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

gridiron football Gridiron football,"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Ret ...

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)#Offen ...

who was most recently a running back coach for the

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. They play their home games at IG Fiel ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL). He was a running back for the

West Virginia Mountaineers football The West Virginia Mountaineers football team represents West Virginia University (also referred to as "WVU" or "West Virginia") in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of college football. West Virginia plays its home games at Milan Puskar ...

team from 1999 to 2002 before entering the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of 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 folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the Canadian F ...

's starting running back in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, in which he finished the season with 1,557 all-purpose yards and was named a

CFL East The East Division is one of the two regional divisions of the Canadian Football League, its counterpart being the West Division. Although the CFL was not founded until 1958, the East Division and its clubs are descended from earlier leagues. T ...

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 In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated '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 particu ...

of the 2009 Grey Cup.

High school years

Cobourne grew up in

Cherry Hill, New Jersey Cherry Hill is a township within Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the township had a population of 74,553, which reflected an increase of 3,508 (+4.94%) from the 71,045 counted in the 2010 census.

and attended Holy Cross High School in

Delran Township, New Jersey Delran Township is a township in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 16,896, reflecting an increase of 1,360 (+8.8%) from the 15,536 counted in the 2000 Census, whic ...

, 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 inju ...

early in his senior season.

College career

Freshman season

Cobourne entered West Virginia right after

Amos Zereoué Amos L. Zereoué (born October 8, 1976) is a former American football player in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for West Virginia. He was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the third round (95th overall) of the ...

, 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 student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

in rushing with 1,139 yards first in the

Big East The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and ...

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

. His best performances of the season though came against

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

, 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. T ...

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

'' 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 Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

, 166 yards against

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

, 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 in the

Music City Bowl The Music City Bowl is a post-season American college football bowl game certified by the NCAA that has been played in Nashville, Tennessee, since 1998. Since 2020, it has been sponsored by TransPerfect and is officially known as the ''TransPerf ...

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 Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic A ...

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

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, followed by a 181-yard performance against

Kent State Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio. The university also includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio and additional facilities in the region and internationally. Regional campuses are located in Ash ...

. He then rushed for 128 yards against

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

; 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 and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 United S ...

, 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 (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...

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 a former American football running back. He played college football for West Virginia University, and earned consensus All-American honors. He was chosen by the Houston Texans in the third round of the 200 ...

, who some fans consider is greater than both Cobourne and Zereoue only as a junior. 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 ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

. 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 is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and M ...

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,

, 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) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

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 League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...

. He recorded 525 yards on 117 carries in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. Cobourne signed with 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 pla ...

for the

2005 NFL season The 2005 NFL season was the 86th regular season of the National Football League. 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 United ...

, 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 Jarrett Walter Payton (born December 26, 1980) is a former American football running back. He is the son of Walter Payton. Payton was previously signed as an undrafted free agent by the NFL Tennessee Titans. Payton also played for the Montreal A ...

, 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 football running back who played ...

. 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 competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

. 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 a daily sports news television show, television program that serves as the flagship program and brand of United States, American cable television, cable and satellite television television network, network ESPN. The show ...

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

ankle The ankle, or 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 join ...

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 (french: Coupe Grey) 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 be ...

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 award, abbreviated '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 particu ...

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 of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...

. 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 Martell Mallett (born May 13, 1986) is a former Canadian football running back. He was signed by the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a street free agent in 2009. He played college football at Arkansas at Pine Bluff. Mallett ha ...

2012 season

After

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

. 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.

Notes

External links

Hamilton Tiger-Cats bio

Official website

Chill-Son
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cobourne, Avon 1979 births Living people People from Cherry Hill, New Jersey Sportspeople from Camden, New Jersey Players of American football from Camden, New Jersey African-American players of Canadian football American football running backs Canadian football running backs Holy Cross Academy (New Jersey) alumni West Virginia Mountaineers football players Detroit Lions players Cologne Centurions (NFL Europe) players Miami Dolphins players Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Montreal Alouettes players Saskatchewan Roughriders coaches Winnipeg Blue Bombers coaches 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople