Alonzo Coleman (born January 27, 1984) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Ther ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...

. He was signed by the

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2007. He played college football at Hampton University.

Early years

Coleman attended

Halifax County High School Halifax County High School is a public high school located in South Boston, Virginia, United States. It is located less than from Halifax County Middle School. Having 2,319 students currently enrolled in the 2017–18 school year, there are 118 ...

, where he finished as the school's all-time leading rusher with more than 3,500 yards in his high school career. He also recorded over 700 receiving yards and 600 return yards. As a senior, he set the

single-season rushing record with over 1,500 yards and also set the school's single-game rushing record with 315 yards. He received first-team All-district, All-region and Western Valley District Co-Player of the Year honors. In track, he was a regional qualifier in the

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...

4 × 100 metres relay The 4 × 100 metres relay or sprint relay is an athletics track event run in lanes over one lap of the track with four runners completing 100 metres each. The first runners must begin in the same stagger as for the indiv ...

and 300 metres competitions. In 2017, he was inducted into the South Boston-Halifax County Sports Hall of Fame.

College career

He accepted a football scholarship from Hampton University. As a true freshman, he was named the starter over senior Rian Thompson. He tallied 239 carries for 1,137, becoming the first freshman in school history to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season. He also had a conference-best 18 touchdowns (third in school history). As a sophomore, he posted 225 carries for 1,133 yards and 13 touchdowns, becoming the first player in school history to start his career with back-to-back 1,000-plus rushing yard seasons. He had a career-high 209 yards with three touchdowns in the season opener against

Jackson State University Jackson State University (Jackson State or JSU) is a public historically black research university in Jackson, Mississippi. It is one of the largest HBCUs in the United States and the fourth largest university in Mississippi in terms of studen ...

. He was limited with an ankle injury he suffered against

Morgan State University Morgan State University (Morgan State or MSU) is a public historically black research university in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the largest of Maryland's historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). In 1867, the university, then known a ...

. Along with Ardell Daniels, they were the only teammates in Division I-AA to each rush for more than 1,000 yards. As a junior, he had 204 carries for 1,326 yards (second in school history) and 19 touchdowns (second in school history). He set a school record five rushing touchdowns (30 points) and a season-high 172 rushing yards against

Gardner–Webb University Gardner–Webb University (Gardner–Webb, GWU, or GW) is a private Baptist university in Boiling Springs, North Carolina. It is affiliated with the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina ( Southern Baptist Convention). It was founded as Boi ...

. Coleman (1,326) and Daniels (1,044) also became the third pair of teammates in Division I-AA history, to each rush for more than 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons. As a senior, although he was limited with a hip pointer injury, he registered 158 carries for 1,052 yards and 12 touchdowns, becoming the sixth player in Division I-AA history to rush for more than 1000 yards in each of his four seasons. He broke the MEAC career rushing record against

Winston-Salem State University Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) is a historically black public university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina. History Winston-Salem State University was founded as Slater Industrial Academy o ...

. He had 180 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns against

Bethune–Cookman University Bethune–Cookman University (BCU or Bethune–Cookman) is a private historically black university in Daytona Beach, Florida. Bethune–Cookman University is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. The primary administration building, Wh ...

. He tallied 181 rushing yards and 4 touchdowns against

Florida A&M University Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), commonly known as Florida A&M, is a public historically black land-grant university in Tallahassee, Florida. Founded in 1887, It is the third largest historically black university in the Un ...

. Coleman finished his college career with 826 carries (conference and school record) for 4,648 yards (conference and school record), 62 rushing touchdowns (conference and school record), 64 total touchdowns (school record) and 24 100-yard rushing games. He also contributed to three straight MEAC championships (2004, 2005, 2006).

Professional career

Coleman was signed as an

by the

after the 2007 NFL Draft on April 23. He began training camp on the

physically unable to perform Physically unable to perform (PUP) is a roster designation used in the National Football League (NFL) for players who suffered injuries during football-related activities prior to the start of training camp. Players on the PUP list may participate ...

list with an ankle injury. The injury limited his playing time and although he was waived on September 1, he was later signed to the practice squad. He was cut on August 30,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, after being passed over on the depth chart by

Tashard Choice Tashard J. Choice (born November 20, 1984) is a former American football running back in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins, Buffalo Bills and the Indianapolis Colts. He played college football at Georgia ...

and was later signed to the practice squad. On December 5, he was promoted to the active roster, because of injuries to both Marion Barber III and

Felix Jones Felix Jones Jr. (born May 8, 1987) is a former American football running back in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers. He played college football at the University of Arkansas and was drafted by t ...

. He made his NFL debut playing on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was declared inactive in the last 3 games of the season. In 2009, a knee injury limited his playing time during training camp and he was waived injured on August 17.

References

External links

Hampton Pirates bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coleman, Alonzo 1984 births Living people People from Halifax, Virginia Players of American football from Virginia American football running backs Hampton Pirates football players Dallas Cowboys players