Mike Tolbert
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Tolbert in 2016 | |||||||||||||||
| No. 35 Carolina Panthers | |||||||||||||||
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| Position: | Fullback | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Birth name: | William Michael Tolbert | ||||||||||||||
| Date of birth: | November 23, 1985 | ||||||||||||||
| Place of birth: | Centerville, Ohio | ||||||||||||||
| Height: | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight: | 247 lb (112 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school: | Douglasville (GA) Douglas Co. | ||||||||||||||
| College: | Coastal Carolina | ||||||||||||||
| Undrafted: | 2008 | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
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| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of Week 11, 2016 | |||||||||||||||
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William Michael Tolbert[1] (born November 23, 1985) is an American football fullback for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He was signed by the San Diego Chargers as an undrafted free agent in 2008. He played college football for Coastal Carolina University.
College career
Tolbert had a four-year career at Coastal Carolina University and was named a second-team FCS All-American after leading the Chants in rushing with 748 yards on 111 carries and 9 touchdowns. In four years he had 303 touches without any fumbles. He followed in the footsteps of Quinton Teal who was undrafted in 2007, but went to San Diego Chargers training camp as an undrafted free agent and made the roster becoming the first CCU player to play in an NFL game. At Coastal Carolina, Tolbert also was teammates with quarterback Tyler Thigpen and wide receiver Jerome Simpson, who would both also go on to play in the NFL.
College career statistics
| Rushing | Receiving | Fumbles | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD 20 | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD 6 | FUM | LST |
| 2004 | 47 | 281 | 6.0 | 52 | 1 | 2 | 26 | 13.0 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2005 | 49 | 202 | 4.1 | 16 | 4 | 3 | 20 | 6.7 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2006 | 70 | 439 | 6.3 | 80 | 7 | 14 | 187 | 13.4 | 45 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2007 | 111 | 748 | 6.7 | 86 | 9 | 7 | 58 | 8.3 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Professional career
San Diego Chargers
Tolbert was signed as an undrafted free agent by the San Diego Chargers on April 28, 2008.[2] Tolbert played in 13 games in the 2008 season (starting 7 at fullback) and rushed for only 37 yards on 13 carries.[2] In the 2009 season, Tolbert rushed for 148 yards with one touchdown, as well as catching 17 passes for 192 yards and three receiving touchdowns.[2] In 2010, Tolbert emerged as a co-starter along with Ryan Mathews, and broke out with 182 carries for 735 yards and 11 touchdowns.[2]
Carolina Panthers
On March 19, 2012, Tolbert signed a four-year, $10 million ($4.2 million guaranteed) contract with the Carolina Panthers where he got the nickname the Toldozer.[3] Utilized as a fullback, Tolbert earned his first Pro Bowl appearance in 2013. He was also named to the 2013 All-Pro Team, another first of his career.
Tolbert finished the 2015 Regular Season with 62 carries for 256 yards and one rushing touchdown. He also finished with 18 receptions for 154 yards and 3 touchdowns. For his efforts he was named to the 2015 Pro Bowl as well as the AP All-Pro First Team. The Panthers finished the season 15-1. The 15 wins set a new franchise record. Tolbert and the Panthers reached Super Bowl 50, but lost 24-10 to the Denver Broncos.
On March 9, 2016, Tolbert signed a 2-year deal with the Carolina Panthers worth $3.3 million with $700,000 guaranteed.[4][5]
NFL career statistics
| Year | Team | GP | GS | Rushing | Receiving | Fumbles | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Att | Yds | Avg | Long | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Long | TD | Fum | Lost | ||||
| 2008 | SD | 13 | 7 | 13 | 37 | 2.8 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 171 | 13.2 | 67 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2009 | SD | 16 | 3 | 25 | 148 | 5.9 | 32 | 1 | 17 | 192 | 11.3 | 66 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 2010 | SD | 15 | 4 | 182 | 735 | 4.0 | 36 | 11 | 25 | 216 | 8.6 | 28 | 0 | 5 | 3 |
| 2011 | SD | 15 | 1 | 121 | 490 | 4.0 | 40 | 8 | 54 | 433 | 8.0 | 27 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 2012 | CAR | 16 | 4 | 54 | 183 | 3.4 | 13 | 7 | 27 | 9.9 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2013 | CAR | 16 | 13 | 101 | 361 | 3.6 | 22 | 5 | 27 | 184 | 6.8 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2014 | CAR | 8 | 2 | 37 | 78 | 2.1 | 15 | 0 | 12 | 93 | 7.8 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2015 | CAR | 16 | 3 | 62 | 256 | 4.1 | 29 | 1 | 18 | 153 | 8.6 | 40 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 115 | 42 | 595 | 2,288 | 3.8 | 40 | 33 | 193 | 1,711 | 8.9 | 67 | 11 | 8 | 4 | |
In Popular Culture
In the third season of the FXX comedy series The League, the character Andre goes on a rant about Mike Tolbert and what he calls "Touchdown Vultures," or players who enter the game in goal line situations and score touchdowns, "stealing" fantasy points from the player whom they replaced.
References
- ↑ "ESPN Profile". ESPN.com.
- 1 2 3 4 "Mike Tolbert Profile," Scout with FOXSPORTS.COM on MSN (Updated October 30, 2011 ) http://det.scout.com/a.z?s=93&p=9&c=2&cid=1122972&nid=5585447&fhn=1
- ↑ http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcsouth/post/_/id/62561/mike-tolberts-bowling-ball-moment-defines-the-undefeated-panthers.
- ↑ "Panthers Re-sign Mike Tolbert". www.panthers.com. Retrieved 2016-03-10.
- ↑ Spotrac.com. "Mike Tolbert". Spotrac.com. Retrieved 2016-03-10.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from NFL.com • ESPN • Yahoo! Sports • SI.com • Pro-Football-Reference • Rotoworld
- Carolina Panthers bio