Montario Hardesty Montario Hardesty ( born February 1 , 1987 ) , is a running back for the Cleveland Browns football team . Hardesty played college football at the University of Tennessee from 2005 – 2009 , where he amassed fewer than 400 yards in each of his first four seasons before breaking out with 1345 yards and 13 rushing touchdowns in 2009 , under the tutelage of first - year head coach Lane Kiffin and his pro - style offense . High school career . Hardesty played football at New Bern High School . As a senior in 2004 , he rushed for 2 , 002 yards on 272 carries . He had 19 rushing touchdowns . He was considered a four - star recruit and ranked 100th on the Rivals . com ' s list of the top 100 players in the class of 2005 . He was recruited as an " athlete " , with the potential to play both running back and safety . He was recruited and offered a scholarship by the University of Nebraska , University of North Carolina , North Carolina State University , Notre Dame , Ohio State University , University of South Carolina , and Virginia Tech . However , he chose to play for Tennessee . College career . Hardesty was a three - year letter winner at Tennessee . He amassed 2 , 391 rushing yards on 560 attempts , 405 receiving yards on 38 receptions , and 26 total touchdowns . Hardesty was granted a medical hardship for the 2005 season because of a knee injury he suffered against Ole Miss . He rushed 6 times for 18 yards before his injury . In 2006 , Hardesty started off the season with a 43 yard touchdown run against the University of California . His best game of the season was a 74 yard performance against the Air Force Academy . He played in 13 games , starting 5 of them . He finished the season with 384 rushing yards and 4 touchdowns . Hardesty ' s 2007 season wasn ' t quite as good as his 2006 season . He had a touchdown in the opening game of the season against the University of California once again . He finished the year with 373 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns . 2008 was the worst statistical season of Hardesty ' s career at Tennessee . He ran for 271 yards , finishing the season with 6 touchdowns . He passed the 1 , 000 career rushing yard mark against Vanderbilt University in the season ' s next - to - last game . In 2009 , Hardesty was 20th in the NCAA ' s Division 1 - A FBS division in rushing yards , with 1345 yards in 13 games . He started the season off with 160 rushing yards and 1 touchdown against Western Kentucky University . He has passed the 100 rushing yard mark four more times in the 2009 season , against Ohio University , the University of South Carolina , Vanderbilt University , and the University of Kentucky . He was the Southeastern Conference ' s 4th leading rusher in the 2009 season with 1 , 345yds . , behind Mark Ingram ( Al . 1 , 658yds . ) , Anthony Dixon ( Miss . St . 1 , 391yds . ) and Ben Tate ( Aub . 1 , 362yds . ) . Hardesty was first in the S . E . C . in carries ( 282att . ) . Professional career . 2010 NFL Draft . Hardesty was picked in the 2nd round of the 2010 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns . Hardesty was expected to compete for the starting running back position for the Browns , but was limited in pre - season due to injury . On September 2 , in his first pre - season game against the Chicago Bears , he suffered a torn left ACL , sidelining him for the entire 2010 season .