Mike Tolbert
refer to caption
Tolbert with the Panthers in 2016
No. 35
Position:Fullback
Personal information
Born: (1985-11-23) November 23, 1985 (age 38)
Carrollton, Georgia, U.S.
Height:5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight:260 lb (118 kg)
Career information
High school:Douglas County (Douglasville, Georgia)
College:Coastal Carolina (2004–2007)
Undrafted:2008
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Rushing yards:2,649
Rushing average:3.8
Rushing touchdowns:34
Receptions:217
Receiving yards:1,861
Receiving touchdowns:12
Player stats at NFL.com

William Michael Tolbert[1] (born November 23, 1985) is an American former football fullback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers. Tolbert was signed by the San Diego Chargers as an undrafted free agent in 2008. He was also a member of the Carolina Panthers, where he was a three-time Pro Bowler and two-time first-team All-Pro. He signed with the Buffalo Bills in 2017 after being released by the Carolina Panthers.

Early years

Tolbert attended and played high school football at Douglas County High School.[2]

College career

Tolbert had a four-year career at Coastal Carolina University under head coach David Bennett.[3] As a freshman, he had 281 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown.[4] As a sophomore, he had 202 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns.[5] As a junior, he had 439 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns.[6] He was named a second-team FCS All-American after leading the Chanticleers in rushing with 748 yards on 111 carries and nine touchdowns.[7] 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 player in school history to appear 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.[8]

College statistics

Mike Tolbert Rushing Receiving
Season Team Att Yds Avg Lng TD Rec Yds Avg Lng TD
2004 Coastal Carolina 47 281 6.0 52 1 2 26 13.0 15 0
2005 Coastal Carolina 49 202 4.1 16 4 3 20 6.7 17 0
2006 Coastal Carolina 70 439 6.3 80 7 14 187 13.4 45 1
2007 Coastal Carolina 111 748 6.7 86 9 7 58 8.3 14 0
Career 277 1,670 5.8 86 21 26 291 10.4 45 1

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight
5 ft 8+3⁄4 in
(1.75 m) 		246 lb
(112 kg)
All values from Pro Day[9]

San Diego Chargers

Tolbert was signed as an undrafted free agent by the San Diego Chargers on April 28, 2008.[10] On September 22, against the New York Jets, he had his first professional touchdown in the 48–29 victory.[11] Tolbert played in 13 games in the 2008 season (starting 7 at fullback) and rushed for only 37 yards on 13 carries.[12] In the 2009 season, he rushed for 148 yards with one touchdown, as well as catching 17 passes for 192 yards and three receiving touchdowns, of which one was a 66-yarder against the Cleveland Browns.[13][14] In the 2010 season, he emerged as a co-starter along with Ryan Mathews. In Week 2, against the Jacksonville Jaguars, he had 82 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns.[15] On October 3, against the Arizona Cardinals, he had 100 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown in the 41–10 victory.[16] On November 22, against the Denver Broncos, he had 111 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown in the 35–14 victory.[17] Overall, he finished the 2010 season with 182 carries for 735 yards and 11 touchdowns.[18][19] He started the 2011 season with 35 rushing yards, a rushing touchdown, nine receptions, 58 receiving yards, and two receiving touchdowns in the 24–17 victory.[20] Overall, he finished the 2011 season with 490 rushing yards, eight rushing touchdowns, 54 receptions, 433 receiving yards, and two receiving touchdowns.[21]

Carolina Panthers

Tolbert blocking for Cam Newton in a game against the New Orleans Saints in 2015.

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.[22] In the regular season finale against the New Orleans Saints, he had three rushing touchdowns in the 44–38 victory.[23] Overall, in the 2012 season, he finished with 183 rushing yards, seven rushing touchdowns, 27 receptions, and 268 receiving yards.[24] Utilized as a fullback, Tolbert earned his first Pro Bowl appearance in 2013.[25] Overall, he finished the season with 361 rushing yards, five rushing touchdowns, 27 receptions, 184 receiving yards, and two receiving touchdowns.[26] He was also named to the 2013 All-Pro Team, another first of his career.[27]

In the 2014 season, Tolbert finished with 37 carries for 78 rushing yards and 12 receptions for 93 receiving yards in eight games in the regular season.[28] The Panthers made the playoffs and faced off against the Arizona Cardinals in the Wild Card Round.[29] He finished the 27–16 victory with seven rushing yards and a one-yard touchdown reception.[30] In the Divisional Round against the Seattle Seahawks, he had ten rushing yards and a 14-yard reception in the 31–17 loss.[31]

Tolbert finished the 2015 regular season with 62 carries for 256 yards and one rushing touchdown to go along with 18 receptions for 154 yards and three touchdowns.[32] For his efforts, he was named to the 2015 Pro Bowl as well as the AP All-Pro First-team.[33][34] The Panthers finished the season with a 15–1 record, which set a new franchise record for wins.[35] On February 7, 2016, Tolbert was part of the Panthers team that played in Super Bowl 50. In the game, the Panthers fell to the Denver Broncos by a score of 24–10.[36] In the loss, Tolbert had five carries for 18 yards and one fumble.[37]

