Ricky Powers Richard " Ricky " Powers ( born November 30 , 1970 ) is a former running back in the National Football League ( NFL ) for the Cleveland Browns , and a former University of Michigan Wolverines football co - captain . In the NFL , he had a brief career with the Browns during their final season before they relocated to become the Baltimore Ravens after starring for the Wolverines . His career ended due to being lost in the shuffle when the Browns moved to Baltimore and changed coaching staffs . In college , he set the Michigan football freshman rushing record that stood 14 seasons , and as a sophomore was the leading rusher for the team during Desmond Howard ' s Heisman Trophy - winning season . At Michigan , he was a member of three consecutive Big Ten Conference football champions . In high school , he was the Parade All - American star running back of the two - time Ohio High School Athletic Association ( OHSAA ) football championship team at Buchtel High School , where he has returned to coach baseball and football . High school . Powers was both born and raised in Akron , where he led the Buchtel High School football team to back - to - back OHSAA championships , as well as being named a high school All - American . Powers graduated from Buchtel in 1990 after leading them to the 1987 and 1988 Ohio Division II state high school championships . As a sophomore in 1987 , Powers rushed for 1 , 600 yards including 600 in four playoff games and helped his coach earn Summit County Coach of the Year honors . Powers rushed for 1 , 741 yards and 28 touchdowns as a junior , including 289 yards against Nordonia High School in a playoff game , and 2 , 014 yards and 19 touchdowns as a senior . During that junior season , he became the third junior ( following Chris Spielman and Jeff Logan , by one account and Spielman and Charles Gladman by another ) to earn " Akron Beacon Journal " Player of the Year honors . During the season , he topped his sophomore Championship game 161 yard effort with a Championship game record 206 rushing yard effort . He earned All - Ohio Division II honors . Ohio rival , Robert Smith , earned " USA Today " Player of the Year honors and Powers earned an honorable mention during their junior years . Powers entered his senior season on numerous lists including the " Chicago Sun - Times " national top 100 and 24 - man All - Midwest lists , " The Times - Picayune " Top 25 national prospects , and " USA Today " top 13 Ohio players . His senior season ended with a " Turkey Day " City Championship game . He and Smith , who chose to go to rival Ohio State , were the two top football prospects in Ohio and the nation in 1989 . Smith was named Mr . Football ( Ohio ) , but Powers was named the top player in the nation by the " Dallas Morning News " . In a poll of 14 experts produced by the " Detroit Free Press " , Powers was the all - Midwest ( Big Ten States of Illinois , Indiana , Iowa , Michigan , Minnesota , Ohio and Wisconsin because Penn State had not yet joined the conference ) Offensive player of the year in a first - team backfield with Jerome Bettis and Chris Weinke . Powers became the first two - time " Akron Beacon Journal " Player of the Year . He was a Parade All - American and earned first - team All - USA honors from " USA Today " . Many publications across the country listed Powers among the best five or ten players in the nation . Powers was recruited by both the Michigan Wolverines and the Ohio State Buckeyes . College . Powers , who wore # 12 for the Michigan Wolverines football program from 1990 to 1993 , shared the tailback position with Jon Vaughn as a freshman and Tyrone Wheatley as a junior and senior . Although he was only the official starter for one game as a freshman in 1990 , he set the Michigan freshman rushing record with 789 rushing yards , a record broken by Mike Hart in 2004 . That season , he led the Wolverines , who three - peat ed as Big Ten Conference Champions , to victories in their last four games with 100 - yard rushing efforts in each game , and tied Vaughn with five 100 - yard rushing efforts . The next year , as a sophomore , he started eleven of twelve games and was named to the All - Big Ten Conference team . Although as a sophomore in 1991 he led the team in rushing with 1251 yards , he shared the spotlight with Heisman Trophy winner Desmond Howard . That 1991 team would again win the Big Ten Conference Championship , and it would produce eighteen National Football League draft ees between 1992 and 1995 . In 1992 and 1993 , his offensive totals were lower than in 1991 because he was sharing playing time with Tyrone Wheatley . However , in 1993 , he was named Michigan Football Co - Captain of a five - time Big Ten Conference team . Powers currently ranks 13th on the all - time Michigan rushing yards list with 2680 career yards . Powers obtained his bachelors degree in kinesiology . Both the 1991 and 1992 Conference Champions went to the Rose Bowl . Professional career . In the NFL , Powers , who measured and , was signed as a free agent in 1994 by the Detroit Lions , but he was waived before the season started . He later that year signed with the Cleveland Browns , joining their practice squad . He remained on the practice squad until being promoted to the regular roster for the final three games of the 1995 National Football League season . He totaled 51 yards on 14 rushes , one six - yard pass reception , and three kickoff returns for a total of 54 yards . When the Browns relocated following the 1995 season to become the Baltimore Ravens , and Ted Marchibroda replaced Bill Belichick as coach , Powers got lost in the shuffle . He dabbled with World League of American Football and Spring Football League afterwards , but soon retired . In 2007 , Powers assumed the football coaching duties at his high school alma mater , Akron Buchtel High School , where he has been the head baseball coach since 2004 . At Buchtel , he inherits a football team that has a tradition of producing major college scholarship athletes and a few professional ones . Recent Buchtel Griffins who have become professional athletes include Antonio Pittman , Charlton Keith , and Ramon Walker . For 2007 and 2008 , Buchtel competes in Ohio High School Athletic Association Division II , which is for schools with enrollments of between 365 to 523 . Buchtel has qualified for the state tournament 9 times in the past as both a Division II and Division III entrant , but they were not among the 32 teams in the 120 team Division II class to qualify in 2007 . Personal . Powers ' older brother , Scott , had been an All - District cornerback who recorded nine interception s , six fumble s recoveries and four blocked field goal s and three blocked extra point s during his 1987 senior season . Ricky Powers ' final decision came down to Michigan State and Michigan according to his mother . At the time , Scott was a Sophomore starting cornerback for the Cincinnati Bearcats and was trying to transfer to Michigan State . Due to a suspicion of tampering , Scott would only be allowed to transfer if Ricky chose Michigan . Powers ' mother , Rosetta , claimed Ricky had been leaning toward Michigan State prior to the determination regarding his brother .