Shonn Greene
From NCAA College Football Information & Resource
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Shonn Greene (born August 21, 1985) plays running back for the University of Iowa Hawkeyes in the NCAA college football tournament. After a couple of seasons doing back-up jobs and special teams duties, Greene's patience has finally been rewarded with a starring role on the Iowa backfield. Entering his junior year, Greene has emerged to become one of the top running backs in the Big Ten, giving the likes of OSU's Beanie Wells and MSU's Javon Ringer a run for their money. In his first year as the starter, Greene has been extremely consistent with his production, coming up with 100 yards games each time (atleast through the first six games) with his power running and admirable balance.
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[edit] Personal Life
Shonn is the son of Reginald Greene. A native of Sicklerville, New Jersey, he took up Sociology as his major at the University of Iowa. When Shonn took a hiatus in 2007, he landed a job at McGregor’s Furniture Company. He changed his jersey number from no.45 as a freshman to no.23 as a sophomore.
[edit] High School
Greene studied high school at Winslow Township High in Atco, New Jersey, (the same school that produced former Iowa defensive back Khaliq Price) where he was a renaissance card holder. He played for head coach Felton Jones both on the offensive and defensive side of the field. After ending his sophomore year on the All-Conference first team, he rushed his way to 1,267 yards and 18 touchdowns on 221 carries as a junior to earn first team all-state, all-South Jersey and all-conference accolades. During his final year, he rushed 172 times and gained 1,378 yards and 16 touchdowns and was named as a first team all-conference and second team all-state pick. He concluded his stint at Township with career numbers of 503 carries, 4,266 rushing yards and 43 touchdowns on offense in addition to 191 tackles and an interception on defense.
[edit] Prep
Following his stellar high school career, Greene, a three-star running back prospect, signed with Iowa as part of its 2004 recruiting class. Unfortunately, he failed to receive a test score and was forced to spend a year at a prep school. He decided to go to Milford (Conn.) Academy where he played under head coach Bill Chaplick. During his stay at Milford, he was molded into a "collegiate" RB, improving his weight from 190 pounds to 225. He gained 1,274 yards rushing during his one-year stint.
[edit] College
[edit] 2005
After Milford, Greene made his return to Iowa City and served as a back-up to the likes of Albert Young and Damian Sims at the running back spot. He was one of five true freshmen to make their collegiate debut against Ball State, rushing for 116 yards and a 6-yard TD run in 18 carries along with three special teams solo tackles in the 56-0 win over the Cardinals. He also had twin-digit carries in the 24-point win over Northern Iowa, rushing for 45 yards in 15 attempts. After rushing once for 3 yards in the win over Illinois, Greene missed the Purdue game due to injury. Although he did see action the rest of the year, Greene had his last carries in the heartbreaking loss at Northwestern where he rushed thrice for 9 yards. He also made his first ever postseason appearance at the Outback Bowl loss to Florida. Greene concluded his rookie year as the team's third-leading rusher with 173 rush yards on 37 carries and 1 TD along with 5 tackles in 11 appearances.
[edit] 2006
As a sophomore, Greene was named as the second team running back after the spring practice. In the season-opening win over Montana, he rushed three times for seven yards and had two pass receptions for 11 yards with two kickoff returns for 60 yards. The following week in the double overtime win over Syracuse, he had one kickoff return for 10 yards and recorded three solo tackles on special teams. In the win over Iowa State, Greene had one of everything after tallying 18 rush yards on a carry, 12 receiving yards from a catch, and 11 yards on a kickoff return. In the 17-point win over Illinois, he had 8 carries for 54 yards, but was limited to only a kickoff return for 26 yards and two solo tackles in the 17-38 loss to top-ranked Ohio State. In the win over Purdue, he helped the Hawkeyes tally season highs in scoring and rushing, contributing 11 carries for 88 yards and a 4-yard touchdown. At Indiana, he had 9 carries for 38 yards but did not finish the game after suffering an injury that kept him out for three more games (against Michigan, Northern Illinois, and Northwestern). He returned against Wisconsin but was relegated into special teams duties.
Prior to his second bowl game appearance at the Alamo Bowl, he was switched into the strong safety position but the move did not turn out well. He finished the year once again as the third-leading rusher behind Young and Sims, rushing for 205 yards and 1 TD on 32 carries in 10 outings.
[edit] 2007
Prior to the spring practices, Greene was switched back to the running back spot. However in June, he was dismissed from the football team for violating team rules (academic reasons). He spent the time working to pay his own bills while at the same time attending school at Kirkwood Community College.
