Barry J. Sanders  Barry James Sanders (born April 10, 1994) is a former American football running back. He played college football for the Stanford Cardinal football team from 2012 to 2015 and the Oklahoma State Cowboys football team in 2016. Sanders is the son of Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders and Aletha House. He is often erroneously referred to as "Barry Sanders Jr.", which is not his name. (The elder Sanders does not have a middle name, while his son's middle name is James.) He graduated from Heritage Hall High School in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. As a freshman in 2008, Sanders ran for 742 yards and twelve touchdowns while helping Heritage Hall to the 2008 Oklahoma 2A state title, and he was the only sophomore on the 2009 "Tulsa World" all-state team. On January 5, 2012, during the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, Sanders announced that he had committed to playing football for Stanford University, even though he was still unsure if he would be admitted. According to ESPN, he was rated the 6th-best high school running back in the country. He was indeed admitted to Stanford, and he did join the Cardinal football team but he was redshirted as a freshman, seeing no action during the 2012 college season. During his redshirt freshman season in 2013, he was used sparingly as a running back and kick returner. He played in 12 of the Cardinal's 14 games, finishing the year with 34 rushing yards, 5 rushing attempts, and 1 touchdown. He played in all 13 games his sophomore season, finishing the 2014 season with 59 carries for 315 yards and 7 receptions for 47 yards. Sanders returned in 2015 for his redshirt junior year and contributed as a back-up running back, kick returner and special-teams player. He played behind sophomore All-American and Heisman Trophy finalist Christian McCaffrey. Amongst his many other accomplishments that season, McCaffrey broke the elder Barry Sanders' longstanding record for most all-purpose yards in a season. The younger Barry Sanders played well in his limited backup role. During the season opener on September 5, 2015, at Northwestern University, he gained 9 yards on 2 carries. The following week, he would have a career game against the University of Central Florida. Sanders finished the game with 8 carries, 39 rushing yards, and 1 touchdown. On September 25, 2015, he continued producing for the Cardinal, rushing for a career-high 97 yards, on 7 carries, for a career-high 2 rushing touchdowns against Oregon State.