Biography
CAREER: The school’s all-time rushing leader at 5,730 yards, which ranks second all-time in the Southern Conference ... Number was retired in 2019 ... 2012: Finished third in the voting for the Walter Payton Award ... Led the Southern Conference in rushing for the second straight season with 2,035 yards, a school record and the second most in conference history ... He had 19 rushing touchdowns to lead the conference and was second in scoring with 114 points ... Named Southern Conference Offensive Player of the Year by the coaches and media ... First Team All-SoCon and first team All-America by the Associated Press and Sports Network ... Southern Conference Male Athlete of the Year ... 2011: Started all twelve games and rushed for 1,474 yards, marking the third-highest single season total in school history ... Earned Southern Conference Offensive Player of the Year honors by the coaches and media, along with All-SoCon first team honors ... Named first-team All-American by the Associated Press, Sports Network, and Phil Steele ... Finished 14th in voting for the Walter Payton Award ... In the national rankings, was fifth in scoring at 9.50 points per game and tenth in rushing at 122.83 yards per game ... Among SoCon leaders was first in rushing, eighth in total offense, and second in scoring ... Led team with 1,474 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns ... Added one catch for 29 yards ... Had 100+ rushing yards in ten games to set a new school record ... Opened the season with 107 yards on 19 carries at Presbyterian (9/3) ... At Clemson (9/10) had a season-low 62 yards along with a touchdown ... Against Samford (9/24) had 29 carries for 126 yards and three touchdowns ... Did not have a touchdown in the win over Appalachian State (10/1), but rushed for 173 yards on a season-high 33 carries ... Ran for 106 yards on 19 carries with a touchdown at The Citadel (10/8) ... Scored two touchdowns against UVa.-Wise (10/15) as he rushed for 107 yards on only ten carries ... At Furman (10/22) had 129 yards on 24 carries with two touchdowns, along with one catch for 29 yards ... Against Elon (10/29) ran for 217 yards on 28 carries with four touchdowns ... Earned SoCon Player of the Week honors for his performance against the Phoenix ... Also named SoCon Offensive Player of the Month for October ... At Western Carolina (11/5) ran for 112 yards on 16 carries with a touchdown ... Was limited to 64 yards on 15 carries against Georgia Southern (11/12) ... Rushed for 140 yards on 30 carries with one touchdown at Chattanooga (11/19) ... In the NCAA Playoffs at Northern Iowa (12/3) rushed for 131 yards on 23 carries with three touchdowns, including a 46-yard touchdown run in the second quarter ... Shared team Most Valuable Player honors with Mitch Allen ... Preseason All-American by the Sports Network and Phil Steele ... 2011 SoCon Preseason Offensive Player of the Year ... Named to the Southern Conference Academic Honor Roll ... 2010: Started all 13 games as he set a new school record for rushing in a single season with 1,639 yards ... Named second-team All-American by the Associated Press and first-team All-American by the Sports Network and Phil Steele ... Earned All-Southern Conference first team honors from the coaches and media ... Led the team with 267 carries for 1,639 yards and 22 touchdowns ... Added three catches for 34 yards ... Fifth in nation in rushing yards ... Fourth in nation in points per game and tied for first nationally with 22 touchdowns ... Set school mark for rushing yards in a season, tied for first with eight 100-yard games in a season, second in carries in a season, third in touchdowns in a season, and third in yards per game average in a season ... Scored at least one touchdown in the first eight games of the season ... Earned team Most Valuable Player honors ... Had two touchdowns at Charleston Southern (9/11) ... Scored with 60 and 68 yard touchdown runs against Union (9/18) as he had 134 yards on just six carries ... Against Furman (10/2) ran for 230 yards on 29 carries with four touchdowns as he earned SoCon Player of the Week honors ... Scored twice at Georgia Southern (10/9), including the five-yard game-winner with five minutes remaining ... Added two touchdowns against Western Carolina (10/16) along with 149 rushing yards ... At Elon (10/23) had a pair of 18-yard touchdowns as he ran for 152 yards on 31 carries ... Had two touchdowns against The Citadel (10/30) ... Named SoCon Player of the Month for October ... Ran for 227 yards on 28 carries at Samford (11/6) as he earned SoCon Player of the Week honors ... Against Chattanooga (11/20) scored three touchdowns as he had 131 yards on 24 carries ... In the NCAA Playoffs at Jacksonville State (12/4) ran for 178 yards on 28 carries with two touchdowns ... Had 102 yards on 23 carries against Georgia Southern (12/11) in the NCAA Quarterfinals ... Named to the Southern Conference Academic Honor Roll ... 2009: Started the first two games of the season before suffering a knee injury ... Had 28 carries for 187 yards and three touchdowns ... In opener at South Florida (9/5) had 13 carries for 121 yards, including a long of 44 yards and a two-yard touchdown run in the first quarter ... Against Charleston Southern (9/12) ran for 66 yards on 15 carries and had two touchdowns in the first quarter ... Was granted a medical redshirt ... Named to the Southern Conference Academic Honor Roll ... 2008: As a true freshman played in ten games with two starts at fullback ... Rushed for 395 yards on 59 carries with two touchdowns ... In the season opener against Presbyterian (8/30) rushed 13 times for 57 yards ... Against Charleston Southern (9/6) had seven carries for 75 yards, including a season-long 46-yard run ... Against Chattanooga (10/11) had three carries for seven yards, including a five-yard touchdown run, and added a reception for a gain of 32 yards ... Had two carries for 24 yards against Western Carolina (10/18) ... At Elon (10/25) scored his second touchdown of the season on a two-yard run ... Against Appalachian State (10/31) had 18 carries for 157 yards, both season highs, and had a long run of 42 yards ... At Samford (11/15) had seven carries for 42 yards with a long of 14 yards ... Earned the team’s Freshman of the Year award ... HIGH SCHOOL: A four-year letterman at Watauga High School for coach Adrian Snow ... As a senior he led the team to a conference championship and runner-up finish in the western finals ... Had 2,445 yards and 29 touchdowns as a senior, giving him 6,151 career rushing yards ... He only fumbled three times in 841 career carries ... Named all-state as a senior in addition to being named Associated Press Player of the Year runner-up ... Earned Player of the Year honors from NC Preps ... In a second round playoff game in 2007, rushed for 319 yards and scored six rushing touchdowns along with 18 tackles on defense ... Named All-Northwest three times ... Played in the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas at fullback ... As a junior, named all-state at defensive back with five interceptions ... He was also a three-year starter on the baseball team, twice earning all-conference honors in the outfield ... Finished fifth place in the regionals in 2004 as a wrestler ... Named a 2007 Carolina Panthers Community Captain, which recognizes outstanding student-athletes who excel on the field, in the classroom and in the community ... Honored on the field prior to the Panthers game against Seattle on December 16, 2007 ... PERSONAL: Son of Steven and Sharon Breitenstein ... Born March 20, 1990 ... Majoring in environmental studies ... Grandfather played football at Miami (Ohio) and was head football coach at Appalachian State in 1959 ... Brother Seth won three national championships in football at Appalachian State ... Sister Amy played volleyball at UNC Asheville.
