[2] Zereoué was raised by a single father in Hempstead, New York; he lived in a group home called "Hope for Youth", in Bellmore, NY, during his high school years, owing to legal trouble in junior high school and the concerns of his father that the drugs and crime of the neighborhood he grew up in were undermining his ambition.

[3] Zereoué attended Wellington C. Mepham High School in Bellmore, New York, and was a letterman in football.

He set Long Island records of 5,360 yards and 59 touchdowns at Mepham, earning Street & Smith All-America recognition.

He was also the first two-time Thorpe Award winner in high school, which recognizes the best player in Nassau County, an honor that surpassed local icons such as Jim Brown and Matt Snell.

[4] Zereoué was tenth in the 1997 Heisman Trophy race and was a Doak Walker Award semifinalist.

He also led the conference and set a school single-season rushing record with 1,589 yards on 281 carries.

Zereoué was selected in the third round, 95th overall of the 1999 NFL draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers, who had acquired future-Hall of Famer Jerome Bettis from the St. Louis Rams four years earlier in 1996.

He rushed for 425 yards and three touchdowns in his one season in Oakland, before he was cut with the arrival of LaMont Jordan from the New York Jets.

[4] After being cut by the Raiders, Zereoué spent his final NFL season with the New England Patriots.