Former Idaho State running back set to pace Cobras’ offense

Not many high school football players can say they were teammates with both Reggie Bush and Alex Smith.

Ken Cornist, who signed with the Sea-Tac Cobras on Monday, is on that list.

The San Diego-area native was in the same backfield as Bush, the former Heisman Trophy winner at USC and No. 2 overall NFL Draft pick who currently plays for the Miami Dolphins. And Cornist said he was the go-to guy for Smith, who wound up leading the Utah Utes to a BCS bowl and was selected as the No. 1 overall pick in the draft by the San Francisco 49ers.

Needless to say, it was a talented football pool at Helix High School, which won back-to-back Division II California state championships in 2000 and ’01. Cornist  was a sophomore varsity player on the second title-winning team, and he looked up to both future NFL impact players, particularly Bush.

“It was good to watch and to learn from him because of his character and his leadership,” Cornist said. “He’s a very humble guy, and it was very cool to watch him go about his business. He didn’t say too much, just went out and performed on Friday nights.”

It’s been a few years since Cornist has played organized football, but the 5-foot-10, 208-pound running back is hungry to prove he belongs. His story of success started at Helix, a charter school in La Mesa, Calif., and it wound through Pocatello, Idaho, where he earned a full scholarship and suited up for four seasons with the Idaho State Bengals.

But after a record-breaking redshirt freshman season in 2005, when Cornist scored 15 touchdowns and helped Idaho State go 5-6, the Bengals switched offensive systems, Cornist’s playing time dwindled, and his confidence went with it.

First, a quarterback transferred into Idaho State from Michigan. The team went 2-9.

A year later, another running back — a local high school star — entered the mix, and Cornist had to share the few carries he was getting in a spread offense. The Bengals went 3-8. READ MORE