2011 Football Roster
Ryan Houston
- Position:
- Tailback
- Height:
- 6-2
- Weight:
- 245
- Class:
- Senior
- Hometown:
- Charlotte, N.C.
- High School:
- Butler
A bruising runner who led the team in yards as a junior in 2009 • Returned for his senior season after redshirting in 2010.
2011 - Senior Season
Powerful back who returned from redshirting the 2010 season to produce another solid campaign in Chapel Hill as a fifth-year senior • Rushed 85 times for 325 yards and seven touchdowns • Has scored 25 rushing touchdowns in his career and 12 of those have been from one yard out • His 25 career touchdowns have covered a total of 67 yards • Ranks eighth all-time at Carolina in rushing touchdowns, three shy of Charlie Justice and Amos Lawrence (both had 28) • Rushed five times for 32 yards in the win over Duke • Stepped in for the injured Giovani Bernard against Virginia Tech and carried nine times for 42 yards and a touchdown • Scored on a 1-yard run against Wake Forest • With Bernard ailing, got the start at Clemson, finishing with 63 yards on 12 carries and two touchdowns • The Clemson game marked his seventh career multi-score game • His 12-yard scoring run late in the game was the longest such play of his career • Carried eight times for 23 yards at East Carolina • Scored a pair of short touchdowns against Virginia, a 1-yarder in the second quarter and a 2-yarder in the third quarter • The two touchdowns against UVa marked his first two-score effort since the Boston College game in 2009 • Had 33 yards on six carries and two catches for 34 yards against Rutgers • All 33 rushing yards came on the final drive of the game on a key 3rd-and-13 play in Rutgers territory • Rushed 16 times for 59 yards and a touchdown in the season opener against James Madison • Also added three catches for 36 yards against the Dukes.
2009 - Junior Season
Started the final four games of the season, including the Meineke Car Care Bowl vs. Pitt, after Shaun Draughn was lost for the season to a shoulder injury • Bruising runner rushed for a career-best 713 yards and nine touchdowns on 191 carries on the season • Also caught 11 passes for 82 yards • Carried 24 times for 83 yards, including a long of 15, vs. Pitt in the bowl game • Also had two catches for eight yards • Ran for 58 yards on 17 carries and caught three passes for 20 yards at NC State • Also completed a 42-yard pass to Greg Little • Despite missing much of the second half with a thigh contusion, rushed for 45 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries at Boston College • Scored on a pair of 1-yard runs and went over the 1,000-yard mark for his career against the Eagles • Rushed for 76 yards on 24 carries and added a career-high 26 yards receiving on two catches versus Miami • Posted career highs of 164 yards rushing on 37 carries and added 15 yards receiving on three catches against Duke • The 164 yards were the most by a Tar Heel since Chad Scott went for 175 against Miami in 2004 • The 37 carries were the most for Carolina since 1990 • Ran for 55 yards on the fourth-quarter touchdown drive that sealed the win • Matched a then-career high with 18 carries and ran for a then-season-best 66 yards at Virginia Tech • Carried four times for six yards against Florida State • Ran for a then-season-best 56 yards and a career-high three touchdowns (1, 7 and 1 yards) against Georgia Southern • Became the first Tar Heel to rush for three scores in a game since Ronnie McGill in 2006 against the Eagles • Also recorded first career catch for 13 yards • Rushed for 16 yards on three carries versus Virginia • Ran for 24 yards on six carries at Georgia Tech • Rushed for 41 yards on 12 carries and scored from 1 and 5 yards against East Carolina • Ran for 33 yards on seven carries and helped fuel Carolina's game-tying drive in the fourth quarter at Connecticut • Rushed for 45 yards and two touchdowns on six carries against The Citadel • Scored from 5 and 3 yards against the Bulldogs for second career multi-TD game.
