Kory Gerren Sheets (born March 31, 1985) 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 ...

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 ...

. 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 ...

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donat ...

and he was signed by 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 ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in 2009. Sheets was also a member of 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 ...

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

and

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

of the NFL and the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 19 ...

of the

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 ...

Early life

Sheets played for Bloomfield High School, leading the team to a

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

State Championship as an all-purpose back. In his senior year, he had 2,588 rushing yards and 41 touchdowns in being named the state Player of the Year by ''

The Hartford Courant The ''Hartford Courant'' is the largest daily newspaper in the U.S. state of Connecticut, and is advertised as the oldest continuously published newspaper in the United States. A morning newspaper serving most of the state north of New Haven an ...

'' as well as an all-conference selection. Sheets was also named to the 2003 Connecticut High School Football All-State team by the ''

New Haven Register The ''New Haven Register'' is a daily newspaper published in New Haven, Connecticut. It is owned by Hearst Communications. The Register's main office is located at 100 Gando Drive in New Haven. The ''Register'' was established about 1812 and i ...

''. Sheets also earned All-State and

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honors in

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

, while coming out of high school as the No. 23 all-purpose back in the country by Rivals.com.

College career

Sheets attended Purdue University, where he played for head coach, Joe Tiller. He majored in Organizational Leadership and Supervision; he had a stellar career for the Boilermakers, as he started for three seasons (2006–2008), was selected Honorable Mention All-Big Ten (2008) and was named to the Senior Bowl squad following his senior season (2008). For his career, he ranks #1 in Touchdowns (54), #1 in rushing TDs (48), ahead of NFL greats like Mike Alstott, Mike Pruitt, Otis Armstrong and Leroy Keyes; # 2 in scoring (324 points) behind Travis Dorsch. He is the Boilermakers’ #2 career rushing leaders (3,341 yards) behind Mike Alstott and #2 in rushing attempts (664) behind Otis Armstrong. Sheets is also the #2 Boilermakers in career ‘"All-Purpose Yardage"’ behind Dorien Bryant. He ran for 100 or more yards 9 times in his career, good for a tie at #4 on the school record charts. He twice scored 4 touchdowns in a game; once vs. Michigan in 2008 and against Miami (OH) in 2006. He led the Boilermakers in touchdowns each season of his career and led them in scoring for three seasons. The Boilermakers had a cumulative record of 25–25 // 13-19 Big Ten; with a win in the 2007 Motor City Bowl and an appearance in the 2006 Champs Sports Bowl.

Statistics

Professional career

San Francisco 49ers

After being

undrafted In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in the 2009 NFL draft, Sheets was signed by the

as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

. He did not make the 49ers' final roster out of training camp however he was re-signed to their practice squad after final cuts.

Miami Dolphins

Sheets was signed off the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

by the

on October 13, 2009. With the Dolphins, Sheets had 1 rush for 5 yards. He was placed on injured reserve on August 4, 2010, due to an injury during a training camp practice. He suffered a right Achilles injury, effectively ending his season. On August 23, 2011, he was waived by the Dolphins.

Carolina Panthers

On November 30, 2011, Sheets was signed to the

' practice squad.

Saskatchewan Roughriders

The

of the

signed Sheets on February 10, 2012. In his first regular season game with the Roughriders, Sheets rushed for 80 yards on 12 carries (6.7 yards per carry average) and scored a touchdown. Sheets' play in pre-season helped earn him the starting job at running back for the Roughriders, which came as a surprise to many, as Brandon West was expected to start. Sheets scored his first touchdown on June 29, 2012, in the season opener against 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 ...

in a Saskatchewan win. His play helped the Riders to an early 3–0 start, with a touchdown in every game. Sheets became the second rusher in the CFL to reach 1,000 yards in the 2012 season after Jon Cornish. On October 8, 2012, Sheets ran over the 1,000 yard mark after a 48-yard touchdown run at

Rogers Centre Rogers Centre (originally SkyDome) is a retractable roof stadium in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated at the base of the CN Tower near the northern shore of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989 on the former Railway Lands, it is home to t ...

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 ...

. Sheets finished the 2012 CFL season second in the league in rushing yards behind Jon Cornish. Kory Sheets started the

2013 CFL season The 2013 CFL season was the 60th season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it was the 56th season of the Canadian Football League. The pre-season began on June 12, 2013 and the regular season began on June 27, 2013. Regina, Saskatch ...

with his career's best performance, rushing for 131 yards. He then beat his career best the following week, July 5, 2013, amassing 133 yards on the ground. The very next week he beat his career best again posting 178 rushing yards, helping the Riders to a 3–0 start to the season. Sheets owns the record of "Most Rushing Yards In The First Three Games Of A Season", being the first player in CFL history to have 442 rushing yards in the first three games of a season, earning "Offensive Player of The Week" in the CFL for Week 3. He ran for 130 yards in Week 4 and 140 yards in game 5, extending his consecutive games with 100 yards to 5 (142.5 average per-game). As result he now has the record for both "Most Rushing Yards In The First Four Games Of A Season" and "Most Rushing Yards In The First Five Games Of A Season". In Week 6, Sheets ran 133 yards against the Stampeders, going six consecutive games with 100+ yards rushing. Sheets' 6 game 100 yard rushing streak came to an end on August 17, 2013 (Week 8); rushing for 73 yards. However, the next week, on August 24 against the Edmonton Eskimos, Sheets ran for 139 yards and 2 touchdowns and was named Offensive Player of The Week. Following the Roughriders game on October 19, Sheets was named the Offensive Player of the Week for Week 17. He rushed for 148 yards with 25 carries and one touchdown in the 35–14 win over the BC Lions. This game was the ninth 100-yard rushing game by Sheets that season, tying him with George Reed for the Saskatchewan franchise record. Kory Sheets finished the season with 1,598 rushing yards, 215 yards behind Jon Cornish who led the league with 1813 rushing yards. On November 24, 2013, in the 101st Grey Cup, Sheets established a CFL record for most yards rushing in a Grey Cup game, carrying 20 times for a total of 197 yards and two touchdowns, winning the game's

most valuable player 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 ...

award in the process. His Grey Cup record eclipsed that of Johnny Bright, who ran for 169 yards in 1956.

Oakland Raiders

On February 12, 2014, Sheets signed with the

, returning to 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 ...

. The Raiders waived Sheets on August 26, 2014. Sheets had a workout with the

Ottawa Redblacks The Ottawa Redblacks (officially stylized as REDBLACKS) (Canadian French, French: ) are a professional Canadian football team based in Ottawa, Ontario. The team plays in the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL ...

of the

in late February 2016.

CFL statistics

References

External links

Official Website
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheets, Kory 1985 births Living people American football running backs Canadian football running backs Carolina Panthers players Miami Dolphins players Oakland Raiders players Purdue Boilermakers football players San Francisco 49ers players Saskatchewan Roughriders players Sportspeople from Manchester, Connecticut Players of American football from Hartford County, Connecticut Bloomfield High School (Connecticut) alumni 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen Players of Canadian football from Connecticut