Steve Slaton (born January 4, 1986) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the West Virginia Mountaineers, earning unanimous All-American honors in 2006. He was chosen by the Houston Texans in the third round of the 2008 NFL draft. Slaton also played for the NFL's Miami Dolphins and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2025.
Early life Slaton was born in Yardley, Pennsylvania. He was one of six children of Carl Slaton and Juanita Tiggett-Slaton. Until first grade, congestion in his ears rendered Slaton completely deaf at times. In fifth grade, his sister died of leukemia.
Slaton attended Immaculate Conception Elementary School, from kindergarten until eighth grade. During his attendance he was part of the track team.
Playing for Conwell–Egan Catholic High School in Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania, Slaton made the varsity football team as a freshman. He was named captain as a senior, was the most valuable player of the Philadelphia Catholic League, and was a four-year all-conference selection. As a senior, he rushed for 1,836 yards and 26 touchdowns. He was a first team all-state as a junior and senior. He rushed for more than 6,000 career yards and 73 touchdowns, setting five school records. Slaton was invited to, but did not participate in, the annual Big 33 Football Classic.
Slaton was also a track star in high school. He participated in various sprint events, and at one point recorded the sixth-best long jump across all high schools in the United States in 2004.
Slaton received offers to go to college from North Carolina, Maryland and Rutgers, but chose West Virginia, but mainly as a defensive back.SportingNews.com - Your expert source for NCAA Football stats, scores, standings, and blogs from NCAA Football columnists Couldn't Be Prouder | Philadelphia Daily News | 08/24/2007 Slaton had originally chosen Maryland for his college, but they ended up passing a scholarship on him, instead going with Morgan Green.
College career Slaton enrolled at West Virginia University, where he played for coach Rich Rodriguez's West Virginia Mountaineer football team from 2005 to 2007.
2005 season Slaton began his true freshman year as the fourth string running back. He saw his first action in the second game of the season, versus Wofford. After not getting any carries the next two games, he led the team with 90 yards rushing on eleven carries against #3 Virginia Tech. Slaton got his first ever start of his career in the next win against Rutgers, rushing for 139 yards and a touchdown.
Slaton had one of the most memorable games in WVU football history in the next game versus Louisville. After trailing 17–0 at Halftime, Slaton and the Mountaineers rallied from a 24-7 4th Quarter deficit to win the game 46–44 in triple overtime. After making an onside kick that led to the tying score, the Mountaineers headed into overtime with the Cardinals. Slaton finished the game with 188 yards on 31 carries and five rushing touchdowns. Slaton also had his first receiving touchdown of the season. His six touchdowns are a WVU and Big East record. He was named the Walter Camp, USA Today, and Rivals.com national player of the week and was also named the Big East player of the week. Slaton added 71 yards on 17 carries in a nationally televised Big East game with Connecticut, but Slaton left the game early after an injury to his wrist.
Slaton had another 100-yard performance, against Cincinnati, gaining 129 yards on 25 carries and scoring four touchdowns. Slaton scored three more touchdowns (two rushing, one receiving) in the next game, against Pitt. Slaton had 179 yards rushing on 34 carries as West Virginia beat Pitt, 45–13. In the final Big East game of the season, Slaton had 86 yards on 28 carries and one touchdown against the South Florida Bulls. West Virginia finished the regular season 10–1 and 7–0 in the Big East, earning the school a bid in the Nokia Sugar Bowl, while Slaton finished the season with 1,128 yards on 205 attempts with 17 touchdowns.
WVU defeated the University of Georgia Bulldogs in the 2005 Nokia Sugar Bowl on January 2, 2006. Slaton was named the Sugar Bowl MVP, gaining a new Sugar Bowl record of 204 yards on 26 carries and scoring three touchdowns. His game was highlighted by a pair of 52-yard touchdown runs. Slaton's 204 yards were not only a Sugar Bowl record, but the second most rushing yards ever in a BCS game. In a May 19, 2008, ranking, ESPN ranked Slaton's performance in the 2006 Sugar Bowl as the #5 best ever in a BCS bowl game.
2006 season
Slaton recorded his second straight 200-yard performance by putting up 203 yards on 33 carries and two touchdowns against instate rival Marshall in the first game of his sophomore season. Playing only the first two series of the Eastern Washington game, Slaton was still able to get 105 yards on only eight carries and scoring two touchdowns. Slaton performed in front of a national audience while gaining 149 yards in the first quarter alone against Maryland, finishing the game with 195 yards on 21 carries and adding another two touchdowns. Slaton helped the highly ranked Mountaineers to their fourth win of the season by gaining 80 yards on 24 carries against East Carolina.
Slaton finished with 185 yards on 26 carries and scored his seventh touchdown of the season, against Mississippi State, as the Mountaineers moved to 5–0 on the season. In the first Big East game of the season, against the Syracuse Orangemen, Slaton carried the ball 20 times for 163 yards, including a 52-yard touchdown run. On a Friday night game in front of a national audience against the Connecticut Huskies, Slaton carried the ball nineteen times for 128 yards, including a career-high 56-yard touchdown run.
