Feathers is remembered for his 1934 rookie season in the NFL when he became the first player in league history to gain more than 1,000 yards rushing in a single year.

He starred as a halfback from 1931 to 1933 for the Tennessee Volunteers football team led by head coach Robert Neyland.

[2] His average of 8.44 yards per attempt that same year remains an NFL record (minimum 100 carries).

He also, as of 2024, is the only NFL player to have outrun the passing leader in a single season(He outran passing leader Arnie Herber by 205 yards that season) As of 2019, his 91.3 yards per game is also a Bears rookie franchise record.

Feathers was the head baseball coach at NC State in 1945, at Texas Tech University from 1954 to 1960,[4] and at Wake Forest University from 1972 to 1975, tallying a career college baseball coaching mark of 79–135–1.