SHERRIDEN MAY played running back at Idaho during 1991-94 and is the school’s second all-time leading rusher behind Joel Thomas with 3,748 yards. He averaged 113.6 yards per game rushing, which is the top mark in UI history by more than 16 yards.
He has a school-best 22 games with at least 100 yards rushing and his 689 carries is second on UI’s all-time list.
Not bad for someone who only played the position for three seasons at UI.
May came to Idaho as a defensive back and started at safety during his first season at UI. Vandal head coach John L. Smith then made good on a promise and allowed May to try out at running back as a sophomore, but Smith fully expected to put May back on defense. It didn’t take long for May to change Smith’s mind and by the second game of his sophomore season, May was UI’s starting running back.
May was the first player to ever lead the Big Sky in rushing for three consecutive years. He finished his career as the I-AA all-time leader in touchdowns with 61 and was second in career scoring with 366 points.
He finished his sophomore year with 1,111 rushing yards and 25 touchdowns and won the Big Sky rushing title. He repeated that feat as a junior when he went for 1,267 yards and 22 touchdown. He also averaged 172.2 all-purpose yards.
He topped those marks his senior year when he rushed for 1,370 yards, which ranks second on UI’s all-time list (the 1,267 yards as a junior is fourth on the list and his sophomore total stands 12th). He rushed for 100-plus yards in nine of UI’s 11 games that season.
As a senior, he was selected to three I-AA All-America squads, including the Sports Network, Associated Press, and American Football Coaches Association.
May is just one of seven Vandals to earn at least three first-team all-conference selections.
Following his outstanding career as a Vandal, May went undrafted but signed a free-agent contract with the New York Jets. He played in five games his rookie season with one start, and then was in eight games the following season.
After his NFL career ended, he became involved with personal training and in 1998, he played in the semi-pro league for the Puget Sound Jets. He then worked a year in the car business before he entered the mortgage business in 2001, where he still works today in Tacoma. May has 13-year-old twins Isaiah and Isabel and has been involved in a long-term relationship with Dimi Hartman, and her three children Dylan, Connor and Austin. In his spare time, May still enjoys working, out, spending time with family and friends, and traveling.