Slaton finished with 156 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries in a 44–34 loss to Louisville. Slaton had two costly fumbles on consecutive snaps to start the third quarter. Slaton sat out the rest of the third because he was unable to grip the ball after taking a helmet to his elbow. In the ninth game of the season, Slaton exploded for runs of 65 and 63 yards to help WVU bounce back and beat Cincinnati 42–24, finishing with 148 yards and two touchdowns on just 12 carries. In the 99th meeting of the Backyard Brawl against Pitt, Slaton became the first Mountaineer to ever have more than 100 yards rushing (215) and 100 yards receiving (130) in the same game, also having two rushing and two receiving touchdowns. The 215 yard performance, which was a career-high, came on 23 carries and his 130 yards receiving. In the final regular season game, in front of a national audience, Slaton helped lead the Mountaineers to a 41-39 triple overtime victory against Rutgers. Slaton gained 112 yards on 23 carries and scored two touchdowns, including one in overtime.
Slaton finished the season with 1,744 yards on 248 carries with 16 touchdowns, despite a wrist injury all season. Slaton's 1,744 yards ranked third in the nation, while his average yards per run was ninth and his touchdown total was tied for eighth. His yardage was a West Virginia rushing record for a season, breaking Avon Cobourne's record of 1,710 yards, and was 22nd in West Virginia's record book for most total offense in a season. Slaton's 360 receiving yards are the second most in a season by a running back in school history as well, behind legendary fullback Jim Braxton's 565 yards, while his 27 receptions were tied for third most by a back in a season. Slaton's 2,104 yards from scrimmage is a West Virginia season record as well. In the season, Slaton and quarterback Pat White combined for 2,963 yards and 34 rushing touchdowns. They also combined for 4,978 total yards and 49 total touchdowns together on the season, the second-best output between the two in their three-year career together.
2007 season In the first game of the season against Western Michigan, Slaton struggled rushing early as the Broncos keyed in on him, but ended with 109 rushing yards and three touchdowns and 61 receiving yards on two receptions and a touchdown as the Mountaineers won 62–24. In the second week of the season, Slaton had 146 yards on 24 carries and touchdown runs of one yard and 18 yards while the Mountaineers beat Marshall 48–23 in front of the largest crowd ever at Joan C. Edwards Stadium, in Huntington, West Virginia. In this game, Slaton became the third Mountaineer to surpass 3,000 rushing yards in his career.
In the third game of the season against Maryland, Slaton and the Mountaineers beat the Terps 31–14. Slaton finished the game with 26 carries for 137 yards and three touchdowns, including Slaton's longest run which was a 22-yard touchdown. Slaton earned the Wrangler Player of the Game honors presented by ESPN. In the following game against ECU, Slaton tied the school record scoring his 42nd rushing touchdown of his career and finished the game with 18 carries for 110 yards and a touchdown along with three receptions for 42 yards as the Mountaineers won 48–7. In the fifth game of the season, Slaton, for the third year in a row, was held under 100 yards rushing by South Florida—finishing the game with just 55 yards on 13 carries as WVU suffered their first loss of the season. Against Syracuse, Slaton had 69 yards on 15 carries and 51 yards on four receptions in the 55–14 win. The following game against Mississippi State, which was homecoming for the Mountaineers, Slaton rushed for 127 yards on 23 carries for one touchdown in the 38–13 win. Slaton's touchdown put him in the record books as the school's all-time leading scorer on the ground, passing Ira Rodgers and Avon Cobourne with 43 rushing touchdowns.
At #25 Rutgers, Slaton had 16 carries for 73 yards and three touchdowns but also had a reception for 51 yards on a screen pass. Against Louisville, Slaton had 17 carries for 60 yards but a touchdown in the 38–31 win. At that point, Slaton had been held under 100 yards rushing for four of the previous five games. The next week however, in the 28–23 win against #22 Cincinnati, Slaton earned the gameball from ESPN after rushing 23 times for 108 yards and a touchdown, also while catching three passes for a team-high 48 yards. Slaton's rushing touchdown set a school record for most career points scored by non-kickers with 318 points in his career and his 151 all-purpose yards placed him second on the career school list with 4,690 yards.
Slaton and the Mountaineers clinched the 2007 Big East Championship with a 66–21 win over #20 Connecticut. Slaton had a sub-par performance, rushing for 54 yards and two touchdowns on ten carries and grabbing two receptions for 11 yards. However, he surpassed 1,000 yards on the season on a 31-yard touchdown run for the third straight year; and by him surpassing 1,000 yards on the season, Slaton and Patrick White both surpassed 1,000 yards rushing for the second consecutive season, a feat that made them only the third pair in FBS history to ever do so. The next week however, the #2 Mountaineers fell to 5–7 Pitt in the Backyard Brawl 13–9 to end their National Championship hopes. In the loss, Slaton only carried the ball nine times for eleven yards. Slaton was named to second-team all-Big East and was also awarded the team's Coaches Contribution Award by former head coach Rich Rodriguez.