On March 9, 2016, Tolbert signed a two-year deal with the Carolina Panthers worth $3.3 million with $700,000 guaranteed.[38][39] He finished the 2016 season with 114 rushing yards to go along with 10 receptions for 72 yards and a receiving touchdown.[40]

On February 21, 2017, Tolbert was released by the Panthers.[41]

Buffalo Bills

On March 8, 2017, Tolbert signed with the Buffalo Bills.[42]

Throughout training camp, he competed for the backup running back role against Jonathan Williams. Head coach Sean McDermott named him the backup to LeSean McCoy to start the regular season.[43]

On September 10, in the season opening 21–12 victory over the New York Jets, Tolbert had a one-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter for his first score with the Buffalo Bills.[44] Overall, he finished the 2017 season with 247 rushing yards, one rushing touchdown, 14 receptions, and 78 receiving yards.[45]

NFL career statistics

Year Team Games Rushing Receiving Fumbles
GP GS Att Yds Avg Lng TD Rec Yds Avg Lng 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 27 268 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
2016 CAR 16 2 35 114 3.3 14 0 10 72 7.2 17 1 0 0
2017 BUF 12 0 66 247 3.7 25 1 14 78 5.6 12 0 2 1
Career 143 44 696 2,649 3.8 40 34 217 1,861 8.6 67 12 10 5

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. This has led to Tolbert's nickname "The Vulture".

Tolbert has worked as a correspondent for the Carolina Panthers since 2018. [46]

References

  1. ^ "Mike Tolbert Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on October 7, 2022. Retrieved December 4, 2022.
  2. ^ Mahone, Derrick (September 30, 2017). "Mike Tolbert ready for homecoming in Atlanta". Douglas County Sentinel. Archived from the original on March 8, 2018. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  3. ^ "Mike Tolbert NCAA FB Stats - Season & Career Statistics". www.foxsports.com. Archived from the original on March 8, 2018. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  4. ^ "2004 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers Player Rushing Stats". www.foxsports.com. Archived from the original on March 8, 2018. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  5. ^ "2005 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers Player Rushing Stats". www.foxsports.com. Archived from the original on March 8, 2018. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  6. ^ "2006 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers Player Rushing Stats". www.foxsports.com. Archived from the original on March 8, 2018. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  7. ^ "2007 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers Player Rushing Stats". www.foxsports.com. Archived from the original on March 8, 2018. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  8. ^ "Coastal Carolina Players/Alumni". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on March 8, 2018. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  9. ^ "Mike Tolbert, Coastal Carolina, FB, 2008 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football". draftscout.com. Archived from the original on December 9, 2021. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  10. ^ Strickland, Bryan (March 19, 2012). "Panthers sign FB Tolbert". www.panthers.com. Archived from the original on November 6, 2022. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
  11. ^ "New York Jets at San Diego Chargers - September 22nd, 2008". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on March 8, 2018. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  12. ^ "Mike Tolbert 2008 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on March 8, 2018. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  13. ^ "San Diego Chargers at Cleveland Browns - December 6th, 2009". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on February 13, 2023. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  14. ^ "Mike Tolbert 2009 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on March 8, 2018. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
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  20. ^ "Minnesota Vikings at San Diego Chargers - September 11th, 2011". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on March 8, 2018. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  21. ^ "Mike Tolbert 2011 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on March 8, 2018. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  22. ^ Newton, David (October 26, 2015). "Mike Tolbert's 'bowling ball' moment defines the undefeated Panthers". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on March 9, 2016. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
  23. ^ "Carolina Panthers at New Orleans Saints - December 30th, 2012". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on April 13, 2019. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
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  25. ^ "2013 NFL Pro Bowlers". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on March 7, 2018. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
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  27. ^ "2013 NFL All-Pros". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on October 5, 2020. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  28. ^ "Mike Tolbert 2014 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on March 8, 2018. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  29. ^ "2014 NFL Standings & Team Stats". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on January 27, 2018. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
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  31. ^ "Divisional Round - Carolina Panthers at Seattle Seahawks - January 10th, 2015". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on August 2, 2017. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
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  38. ^ Strickland, Bryan (March 9, 2016). "Panthers Re-sign Mike Tolbert". www.panthers.com. Archived from the original on March 10, 2016. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  39. ^ "Mike Tolbert". Spotrac.com. Archived from the original on March 10, 2016. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  40. ^ "Mike Tolbert 2016 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on March 8, 2018. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  41. ^ Henson, Max (February 21, 2017). "Panthers release Mike Tolbert". Panthers.com. Archived from the original on February 24, 2017. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
  42. ^ "Bills agree to terms with FB Mike Tolbert". NFL.com. March 9, 2017. Archived from the original on March 12, 2017. Retrieved March 9, 2017.
  43. ^ Goldberg, Rob (September 3, 2017). "Jonathan Williams Released by Buffalo Bills After 1 Season with Team". bleacherreport.com. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
  44. ^ "New York Jets at Buffalo Bills - September 10th, 2017". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on December 17, 2021. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
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  46. ^ Taranto, Steven (October 29, 2018). "Mike Tolbert returns to Panthers with "The Tolbert Report"". Carolina Panthers. Retrieved November 6, 2022.

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