David Montgomery (American football)

David Montgomery (born June 7, 1997) is an American football running back for the Chicago Bears. He was not a highly touted recruit coming out of high school but was a standout player in college. Montgomery was a consensus First-team All-Big 12 player in 2017.

High school career
Growing up in the Cincinnati Ohio area, he is an Eagle Scout in addition to being a standout prep dual threat quarterback. Over his four-year career he rushed for 6,666 yards and 91 touchdowns. In 2015 he was named the Division III Ohio Player of the Year as well as the Southwest District Offensive Player of the Year. His senior season rushing total of 2,707 was good enough for the 21st best single season performance in Ohio high school history. He posted seven 200-yard games and three 300-yard games, including one 373 yard performance.

Recruiting
Despite a record breaking high school career, Montgomery was only lightly recruiting to continue his football career in college. He was only recruited by Miami (OH), Ball State, Buffalo, and Iowa State. He eventually committed to the Cyclones.

2016 season
As a true freshman in 2016, Montgomery played in all 12 games and started the final four contests. He led the team in rushing with 563 yards, averaging 5.2 yards per carry. This was good enough to be the second-best freshman performance in school history. In his second career start he rushed 169 yards on 24 carries to defeat Kansas. He was named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week for that performance. He finished the season with 141 yards rushing and 45 yards receiving against West Virginia.

At the conclusion of the season Montgomery was named to the honorable mention Freshman All-America team by Campus Insiders.

2017 season
Montgomery's break out season was in 2017. He led the Cyclones in rushing yards and yards from scrimmage with 1,095 and 1,383 respectively. He finished second in the Big 12 in rushing yards and touchdowns behind only Justice Hill. Montgomery led the nation in forced missed tackles with 104, breaking the previous record of 89 set by Dalvin Cook. Against Iowa he ran for 113 yards, rushed for a touchdown, and had 53 yards on receptions. In an upset win at #3 Oklahoma, Montgomery ran for 55 yards and a touchdown and caught 7 passes for 89 yards. He had a career day against Texas Tech rushing for 164 yards on 28 attempts, averaging 5.9 yards per play. Montgomery had a three straight 100 yard performances against West Virginia, Oklahoma State, and Baylor with 115, 105, and 144 yards respectively including three touchdowns against the Cowboys.

Montgomery received multiple accolades at the end of the regular season. He was named a first-team All-American by Pro Football Focus as well as consensus first-team All-Big 12.

Professional career
On January 7, 2019, Montgomery announced that he would forgo his final season of eligibility and declare for the 2019 NFL Draft. The Chicago Bears drafted Montgomery in the third round with the 73rd overall pick in the draft. Montgomery signed a four-year rookie contract with the team on June 14.