Avon Cobourne (born March 6, 1979) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) and

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

West Virginia Mountaineers The West Virginia Mountaineers are the athletic teams that represent West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia. The school is a member of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. The Mountaineers have been a membe ...

from 1999 to 2002 before entering the NFL. Cobourne became the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: ''Les Alouettes de Montréal'') are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has disbanded twice and been re-established thrice. The Alouettes compe ...

's starting running back in

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, in which he finished the season with 1,557 all-purpose yards and was named a CFL East Division All-Star. He followed this up with an outstanding 2009 season where he rushed for 1,214 yards and 13 touchdowns, culminating in CFL All-Star recognition and being named the

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

of the 2009 Grey Cup.

Early life

Cobourne grew up in

Cherry Hill, New Jersey Cherry Hill is a Township (New Jersey), township within Camden County, New Jersey, Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As a suburb of Philadelphia, the township is part of the South Jersey and Delaware Valley regions. Cherry Hill ...

and attended Holy Cross High School in Delran Township, New Jersey, where he was a letterman in football. In football, he rushed for 1,400 yards and 32 touchdowns as a junior, but suffered an

anterior cruciate ligament injury An anterior cruciate ligament injury occurs when the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is either stretched, partially torn, or completely torn. The most common injury is a complete tear. Symptoms include pain, an audible cracking sound during in ...

early in his senior season.

College career

Freshman season

Cobourne entered West Virginia right after Amos Zereoué, the star running back from 1996 to 1998, left early for the NFL. He immediately started the 1999 season. As a freshman, Cobourne ranked 13th in the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

in rushing with 1,139 yards first in the

Big East The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...

, and was the leading freshman rusher in the nation. Cobourne also made 1st-team all-

and broke Zereoue's freshman rushing yardage record at West Virginia. Cobourne rushed for 142 yards in only three quarters against Miami (Ohio) and 141 yards against

Rutgers Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College and was aff ...

. His best performances of the season though came against

Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

, whose defense was ranked #1 in the nation against the run, when he ran for 133 yards; and against Pitt, when he rushed for a then

Mountaineer Field Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium is an American football stadium in Morgantown, West Virginia, on the campus of West Virginia University. It opened in 1980 and serves as the home field for the West Virginia Mountaineers football team. ...

record of 210 yards, which was the best single-game performance for a WVU freshman.

Sophomore season

As a sophomore in 2000, Cobourne was ''

Athlon AMD Athlon is the brand name applied to a series of x86, x86-compatible microprocessors designed and manufactured by AMD, Advanced Micro Devices. The original Athlon (now called Athlon Classic) was the first seventh-generation x86 processor a ...

'' magazine's third running back in the nation in the preseason. Cobourne again finished in the top 20 in the nation in rushing and earned second-team all-Big East honors. Cobourne only totaled 1,028 yards with 6 touchdowns that season, both lower than his freshman output, but he was plagued by injuries during the season. He rushed for 132 yards and a touchdown against

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

, 166 yards against

Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

, and then 117 yards against

before leaving the game with an irritated hip joint. His best performance was in coach Don Nehlen's final game as the Mountaineers' coach against

Ole Miss OLE, Ole or Olé may refer to: * Olé, a cheering expression used in Spain * Ole (name), a male given name, includes a list of people named Ole * Overhead lines equipment, used to transmit electrical energy to trams, trolleybuses or trains Co ...

in the

Music City Bowl The Music City Bowl is a post-season American college football bowl game certified by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA that has been played in Nashville, Tennessee, since 1998 in sports, 1998. Since 2020, it has been sponsored by ...

when he rushed for 125 yards in the win.

Junior season

Cobourne was a pre-season second-team all-Big East selection. He finished the season 14th in the nation rushing with a career-high 1,298 yards and 9 touchdowns. The season was his third consecutive of gaining over 1,000 yards. Cobourne was also named team MVP and was the only player to rush for over 100 yards against the national champions, the

Miami Hurricanes The Miami Hurricanes, known informally as The U, UM, or The 'Canes, are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The Hurricanes compete in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Coll ...

(132). Cobourne started the season out with a 173-yard performance against

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, followed by a 181-yard performance against

Kent State Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio located in Ashtabula, Burton, East Liverpool, Jackson Township, New Philadelphia, ...

. He then rushed for 128 yards against

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

; totaled four touchdowns in two quarters against

along with 147 yards; and rushed for 169 yards against Notre Dame in

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. It lies along the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. It is the List of cities in ...

