Christopher Michael Wells (born August 7, 1988), known as Chris Wells or Beanie Wells, 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 ...

for the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

of 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). 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

Ohio State Buckeyes The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tree, ...

and was selected by the Cardinals in the first round of the 2009 NFL draft with the 31st overall pick.

Early life

Wells was a highly touted player out of high school, where he played

at Akron Garfield High School and ran track. His high school running back coach, Ben Dunn, said that Beanie was one of the most explosive play-makers he had seen in his 28 years at the school. He was often considered the best recruit out of

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 ...

. Wells played at Akron Garfield High from 2002 to 2005, graduating early in December. In track, he was timed at 10.8 seconds in the 100 meters as a high school junior, and also recorded a 4.48

40-yard dash The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed and acceleration of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time can have a he ...

as a senior. He was listed as the top running back and All-American by Parade in 2006.Chris Wells Biography – The Ohio State Buckeyes Official Athletics Site – OhioStateBuckeyes.com
/ref> Wells was offered to play at schools such as

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

and

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

, but he always knew he was going to play at

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

, saying "I think I came out of my mom's womb wanting to go to Ohio State."

College career

Beanie's number during his career at Ohio State was #28.

Freshman season

During Wells's freshman year, he shared carries with Antonio Pittman, had a solid freshman year, and was a big part of the 2006 Buckeyes. In his collegiate debut, he had ten carries for 50 rushing yards and a touchdown against

Northern Illinois Northern Illinois is a region generally covering the northern third of the U.S. state of Illinois. The region is by far the most populous of Illinois, with nearly 9.7 million residents as of 2010. Economics Northern Illinois is dominated by ...

. The highlight of his freshman year came in the Ohio State–Michigan game where he broke a 52-yard run for a touchdown that put the Buckeyes ahead of the Wolverines for the rest of the game.

Freshman statistics

Sophomore season

With Antonio Pittman going into the

NFL draft The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...

, Wells became the starting

and started every game in his sophomore year for

. On October 20, Wells had 21 carries for 221 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown in a victory over

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the ...

. On November 17, Wells rushed for 222 yards in the annual rivalry game against

, the second most rushing yards by an Ohio State running back against Michigan. He led the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

in rushing attempts with 274 in the 2007 season.

Sophomore statistics

Junior season

Wells rushed 13 carries for 111 yards and a touchdown in his first game against the

Youngstown State Penguins The Youngstown State Penguins are the athletic teams of Youngstown State University in Youngstown, Ohio. The university is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division I, and the Penguins compete in football as memb ...

on August 30, 2008. He also suffered a foot injury. After missing three games, he returned to the starting lineup September 27, 2008, against

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, where he rushed for 106 yards on 14 carries. He then followed that performance up with a 22 carry, 168 yard effort against Wisconsin, which included a 33-yard touchdown on the game's first possession and a 54-yard run to start the second half. In the November 15 game against

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, Wells leaped over an Illini defender.

Junior statistics

Awards and honors

*2006 ''

Parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety ...

'' All-American *2006 U.S. Army All-American Bowl MVP *2007 All-Big Ten first-team *2007 Rivals.com Second-team All-American * 2008 team MVP

Professional career

Wells was selected in the first round (31st overall) by the

in the 2009 NFL draft. He competed for the starting

job with Tim Hightower. On August 1, 2009, Wells was signed to a five-year contract. Later that day, he was carted off from practice with an ankle injury. In Week 1 of the 2009 season, Wells made his NFL debut with seven carries for 29 yards against the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

in a 20–16 loss. In Week 7, in the second quarter against the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

, Wells ran 13 yards for his first NFL touchdown. In that game, Wells rushed for 67 yards on 14 attempts. In Week 15, Wells had his first career 100-yard game, against 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 ...

, with 17 carries for 110 yards and a touchdown. In the Divisional Round of the playoffs, Wells scored his first postseason touchdown, a four-yard rush against the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

. He ended the season with 176 carries for 793 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns to go along with 12 receptions for 143 receiving yards. In the 2010 season, Wells appeared in 13 games and started two. He finished with 116 carries for 397 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. For the

2011 NFL season The 2011 NFL season was the 92nd regular season of the National Football League (NFL) and the 46th of the Super Bowl era. It began on Thursday, September 8, 2011, with the Super Bowl XLV champion Green Bay Packers defeating the Super Bowl XLI ...

, the Cardinals and coach

Ken Whisenhunt Kenneth Moore Whisenhunt (born February 28, 1962) is an American football coach and former tight end. He played college football at Georgia Tech and was selected in the twelfth round of the 1985 NFL draft by the Atlanta Falcons, with whom he pla ...

placed a heavy emphasis on the ground-attack led by Wells. The decision was mostly influenced by the departure of Tim Hightower to the Washington Redskins, in turn giving the starting back role to Wells. In Week 4 of the 2011 season, Wells rushed 27 times for 138 yards and three touchdowns in the 31–27 loss to the

. On November 27, 2011, in Week 12, Wells set a Cardinals single-game and personal record by rushing for 228 yards against the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1995 through the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, California, where the team had played ...

. Wells' performance eclipsed the team record previously held by LeShon Johnson, who rushed for 214 yards against the

in 1996. Wells finished the 2011 season with his first 1,000 yard season, ending with 1,047 yards on 245 carries (a 4.3 average) and 10 touchdowns. On September 26, 2012, Wells was placed on the injured reserve list due to a severe turf toe injury but received the new "designated to return" tag and was expected to return in practice on November 7. On Sunday, November 25, 2012, Wells made his first appearance back from Injured Reserve for Arizona's game against the

, scoring his first two touchdowns of the season. His relationship with management soured near the end of the season. After gaining three yards on four carries against the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

in the penultimate game of the season, Wells declared that he would be auditioning for the other 31 teams in his last appearance. Coach Whisenhunt held Wells out of the final game. On March 11, 2013, Wells was released by the Arizona Cardinals. On October 9, 2013, Wells tore his Achilles tendon during a workout with the Baltimore Ravens. After the injury, Wells did not sign with another NFL team.

NFL career statistics

Personal life

Wells is one of eleven children. His parents are James and Paulette Wells. The nickname Beanie was given to him by his family at a young age and he has said, "when I was young, my big brother said I was skinny like a bean pole."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wells, Beanie 1988 births Living people American football running backs Arizona Cardinals players Ohio State Buckeyes football players Players of American football from Akron, Ohio 21st-century American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen