signed as a free agent by the Saints after the 2010 NFL Draft . He played college football at Washington State and Tiffin . Early years . Ivory earned letters in both football and track and field in high school at Longview High School in Longview , Texas , playing on a team that also included future NFL players Trent Williams , Malcolm Kelly , and Robert Henson . He was listed as a two - star recruit by both " Rivals . com " and " Scout . com " . College career . Ivory played three years for Washington State . Limited by injuries , in 22 games he had 91 rushes for 534 yards and 4 touchdowns , as well as 23 kickoff returns averaging 22 . 8 yards . When the coaches who had recruited him were replaced by a new coaching staff , Ivory found himself far down on the Cougars ' depth chart . In August 2009 , Ivory was dismissed from the Washington State team for violating team rules . Ivory then transferred to Tiffin , a Division II school in Tiffin , Ohio , whose team was coached by Dave Walkosky , a former Washington State assistant coach . In Ivory ' s final year of college football , he had 39 rushes for 223 yards in five games before suffering a season - ending knee injury . Walkosky attempted to obtain a medical redshirt exemption to allow Ivory to play another year , but this was unsuccessful . Despite his brief stint at Tiffin , Ivory ' s performance and speed attracted attention from NFL scouts , and he was thought to have a chance of becoming the first Tiffin player to be drafted by the NFL The Saints became interested in Ivory , despite his injuries , after one of their scouts was impressed by Walkosky ' s enthusiastic recommendations . Professional career . New Orleans Saints . Ivory was not drafted , but he reached a deal with the Saints immediately after the draft , and signed as a free agent on May 3 , 2010 . He had an impressive performance in training camp and preseason games , highlighted by a strong performance against the San Diego Chargers that included a 76 - yard touchdown on a swing pass . Early season injuries to Reggie Bush and Pierre Thomas left Ivory as the Saints ' starting running back . He had a breakout game in Week 6 against Tampa Bay : his 158 yards on 15 carries were the most by any Saints running back since Deuce McAllister rushed for 165 yards in a 2003 game , and the most by a Saints rookie since a 179 yard effort by Ricky Williams in 1999 . The performance earned him awards as both Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week and FedEx Ground Player of the Week . Another strong performance in Week 11 , with 23 rushes for 99 yards in a 34 - 19 win over against Seattle , led Seahawks coach Pete Carroll to call Ivory " a freaking stud out there . " Ivory ended the regular season with 137 rushes for 716 yards ( leading the team ) and 5 touchdowns , but he also suffered repeated injuries during the year ; after a foot injury in the Saints ' last regular season game , he was placed on the injured reserve list and was unable to play in the post - season . Ivory spent the first six games of the 2011 season on the PUP list ; after he was activated , he played in 6 games , with 79 rushes for 374 yards , and 22 carries for 70 yards in the Saints ' two playoff games . In May 2012 , the Saints paid Ivory an additional signing bonus to make up for the income he lost on the PUP list . He will become a restricted free agent after the 2012 season .