, highlighted with a career-long 60-yard run. He then finished the season with four consecutive 100-yard games. He earned second-team all-Big East honors.

Senior season

Going into Cobourne's senior season, he was a candidate for the 2002

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy ( ; also known simply as the Heisman) is awarded annually since 1935 to the top player in college football. It is considered the most prestigious award in the sport and is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust followin ...

Race. Although Cobourne did not win the award, he set a school record of most rushing yards in a season with 1,710 yards. The record was broken in the Mountaineers' 2006 season by

Steve Slaton Steve Slaton (born January 4, 1986) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the West Virginia Mountaineers, earning unanimous All-American ...

. Cobourne also set a career-high scores with 17 touchdowns. He rushed for 260 yards and 2 touchdowns in a win against ECU early in the season, and then rushed for 175 yards and a score in a loss to

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

. His 260 yards against the Pirates was a career-high.

Legacy

He ended his career with the all-time

Big East Conference The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...

and WVU rushing record with 5,164 rushing yards, breaking Zereoue's previous record. In all of his four seasons, Cobourne rushed for over 1,000 yards, including his redshirt-freshman season. Cobourne, Amos Zereoué, and Steve Slaton are often considered the greatest backs in school history.

Professional career

National Football League

Cobourne was signed by the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

in 2003 after being undrafted. He played in seven games, recording seven carries for 27 yards, returning seven kickoffs for 123 yards, and catching four passes for 30 yards. In 2004, Cobourne was moved to the Lions practice squad. During the 2004 season, Cobourne was allocated to the Cologne Centurions of

NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa) was a professional American football league that functioned as the List of developmental and minor sports leagues, developmental minor league of the Nati ...

. He recorded 525 yards on 117 carries in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. Cobourne signed with the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

for the

2005 NFL season The 2005 NFL season was the 86th regular season of the National Football League (NFL). Regular season play was held from September 8, 2005, to January 1, 2006. The regular season also saw the first ever regular season game played outside the ...

, but never played.

Canadian Football League

2006 season

Cobourne then left the National Football League for the

. Through Cobourne's first season, he totaled 21 yards on seven attempts and punt return 3 fumbles. He also totaled 14 yards on two catches and led the team on special teams tackles with 21. Cobourne also had the league's longest missed field goal return at 95 yards.

2007 season

In his second year for the Alouettes, 2007, Cobourne played backup to Jarrett Payton, the son of NFL legend

Walter Payton Walter Jerry Payton (July 25, 1953Although most sources at the time of his death gave Payton's birth year as 1954, reliable sources subsequently state he was born in 1953. – November 1, 1999) was an American professional American football, ...

. While also playing linebacker, Cobourne became one of the league's most feared returners during an exhibition game against the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...

. With five seconds left before halftime, and the score 11-7 Toronto, Cobourne returned a missed field goal for a 111-yard touchdown to make the score 14-11 Montreal at halftime. The play was featured on ESPN's ''

SportsCenter ''SportsCenter'' (SC) is an American television sports news broadcasting show broadcast by ESPN. Originally anchored by Chris Berman, George Grande, Greg Gumbel, Lee Leonard, Bob Ley, Sal Marchiano and Lou Palmer, it premiered on Septem ...

'' as the "Teamwork Play of the Week". However, shortly after, Cobourne suffered an

ankle The ankle, the talocrural region or the jumping bone (informal) is the area where the foot and the leg meet. The ankle includes three joints: the ankle joint proper or talocrural joint, the subtalar joint, and the inferior tibiofibular joint. The ...

injury that took him out for one game. The next game after the injury, he rushed for 33 yards on seven attempts while backing up former college rival Payton (who played at

; versus Cobourne's WVU). Cobourne finished third on the team in special teams tackles and rushed for 160 yards and 2 touchdowns on the season. After the 2007 season, Cobourne signed an extension with the Alouettes in January 2008.

