Jerome Bettis

Jerome Abram Bettis Sr. (born February 16, 1972) is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Bettis was born February 16, 1972, in Detroit, Michigan.

He is the oldest of three children of Gladys Elizabeth (née Bougard) and Johnnie E. Bettis.

Bettis did not start playing football until high school, as his primary passion as a youth had been bowling.

At age 14, he was diagnosed with asthma.

As a youth in Detroit, Bettis and his brother made ends meet by selling crack cocaine.

He attended Mackenzie High School in Detroit, where he was a standout running back and linebacker.

As a senior, he was rated the top player in the state by the Detroit Free Press, and was the Gatorade Circle of Champions Player of the Year award winner.

Bettis enrolled at the University of Notre Dame to play college football for the Fighting Irish.

Bettis finished his career with 337 rushing attempts for 1,912 yards (5.7 yards per attempt), and made 32 receptions for 429 yards (13.4 yards per reception).

In his sophomore year, he set the Notre Dame touchdown record with 20 in one season, with 16 rushing, and 4 receiving (23 total touchdowns including the 1992 Sugar Bowl, a record which still stands).

Nicknamed "the Bus" due to his large size and forceful running style, he played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and was selected 10th overall by the Los Angeles Rams in the 1993 NFL draft.

Bettis was a member of the Rams for three seasons before being traded to the Steelers, where he spent the remainder of his career.

A six-time Pro Bowl and two-time first-team All-Pro selection, he is regarded as one of the greatest power runners of all time and ranks eighth in NFL rushing yards.

In his last game as a junior, a 28-3 win by Notre Dame over Texas A&M in the 1993 Cotton Bowl, he rushed 20 times for 75 yards, ran for two touchdowns and caught a 26-yard touchdown pass.

Following this Bettis decided to forgo his senior year and enter the 1993 NFL draft.

The Los Angeles Rams selected Bettis in the first round, with the tenth overall selection, of the 1993 NFL draft.

On July 22, 1993, He signed a three-year, $4.625 million contract with a signing bonus in excess of $2 million.

As a rookie, he flourished under Chuck Knox's ground-oriented offense.

He quickly earned the nickname "The Battering Ram" as he rushed for 1,429 yards (second in the NFL), drawing comparisons to Earl Campbell.

Bettis also had an NFL-best 79 rushing first downs and an NFL-best 38 runs of 10 or more yards, and tied for the league lead with seven 100-yard rushing games despite not becoming the full-time starter until the sixth game of the season.

Bettis was named a First-team All-Pro (the only rookie named to the team) and Consensus NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.

He rushed for over 1,000 yards and was selected for the NFC's Pro Bowl team in each of his first two seasons with the Rams.

New coach Rich Brooks instituted a more pass-oriented offense, a major reason why Bettis was limited to 637 yards, a significant dropoff from his 1993 and 1994 totals.

The Steelers were in need of a running back because Bam Morris, their power running back for the 1994 and 1995 seasons, was arrested in March 1996 for marijuana possession.

The Rams moved to St. Louis for the 1995 season.

He returned to Notre Dame in 1996 when he was having a dispute with the St. Louis Rams and was considering retirement.

He registered for courses in "history, philosophy, marketing and business" totaling an 18 credit class load.

He returned to the NFL shortly thereafter.

Bettis later returned to Notre Dame to complete his college degree, and on May 15, 2022, he graduated with a business degree.

Brooks asked Bettis whether he wanted to move to fullback for the upcoming 1996 season or preferred to be traded.

He opted to be dealt.

The Rams gave Bettis the option of which team he wanted to be traded to, and he chose the Steelers over their AFC Central rival Houston Oilers (who would draft Eddie George that year instead) due to the Steelers' more storied history.

In what would become one of the more lopsided trades in NFL history, on draft day (April 20, 1996) Bettis was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers with a third-round pick in the 1996 NFL draft in exchange for the Steelers' second-round pick and their fourth-round pick in the 1997 NFL draft.

The Steelers drafted Steve Conley with the Rams’ third round selection.

Morris eventually pleaded guilty to marijuana possession and was cut by the team in June 1996, leaving Bettis as the featured back.

With their second round pick in the 1996 draft the Rams took Ernie Conwell In 1997 the Rams traded their fourth-round pick from the Steelers to the Dolphins and two sixth-round picks in order to move up nine slots and take offensive tackle Ryan Tucker.

Conley was traded to the Colts two seasons later for a fifth-round pick.

He retired in 2006 after helping the Steelers win a Super Bowl title in Super Bowl XL, the franchise's first in over two decades.

Bettis was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015.