Ladell Betts (born August 27, 1979) is an American football coach and former running back who is currently the running backs coach at the University of Iowa. He was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the second round of the 2002 NFL Draft. He played college football at Iowa. Early years Betts grew up as an only child with a single mother who worked two and three jobs to make ends meet. He and his mother moved from Kansas City, Missouri, to the suburb of Blue Springs when Betts was a child, but he remained very close to his father who has always been an active influence on Ladell over the years. He attended Blue Springs High School, where he would become a football star. He was teammates with fellow future NFL player Brandon Lloyd. Betts, who was also a sprinter in high school, gained 1,813 yards and had 34 touchdowns as a high school junior. As a senior, he rushed for 2,183 yards and 32 touchdowns while playing most of the season with a broken right hand. Betts, who led his team to a 10-1 record, was named USA Today's Missouri Player of the Year after earning first-team all-state and all-metro honors. He also earned the Thomas Simone Award, which goes to the best high school player in the Kansas City area, and was named a Parade and SuperPrep All-American. College career After redshirting in 1997 at the University of Iowa, Betts played in all 11 games as a freshman. He set school records for rushing yards in a game and a season by a freshman. Betts led the team in rushing for the season and was Iowa's offensive MVP in four games. He was an honorable mention All-Big Ten selection. In 1999, Betts started all 11 games, led the team in rushing again, and was named Iowa's co-MVP. He was also a second-team All-Big Ten selection. As a junior in 2000, Betts started every game and accounted for Iowa's entire rushing offense. He had 1,090 yards rushing in 2000; the Iowa Hawkeye team had 1,090 yards rushing that year. Betts was an honorable mention All-Big Ten selection. Betts again led Iowa in rushing as a senior, starting every game. He was Iowa's co-captain and co-MVP for the 2001 season, and he was named second-team All-Big Ten. He helped lead the Hawkeyes to the Alamo Bowl that season, but