Amos Zereoué Amos Zereoué ( born October 8 , 1976 in Côte d ' Ivoire ) is a former American football player in the National Football League , who last played for the New England Patriots . During his college career Zereoué played for West Virginia University before being drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers as the 95th pick of the 1999 NFL Draft . He now owns and operates a restaurant in Manhattan , New York , called Zereoué . High school years . Zereoué was raised by a single father in Hempstead , New York ; he lived in a group home called " Hope for Youth " , in Bellmore , NY , during his high school years , owing to legal trouble in junior high school and the concerns of his father that the drugs and crime of the neighborhood he grew up in were undermining his ambition . Zereoué attended Wellington C . Mepham High School in Bellmore , New York and was a letterman in football . Zereoué set Long Island records of 5 , 360 yards and 59 touchdowns at Mepham , earning Street & Smith All - America recognition . He was also the first two - time Thorpe Award winner in high school , which recognizes the best player in Nassau County , an honor that surpassed accomplished local icons such as Jim Brown and Matt Snell . College career . Freshman ( 1996 ) . Amos Zereoué was a late addition to the West Virginia University roster in 1996 , but made an immediate impact . On Zereoué ' s first collegiate carry , he rushed the ball for a 69 - yard touchdown against Pitt . In that same season , Zereoué finished the season with two of the school ' s five - best single - game rushing performances ( 234 yards against Notre Dame and 228 yards against Rutgers ) . He was unanimously voted the Big East Rookie of the Year after the season and was a first - team all - Big East selection . He also set a West Virginia freshman rushing record for a season with 1 , 035 rushing yards , which was later broken by his successor , Avon Cobourne ( who broke Zereoue ' s career rushing records as well ) . Sophomore ( 1997 ) . Zereoué was tenth in the 1997 Heisman Trophy race and was a Doak Walker Award semifinalist . He was a third - team All - American selection and was voted all - Big East and first - team All - ECAC selection as well . Zereoué also led the conference and set a school single - season rushing record with 1 , 589 yards on 281 carries . His 18 touchdowns on the season was one shy of the WVU record . He was ranked third on the season with 150 yards per game . Junior ( 1998 ) . He was also a second - team All - American selection in 1998 by leading the team with 1 , 462 yards and 13 touchdowns on 283 carries . He was also ranked sixth in the nation with 143 yards per game in ' 98 . College stats . During his college career he rushed for over 100 yards 21 times , had seven straight games with over 100 yards rushing - averaging 123 . 8 yards per game during his career . At the time of leaving , he held the all - time WVU rushing yardage with 4 , 086 and held the record at WVU for the most yards in a season with 1 , 589 in 1997 . Both records were broken by his successor at running back , Avon Cobourne . While at WVU Zereoué ' s nickname was " Famous Amos " . Professional career . Pittsburgh Steelers ( 1999 - 2003 ) . Zereoué was selected in the third round , 95th overall of the 1999 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers , who had acquired future - Hall of Famer Jerome Bettis from the St . Louis Rams four years earlier in 1996 . Zereoué got good playing time in his five seasons in Pittsburgh from 1999 to 2003 . His best season came in 2002 , when he rushed for a career - high 762 yards and four touchdowns . Also in 2002 , Zereoué caught a career - high 42 receptions for 341 yards . In his years in Pittsburgh , Zereoué rushed for 1 , 698 yards and seven touchdowns . Oakland Raiders ( 2004 ) . After the 2003 season , Zereoué was cut by the Steelers . He was then signed as a free - agent by the Oakland Raiders . Tyrone Wheatley ended up getting the starting job for 2004 , but Zereoué saw time on the field as well . He rushed for 425 yards and three touchdowns in his one season in Oakland , before he was cut with the arrival of LaMont Jordan from the New York Jets . New England Patriots ( 2005 ) . After being cut by the Raiders , Zereoué spent his final NFL season with the New England Patriots . He spent time playing backup to veteran Corey Dillon , but he only ran the ball seven times on the season for 14 yards . Zereoué then was cut by the Patriots as well , and eventually retired . In his seven - year career , Amos Zereoué rushed for 2 , 137 yards with 10 touchdowns . He caught 137 receptions for 1 , 111 yards and a touchdown . He also had seven kick returns for 169 yards . Post - football . Zereoué opened an African / French restaurant in Manhattan called Zereoué . The restaurant is located at 13 East 37th Street ( between 5th and Madison ) in New York City . Zereoué also keeps fit by playing for the first team of the well known NYC amateur soccer club Central Park Rangers FC , using his athletic skills to transition to a top scorer for the flagship team of the club .