Beanie Wells

This article is about the football player. For the ice hockey player, see Chris Wells (ice hockey).

Chris Wells

Obi Ezeh attempts shoestring tackle on Wells during 2008 Michigan – Ohio State rivalry game.
No. 26     Arizona Cardinals
Running Back
Personal information
Date of birth: August 7, 1988 (1988-08-07) (age 23)
Place of birth: Akron, Ohio
Height: 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	Weight: 235 lb (107 kg)
Career information
College: Ohio State
NFL Draft: 2009 / Round: 1 / Pick: 31
Debuted in 2009 for the Arizona Cardinals
Career history
Arizona Cardinals (2009–present)
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
2006 Parade All-American 2006 U.S. Army All-American Bowl MVP 2007 All-Big Ten first team 2007 Rivals.com Second team All-American
Career NFL statistics as of Week 1, 2011
Rushing Yards	1,280
Rushing Average	4.1
Rushing TDs	10
Stats at NFL.com

Chris "Beanie" Michael Wells (born August 7, 1988 in Akron, Ohio) is an American football running back for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League. He was selected in the first round (31st overall pick) of the 2009 NFL Draft out of The Ohio State University.

High school career

Wells was a highly touted player out of high school, where he played at Akron Garfield High School. 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. Wells played at Akron Garfield High from 2002 to 2005, graduating early in December. He was listed as the top running back and All-American by Parade in 2006.^[1]. His cousin, Justin Wells, is a return specialist and running back for the Crofton Cardinals in Maryland. He had 5 kick returns for touchdowns last year and 3 punt returns for touchdowns.

Year	Attempts	Yards	Average	TD
Freshman	43	573	13.6	7
Sophomore	90	900	10.0	15
Junior	212	1,939	9.1	20
Senior	223	2,134	9.6	27

College recruiting

Wells was offered to play at schools such as Michigan and USC, but Wells always knew he was going to play at Ohio State, saying "I think I came out of my mom’s womb wanting to go to Ohio State."^[2]

College career

Wells' arrival at Ohio State had been one of the most anticipated running back recruits to come to Ohio State. Beanie lived up to the hype on his first play of his first practice where he bowled over a tackler on a nine-yard rush.

Beanie's number during his career at Ohio State was 28. ^[3]

Freshman year

During Wells' freshman year, he shared carries with Antonio Pittman but still had a solid freshman year, and was a big part of the 2006 Buckeyes. The highlight of his freshman year came in the Ohio State-Michigan game where he broke a 52 yard run for a TD that put the Buckeyes up for the rest of the game.

Wells' Freshman Stats

Stat	Number	Yards	Average	TD
Rushing	104	576	5.5	7
Receiving	2	16	8.0	0

Sophomore year

With Antonio Pittman going into the NFL Draft, Wells became the starting running back and started every game in his sophomore year for Ohio State. He was followed by Junior Maurice Wells in the depth chart. Wells rushed for 222 yards in the annual rivalry game against Michigan, more than any other Ohio State running back against Michigan.

His stats for this season are as follows

Stat	Number	Yards	Average	TD
Rushing	274	1609	5.9	15
Receiving	5	21	4.2	0

Junior year

Wells rushed 13 carries for 111 yards and a touchdown in his first game against the Youngstown State Penguins on August 30, 2008. He also suffered a foot injury.^[4] After missing three games, he returned to the starting lineup September 27, 2008 against Minnesota, where he rushed for 105 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, Wells leaped over an Illini defender, images of which were re-broadcast widely. He entered the NFL Draft, and was drafted 31st overall by the Arizona Cardinals.

Stat	Number	Yards	Average	TD
Rushing	207	1197	5.8	8
Receiving	7	26	3.7	0

Awards and honors

• 2006 Parade All-American^[5]
• 2006 U.S. Army All-American Bowl MVP^[6]
• 2007 All-Big Ten first team^[7]
• 2007 Rivals.com Second team All-American^[8]
• 2008 team MVP^[9]
• 31st overall pick by the Arizona Cardinals in the 2009 NFL draft.