[edit] 2008
With his impending return to the football field, Greene worked with strength and conditioning coach Chris Doyle to put him back in football shape. Greene was eventually named as the starter, making his season debut by rushing 22 times for 109 yards and a touchdown in the 46-3 win. It marked the first time since Oct. 27, 2007 that an Iowa running back topped 100 yards rushing. The following week, he rushed 13 times for 130 yards and 1 TD to lead the Hawkeyes to a shut-out win. It was the first time the Hawkeyes had back-to-back games with a 100-yard rusher since the last two games of the 2005 campaign. He gained his third 100-yard game in the 12-point win over Iowa State, rushing 20 times for 120 yards and 1 TD with a 15-yard catch. In the heartbreaking loss to Pittsburgh, Greene reached the 100-yard mark yet again, leading the team with 23 carries for 147 yards and a 6-yard TD run in the 20-21 loss. Against Northwestern, he topped 100 yards for the fifth-straight game, rushing 21 times for a personal high 159 yards and an 18-yard TD but left late in the game with an injury. He was eventually cleared to return against MSU and rushed for 157 yards on 30 carries in the close 13-16 loss. His performance marked the first time since 2005 that Iowa had an RB that rushed for 100+ yards in six straight games.
At Indiana, he rushed 23 times and gained 115 yards while scoring a touchdown in the 45-9 victory over the Hoosiers. That game marked the first time a Division I running back rushed for 100 yards in a single game in the first seven games of the season. Against Wisconsin, he eclipsed the 200-yard mark for the first time during the season, rushing for a season high 217 yards (tied for the 6th most in a single game at Iowa) and four touchdowns on 25 carries as Iowa blasted Wisconsin, 38-16. He was named as the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week for his performance against the Badgers. In the heartbreaking loss at Illinois, he barely kept his streak of 100-yard games, rushing for 103 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries to go with a season long 23-yard catch. Against #2 Penn State, he became the only player in the FBS during the season to top 100 rushing yards in every game after gaining 117 yards and scoring two touchdowns on 28 carries in the upset win, marking only the second time a rusher gained over 100 yards against the Nittany Lion defense. Against Purdue, Greene ran for a career-long 75-yard touchdown in the second period (19th-longest run in school history), then finished the game with his 11th straight 100-yard game with 211 yards on 30 carries in the 22-17 victory. He became the only the third Iowa running back to rush for over 200 yards in a game twice in one season and was honored as the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week for his performance. In the regular-season ending shut-out win over Minnesota, he rushed 22 times for 144 yards and two touchdowns, accomplishing several milestones in the process. With his performance, he was able to set the school's single season rushing record with 1,729 yards on 278 rushing attempts, tied Iowa’s single season record for rushing touchdowns with 17, became the only RB to rush for over 100 yards in all 12 games during the season, and became the first Hawkeye running back to lead the Big Ten in rushing (Big Ten games) since Albert Young in 2005.
Prior to the bowl season, he was named as the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year, the recipient of the prestigious Doak Walker Award, and the team MVP, in addition to being selected as a first team All-American and All-Big Ten. In the Outback Bowl against South Carolina, Greene rushed for 121 yards (2nd-most by an Iowa player in an Outback Bowl) and three touchdowns (Iowa bowl record) on 29 carries (Iowa bowl record) to lead the Hawkeyes to a 31-10 victory and claim for himself the bowl game's MVP plum. After the game, Greene told Ferentz he would be forgoing his final year to join the NFL draft. He finished his junior year with 1,850 rushing yards (7th-best in Big Ten history), 20 TDs (12th in league annals), and 13 100-yard games (only RB in the FBS to do do so).
[edit] Career Stats
| Rushing | Receiving | |||||||||
| Year | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD |
| 2005 | 37 | 173 | 4.7 | 32 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2006 | 32 | 205 | 6.4 | 25 | 1 | 3 | 23 | 7.7 | 12 | 0 |
| 2008 | 307 | 1850 | 6.0 | 75 | 20 | 8 | 49 | 6.1 | 23 | 0 |
[edit] Highlights
| Feature on Shonn Greene (2008). |
[edit] Achievements
[edit] 2008
- All-Big Ten First Team
- American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) first all-America team
- Associated Press' first all-America team
- Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week (vs. Purdue, vs. Wisconsin)
- Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year
- Chicago Tribune's Silver Football (Big Ten Conference's Most Valuable Player)
- Doak Walker Award
- Iowa's Roy J. Carver Most Valuable Player Award
- Outback Bowl MVP
- Phil Steele All-American First Team
- Phil Steele All-Big Ten First Team
- The Sporting News All-American First Team
- The Sporting News Big Ten Offensive MVP
- Walter Camp Football Foundation First Team All-American
