Ryan Devon Torain (born August 10, 1986) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

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 handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. The ...

. He was drafted by the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...

in the fifth round of the

2008 NFL Draft The 2008 NFL Draft was the 73rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 26 and April 27 ...

. He played college football at

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in t ...

. He has also played for the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) ...

and

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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...

Early years

Ryan lived in Topeka, KS, attended Whitson Elementary School, French Middle School, and Topeka West High school. He resided in the Montara Neighborhood before moving to Shawnee, KS during his high school years. Torain attended Shawnee Mission Northwest High School in

Shawnee, Kansas Shawnee is a city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States. It is the seventh most populous municipality in the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 67,311. History Territory of Kansas Before ...

. He was a letterman in football,

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

, and

track & field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

. Ryan graduated in 2004 when he was a first team All-League selection and an All-State Class 6A selection in football.

College career

Ryan Torain attended Arizona State after graduating from Butler County Community College. He earned second-team All-Pac-10 honors as a junior and was one of the Pac-10's elite backs until his senior season was cut short midway through 2007. Torain ran for 1,229 yards in 2006, becoming ASU's first 1,000-yard runner since Delvon Flowers in 2001 and running for the eighth-most single-season yards in ASU history. Compiling the most yards since Sun Devil great Freddie Williams' total on ASU's legendary, undefeated 1975 squad. Ryan totaled the fourth-most rushing yards by a player in his debut season in the history of the Pac-10 Conference. He ranked 13th in the Nation and second in the Pac-10 Conference among returning backs in total rushing yards. He also led the team with 10 total touchdowns as a junior. An excellent receiving threat, Torain was ASU's second-leading returning receiver for 2007 and led all returning Pac-10 tailbacks in yards-per-catch average (11.4) and touchdown receptions (3). Ryan ran for over 100 yards in seven games and 70 or more yards in 12 of 19 contests. He rushed for career-highs of 191 yards on 24 carries at California on Sept. 23, 2006. Torain was listed by ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. as the No. 2 senior

in the nation for 2007. He appeared in 19 games with 14 starts carrying 323 times for 1,782 yards (5.5 avg.). He caught 25 passes for 305 yards (12.2 avg.) with five touchdowns and 12 rushing touchdowns. He averaged 93.8 rushing yards-per-game for his career.

Professional career

Denver Broncos

The Broncos selected Torain in the fifth round (148th overall) of the

. He fractured his elbow in early August and missed three months of the season. Torain made his NFL debut in a game against the

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

, earning only one yard on three carries in a loss.Torain to start against Browns
''

Denver Post ''The Denver Post'' is a daily newspaper and website published in Denver, Colorado. As of June 2022, it has an average print circulation of 57,265. In 2016, its website received roughly six million monthly unique visitors generating more than 13 ...

'', November 5, 2008. Retrieved on December 1, 2008. He started his first NFL game on November 6, 2008, against the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

. After rushing for 68 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries, Torain hurt his knee as he was being tackled in the second quarter. He suffered a torn

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are also called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation ...

(ACL) and was placed on a season-ending

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

.Broncos rookie RB Torain out for season with torn ACL
ESPN, November 8, 2008. Retrieved on December 1, 2008. He became the third running back to be out for the season for the Broncos, joining Michael Pittman, and

Andre Hall Andre Hall (born August 20, 1982) is a former American football running back. He was signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent in 2006. He played college football at South Florida, where he was the school's all-time leadin ...

. Torain was waived by the Broncos on August 12, 2009, and subsequently reverted to

. He was released with an injury settlement on August 16.

Washington Redskins

On April 19, 2010, Torain was signed by the

, whose head coach, Mike Shanahan, as then-head coach of the

, had drafted Torain in 2008. On September 4, 2010, Torain was released by the Redskins, but was re-signed to the practice squad on September 24, 2010, and was elevated to the 53-man team roster as Brandon Banks was released. In his first game back he had 7 carries for 46 yards with a 6.6 yard average. Ryan was designated to replace

Clinton Portis Clinton Earl Portis (born September 1, 1981) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons. He played college football for the Miami Hurricanes. He was drafte ...

as the principal running back. Portis suffered a groin pull during the Redskins' Week 4 victory at Philadelphia. After a 70-yard, 1-touchdown performance against the Eagles, Torain served as the Redskins' primary running back for the next five weeks. He had a 100-yard game and two touchdowns against the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 20 ...

, then a career-high 125 yards 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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine ...

. Torain suffered a hamstring injury the next week in a 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) North Division. The team play their home games at For ...

. He returned after his injury and rushed for 172 yards in a loss to the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

. He was waived on December 27, 2011.

New York Giants

On November 27, 2012, the

signed Torain after their second string running back, Andre Brown, was placed on injured reserve with a broken fibula. Torain re-signed with the Giants on the first day of free agency for the 2013 season on March 12, 2013. He was waived by the Giants on August 31.

References

External links

*
Washington Redskins bio

Butler County Community College bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Torain, Ryan 1986 births Living people Sportspeople from Topeka, Kansas Players of American football from Kansas American football running backs Butler Grizzlies football players Arizona State Sun Devils football players Denver Broncos players Washington Redskins players New York Giants players People from Shawnee, Kansas