Rashard Mendenhall attended Niles West High School from 2001-2005 and attended Lincoln Jr. High School prior to joining his older brother Walter at West. Rashard excelled in football and track. He and his brother Walter formed a powerful backfield combination in football. Rashard, a five-star prospect, was rated the No. 1 recruit in the state of Illinois by Scout.com. He recorded 1,300 yards and 21 touchdowns as a sophomore and as a junior; he rushed for 1,832 yards and 19 touchdowns, while averaging 11.6 yards per carry. In his final season as a player, Rashard averaged 9.1 yards per carry, rushing for 1,453 yards on 160 attempts and 14 touchdowns. Following his high school career, Mendenhall played in the 2005 U.S. Army All-American Bowl game.

As a track athlete, Rashard still holds several Niles West records in the 50 yd. dash (5.4 secs.), 200 meter dash (22.61 secs.), and the freshmen records for triple jump, high jump, 200 meter dash, and 50 yd. and meter dashes. He went on to compete in the state track finals several times during his career and was able to place top 10 in several team and individual events.

Rashard graduated from Niles West and received a full athletic scholarship to play football at the University of Illinois. There, Rashard went on to star as a running back and in his first season in 2005, rushed for 218 yards on 48 carries, adding 82 yards receiving and two touchdowns. In 2006, Mendenhall nearly tripled his rushing total, gaining 640 yards and scoring five touchdowns. He added 164 yards receiving and a touchdown, with 12 receptions. During his final season with the Illini, he rushed for a then school record 1,681 yards and 17 touchdowns. Throughout the 13 game season, he also had 318 yards receiving and two touchdowns on 34 receptions. Rashard earned his degree from Illinois in Sport Management.

In 2008, Rashard was drafted 23rd overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the NFL Draft. Prior to his rookie season, Mendenhall was ranked by ESPN as the 30th best running back in the league. He was the starting running back for the Steelers and played in two consecutive Super Bowls in 2008 & 2009. In the 2009 Super Bowl against the Packers, Rashard help lead the Steelers to victory and the Super Bowl title. Rashard went to play with the Arizona Cardinals in 2013 and finally retired from football at the age of 26.