2008 season

In 2008, after taking the job from former starting running back Jarrett Payton during the preseason, Cobourne started the first game of the season against the Hamilton Tiger Cats. Cobourne rushed for 107 yards and one touchdown on 12 attempts and caught 6 passes for 55 yards. Week 2 against Winnipeg, Cobourne rushed for 89 yards and one touchdown on 17 carries and caught 10 passes for 96 yards. After these 2 performances, the Alouettes decided to name Cobourne the starter for the rest of the season and cut Jarrett Payton. In the following game against Calgary, he rushed for 23 yards on 5 carries and had 66 yards from 5 receptions. In the following loss to Saskatchewan, Cobourne rushed 4 times for 6 yards and had 7 receptions for 83 yards and a touchdown. Cobourne then rushed for 127 yards on 14 carries and had two receptions for 14 yards in a loss to B.C. However, as Montreal defeated Hamilton, Cobourne rushed for 119 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries and had 4 receptions for 21 yards. He then led Montreal past Winnipeg with 21 carries for 137 yards and a touchdown and 25 yards off of 7 receptions. As Montreal then defeated Toronto, Cobounre posted his fourth-straight 100-yard rushing game with a 107-yard performance off of 16 carries. He also led the team with 5 receptions for 103 yards and a touchdown, totaling 210 yards of offense. Montreal then defeated B.C., as Cobourne rushed 16 times for 100 yards and a touchdown - his fifth consecutive 100-yard rushing performance. Cobourne missed the following games against Toronto, Calgary, and Edmonton with an injury. However, he continued his 100-yard rushing streak within the Saskatchewan game, rushing 17 times for 125 yards and a touchdown. Cobourne's 100-yard rushing game streak ended at six consecutive games, as he only rushed for 10 yards off of 6 carries against Hamilton, but did have 10 receptions for 83 yards. Cobourne had no carries in the following game against Hamilton, but had 3 receptions for 29 yards. Cobourne missed the following Toronto victory, the 24-23 Winnipeg loss, and the loss to Edmonton. However, Cobourne was active for the

Grey Cup The Grey Cup () is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested between the winners ...

Playoff Finals matchup. The first half of the season saw Cobourne leading the league in rushing with 715 yards and, when combined with his 463 yards receiving, put him on a record pace to become the first player in league history to register 1,000 yards rushing and receiving in the same season. However, due to injury, Cobourne finished the regular season with 145 carries for 950 yards with six touchdowns and 64 receptions for 607 yards for two touchdowns. Cobourne was named an East Division All-Star at running back while his rushing yards was third in the CFL, his receiving yards were 24th in the CFL, and his 1,557 yards from scrimmage was third in the CFL.

2009 season

Cobourne opened up his second season as the full-time starting back for Montreal with a 19 carry, 107 yard performance with a touchdown against Calgary. Then against Edmonton, Cobourne rushed for 65 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries. Then against the Saskatchewan Roughriders, Cobourne produced a career-high 146 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries. In the next four games, Cobourne totaled 216 yards rushing with three touchdowns and 146 receiving yards. In the next game against Saskatchewan, Cobourne rushed for 101 yards on 19 carries and 20 receiving yards and a touchdown. Against the BC Lions in the next game, he totaled 122 total yards of offense. In the final game of September against Hamilton, Cobourne rushed for a career-high 193 yards and two touchdowns with 46 yards receiving. He won the

Most Valuable Player award In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

in the

97th Grey Cup The 97th Grey Cup was played on November 29, 2009, at McMahon Stadium in Calgary, Alberta, and decided the Canadian Football League (CFL) champion for the 2009 season. The Montreal Alouettes came from behind to defeat the Saskatchewan Roughrider ...

when the Montreal Alouettes defeated the Saskatchewan Roughriders 28–27 on November 29, 2009.

2011 season

On February 16, 2011, Avon Cobourne signed as a free agent with the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home game ...

. He started 17 regular season games at running back as well as two playoff games for the Tiger-Cats. He was released by Hamilton on February 1, 2012, after the team had signed Martell Mallett.

2012 season

After Martell Mallett suffered a torn achilles tendon, the Tiger-Cats elected to re-sign Cobourne for the 2012 season. Cobourne would go on to be named a CFL East Division All-Star for the third time of his career. On February 16, 2013, Cobourne was released by the Tiger-Cats.

Coaching career

2014 season

Running backs coach for Saskatchewan Roughriders.

2016 season

Running backs coach for

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

. In early April 2017 Cobourne and the Bombers mutually parted ways.

Pre-Game Enterprises

Cobourne has a degree in marketing from West Virginia University. In the off-season, he is a businessman, operating and acting as president of Pre-Game Enterprises, a sporting goods company based out of Charleston, West Virginia. For now, the company is selling T-shirts, caps, and mouthpieces with Cobourne's signature slogan, Chill Son, in the shape of a football. During the season, the company is run by his wife, Rebecca.

Early life

College career

Freshman season

Sophomore season

Junior season

Senior season

Legacy

Professional career

National Football League

Canadian Football League

2006 season

2007 season

2008 season

2009 season

2011 season

2012 season

Coaching career

2014 season

2016 season

Pre-Game Enterprises

References

External links