2008 - Sophomore Season
Played in all 13 games • Carried 77 times for 299 yards and a team-best eight rushing touchdowns, the most by a Tar Heel since Chad Scott also ran for eight in 2004 • Needed just eight games to surpass his season rushing total from a year ago • Averaged 3.9 yards per carry • Scored a rushing TD in seven of the last 10 games • Had four carries for four yards vs. West Virginia in the bowl game • Rushed for 25 yards on nine carries at Duke • Ran for 27 yards and a 5-yard score on seven carries against NC State • Rushed for 10 yards on four carries at Maryland • Ran for a career-best 74 yards on just 13 carries and posted first career multi-TD game in the victory over No. 20 Georgia Tech • Named one of the Tar Heels' offensive players of the week for his performance against the Jackets • Rushed for 22 yards and a 1-yard TD on seven carries versus No. 23 Boston College • Ran 11 times for 32 yards and a 1-yard TD at Virginia • Ran for 28 yards and a touchdown on eight carries against Notre Dame • Scored on a 2-yard run versus the Irish • Rushed for a season-best 39 yards and a score against No. 23 Connecticut • Scored the Tar Heels first TD on a 1-yard run against the Huskies and also added a career-best 35-yard run • Ran for 18 yards on five carries and scored a two-yard touchdown, the second of his career, at Miami • Rushed for 18 yards on five carries at Rutgers • Carried one time for two yards against McNeese State.
2007 - Freshman Season
One of 11 true freshmen to play • Saw action in seven games • Bruising back finished fourth on team with 145 rushing yards on 44 carries • Carried once at NC State • Had one carry for one yard vs. Maryland • Rushed for 17 yards on four carries at Wake Forest • Ran for 18 yards on just five carries against South Carolina • Rushed for 13 yards vs. Miami • Ran for 54 yards on 18 carries at Virginia Tech • Saw first career action at USF and rushed for a team-best 43 yards on 11 carries in the second half • Scored first career TD against the Bulls on a 5-yard run.
Butler High School
SuperPrep All-America • Ranked the No. 7 player in North Carolina and the No. 21 running back in the country by Rivals • Considered the No. 9 player in North Carolina by SuperPrep • Ranked the No. 20 running back in the country by Scout.com • Member of Tom Lemming's All-America team • Member of the Rivals250 all-star team • Member of North Carolina's Shrine Bowl team • Named to the East-Meets-West National All-Star Game • Rushed 377 times as a senior for 2,219 yards and 32 touchdowns • Became the all-time leading rusher and touchdown maker in Mecklenburg County, which includes the city of Charlotte • As a junior, rushed for 1,910 yards and 34 touchdowns as Butler went 10-3 • Earned all-area honors as a junior and senior • Averaged more than seven yards per carry in his career • Coached by Mike Newsome • Averaged 17 points and 11 rebounds as a forward on the basketball team.
Personal
Son of Kim Singleton and Anthony Houston • Born July 23, 1989 • Afro American studies major • If he could invite three people to dinner, dead or alive, he would choose Brandon Jacobs, Beyonce and Jesus • Would most like to appear on the reality TV show "Survivor" • Has 24 tattoos • Favorite cartoon character is Spongebob Squarepants • People say he looks like NBA star Carmelo Anthony • Wants to be a teacher if he does not play professional football • If he owned a racehorse, he would call it "Champion."
Rushing Receiving Year Att Yards Avg. TD LP Rec. Yards Avg. TD LP 2007 44 145 3.3 1 10 - - - - - 2008 77 299 3.9 8 35 - - - - - 2009 191 713 3.7 9 20 11 82 7.5 0 19 2010 - DNP - Redshirt 2011 85 325 3.8 7 33 5 60 12.0 0 20 Totals 397 1,482 3.7 25 35 16 142 8.9 0 20
Career Highs: 164 yards vs. Duke (2009); 37 carries vs. Duke (2009); 36 yards receiving vs. James Madison (2011); 3 receptions vs. Duke (2009), vs. James Madison (2011)
