Ken Simonton Ken Simonton III ( born June 7 , 1979 ) is an American football running back who last played in the CFL for the Calgary Stampeders after a brief career in the NFL and the NFL Europe . Early life . Simonton was a two - sport ( football and baseball ) star for the Pittsburg High School Pirates . As a sophomore , Simonton rushed for 1 , 135 yards in 10 games on 105 carries for an average of 10 . 8 yards per carry . In his junior year , he rushed for 785 yards in eight games on 47 carries for an average of 16 . 7 yards per carry . For his senior season , Simonton rushed for 960 yards on 92 carries for a 10 . 4 yard average and scored 23 touchdowns . Simonton was a three - time all - league selection as a running back and he was also named all - league as a defensive back in his senior year . He was a first - team All - Northern California selection , a first - team all - region selection by the Contra Costa Times and was named Offensive Player of the Year in the region by Sports Focus . Simonton played outfield for the Pirates baseball team and was all - league as a sophomore , junior and senior . He was listed in Parade Magazine in 1996 as one of the top 100 college baseball prospects in the nation . College career . Simonton always wanted to attend USC and was recruited to come to the Trojans by assistant coach Mike Riley . That same Mike Riley was hired as the head coach of the Oregon State Beavers football program in 1997 . Simonton chose to follow Riley to Oregon State instead of going to USC . In his freshman season ( 1998 ) , Simonton had 1 , 028 rushing yards , only the second time a freshman running back had rushed for over a 1 , 000 yards in the Pac - 10 . He became the first freshman to ever rush for over 100 yards in his first game for Oregon State and then the first freshman to have back - to - back 100 - yard rushing games . Simonton finished fourth in the Pac - 10 in rushing with an average of 93 . 5 yards per game and was fourth in scoring with 78 points and 7 . 1 average points per game . In the final game of the season , Simonton scored the winning touchdown in overtime as Oregon State upset archrival Oregon 44 - 41 . The Beavers named him a co - winner of their Rookie of the Year award . Simonton ' s sophomore season built upon the success of his freshman year . He set an OSU single - season scoring record with 118 points , single - season rushing record with 1 , 486 yards , and all - purpose running mark with 1 , 705 yards . For his success , he was named second team All - Pac - 10 , first team All - Pac - 10 by the Seattle Post - Intelligencer , first team All - Pac - 10 by the Football News , honorable mention All - American by the Football News , and he was selected OSU ’ s MVP of the Oahu Bowl vs . Hawaii . He established a Beaver record by rushing for over 100 yards in five straight games . Firmly entrenched as one of the premier tailbacks in the Pac - 10 , Simonton rushed for 1 , 559 yards in his junior season , again a school record at the time . His efforts earned him a spot on the first team All - Pac - 10 Conference and first team All - American rosters as well as being named the College Football News Pac - 10 Conference Player of the Year and finishing ninth on the Heisman Trophy Ballot . Simonton was chosen to serve as one of OSU ' s captains during the 2000 season , which concluded with a 41 - 9 victory over Notre Dame in the 2001 Fiesta Bowl , a 11 - 1 record , a 4th place ranking in the country . After a 1st place pre - season ranking by Sports Illustrated and cover photo on the magazine , Simonton ' s senior season did not quite go as expected . There was a strong belief through Beaver Nation and in the Pac - 10 that Simonton had a legitimate shot at the Heisman Trophy . With a 1 , 000 yard season , he would become the only the fifth player in the NCAA ( 1st in the Pac - 10 ) to have a 1 , 000 yards rushing in each of their four seasons . Simonton totaled 971 rushing yards on 239 carries with 8 touchdowns in his senior year , coming within 29 yards of his 4th consecutive 1 , 000 yard season . He left Oregon State with 5 , 044 rushing yards , which is still the school rushing record . Simonton majored in liberal studies at Oregon State . Pro career . Simonton was undrafted in the 2002 NFL Draft , mainly due to questions of his size and durability and how that would translate into an NFL running back . He signed a free agent contract with the San Francisco 49ers on April 26 , 2002 but was released shortly thereafter . Simonton next signed with the Buffalo Bills January 23 , 2003 . The Bills allocated him to the Scottish Claymores of NFL Europe on March 1 , 2003 . As a player for the Scottish Claymores , Simonton set a team record for rushing touchdowns in a season with 8 . He was selected as the NFL Europe Offensive MVP after having a league - high 841 rushing yards as well as 39 receptions , which was 4th in league . Feeling good from his success in NFL Europe and hoping for an increased role in the NFL , Simonton returned to Buffalo September 2 , 2003 . He hung on with the team for the season , getting minimal playing time . He was released September 9 , 2004 Simonton was again signed by the San Francisco 49ers in November 2004 by former college coach Dennis Erickson . After signing with the Detroit Lions in early 2005 , he chose to retire from the NFL on April 5 , 2005 . Simonton signed with the Calgary Stampeders on May 5 , 2007 . He played in only one game , and was released on July 14 , 2008 . Personal life . Simonton ' s family has a history of baseball . His father , Ken Simonton II played in the Boston Red Sox farm system in 1975 . His brother Benji Simonton spent eight seasons in the San Francisco Giants and Anaheim Angels organizations and his cousin Cy Simonton played three seasons in the Seattle Mariners organization . Simonton originally intended to play both baseball and football at Oregon State .