Chris Ivory
| New Orleans Saints | |
|---|---|
| Career information | |
| College: | Washington State, Tiffin |
| Undrafted: | 2010 |
| Career history | |
| |
| Roster status: | Active |
Chris 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 on May 3, 2010. He played college football at Washington State and at Tiffin University.
Early years
Ivory earned letters in both football and track and field in high school at Longview High School in Longview, Texas.
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. In August 2009, Ivory was dismissed from the Washington State team.[1]
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.[2]
Professional career
New Orleans Saints
Ivory was not drafted, but he reached a deal with the Saints immediately after the draft,[3] 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. Chris Ivory made the Saints 53 man roster after beating out Ladell Betts for the last running back position with a great preseason performance.[4][5][6]
References
- ^ "RB Chris Ivory dismissed by Washington State", Seattle Times, August 11, 2009.
- ^ Zach Baker, "TU’s Ivory becoming valuable NFL resource: Tiffin running back could be first player in program drafted", Tiffin Advertiser-Tribune, March 20, 2010.
- ^ Zach Baker, "TU’s Ivory signed by Saints", Tiffin Advertiser-Tribune, April 25, 2010.
- ^ "Former Washington State player Chris Ivory has big night for New Orleans Saints in exhibition-game victory", Seattle Times, August 27, 2010.
- ^ "Saints find another gem in Ivory, who leads triumph over Chargers", AP at NFL.com, August 27, 2010.
- ^ Nakia Hogan, "New Orleans Saints RB Chris Ivory taking nothing for granted", Times-Picayune, August 28, 2010.