Professional career

2009 NFL Draft

Pre-draft measureables

Ht	Wt	40-yd dash	10-yd split	20-yd split	20-ss	3-cone	Vert	Broad	BP
6 ft 1 in	238 lb	4.62 s					33½ in		25 rep
All values from NFL Combine[10]

Arizona Cardinals

Wells and teammates during 2010 preseason camp.

Wells was drafted 31st overall by the Arizona Cardinals in the 2009 NFL Draft. He competed for the starting running back job with Tim Hightower.

On August 1, 2009, Wells was signed to a 5 year contract. Later that same day, he was carted off from practice with an ankle injury.

On August 28, 2009, Wells made his professional debut with the Arizona Cardinals in a preseason game against the Green Bay Packers. He ended the night with 7 carries for a total of 46 yards and 2 touchdowns, including a 20-yard score in the second quarter.

On October 25, 2009, in the second quarter against the New York Giants, Wells ran 13 yards for his first NFL touchdown. In that game vs New York, Wells ran for 67 yards on 14 attempts.

On December 20, 2009, Wells ran for his first career 100-yard game against the Detroit Lions. In that game, he had 17 carries for 110 yards and a touchdown.

On January 16, 2010, Wells scored his first postseason touchdown, a 4-yard rush against the New Orleans Saints. He ended the season with 793 yards rushing second best among rookies second to Knowshon Moreno. He also caught 12 passes for an 11.9 average.

For the upcoming 2011-2012 NFL season the Arizona Cardinals and coach Ken Whisenhunt are placing a heavy emphasis on the ground-attack led by Beanie "Monster-Mash" Wells. Beanie has looked crisp and powerful all pre-season and is primed to join the ranks of elite running-back's in the NFL. Early projections have him in the top-5 in rushing touchdowns by years end. The moniker "Monster-Mash" was first coined by local Akron suburb sports writer Rowley MaCastro. The ground-swell of support from this community as well as the entire state of Ohio being as Wells was an Ohio State alum, will only help propel this young star to rise like a phoenix out of the desert and into Pro Bowl status.

Personal

He was born August 7, 1988 in Akron, Ohio and is one of eleven children. His parents are James and Paulette Wells.

Nickname

The nickname Beanie was given to him by his family at a young age and he is quoted as saying, "I got the nickname because when I was young, my big brother said I was skinny like a bean pole."

References

1. ^ Chris Wells Biography – The Ohio State Buckeyes Official Athletics Site – OhioStateBuckeyes.com^{[dead link]}
2. ^ Chris Wells Interviews & Quotes. Chrisbeaniewells.com. Retrieved on 2011-11-01.
3. ^ What number did chris wells wear in college – kgb answers. Kgbanswers.com (2009-08-19). Retrieved on 2011-11-01.
4. ^ sports.espn.com. Sports.espn.go.com (2008-08-30). Retrieved on 2011-11-01.
5. ^ Michael O'Shea Parade All-America Teams. all-americans.parade.com 2006
6. ^ Football Bowl Games: U.S. Army All-American Bowl. Football-bowl.com. Retrieved on 2011-11-01.
7. ^ Big Ten Announces 2007 Football All-Conference Teams and Individual Honors – BIG TEN CONFERENCE Official Athletic Site. Bigten.cstv.com (2007-11-19). Retrieved on 2011-11-01.
8. ^ Rivals.com College Football – Rivals.com All-America Second Team. Collegefootball.rivals.com. Retrieved on 2011-11-01.
9. ^ BuckeyeGrove.com – Jenkins fulfills dream, wins Thorpe Award. Ohiostate.rivals.com (2008-12-11). Retrieved on 2011-11-01.
10. ^ *Chris Wells | Ohio State, RB : 2009 NFL Draft Scout Player Profile. Nfldraftscout.com (2006-09-21). Retrieved on 2011-11-01.

External links

• Arizona Cardinals bio
• Ohio State Buckeyes bio
• ESPN stats profile
• Chris Wells on Twitter

Awards and achievements
Preceded by DeSean Jackson	U.S. Army All-American Bowl MVP 2006	Succeeded by Chris Galippo
Sporting positions
Preceded by Antonio Pittman	Ohio State Buckeyes Starting Tailbacks 2007–2008	Succeeded by Daniel Herron