Anthony Eugene Alridge (born November 24, 1984) is a former professional gridiron football

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 ...

. He was signed by the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent in 2008. He played college football at

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

. Alridge was also a member of the Houston Texans, the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

and the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

Early years

Alridge was born to Vincent and Lisa Alridge in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

, where he grew up. He is the oldest son with two sisters and a younger brother. His father is the pastor of Friendly Fellowship Church of God in Christ in Fort Worth, Texas where Anthony grew up playing the drums for his church. Alridge played for the

Denton High School Denton High School is a public high school located in the city of Denton, Texas and classified as a 5A school by the UIL. It is a part of the Denton Independent School District located in central Denton County and was the original high schoo ...

football team as an all-purpose back. During his time at Denton, Alridge was named Honorable Mention AP 4A All-State, selected to the Max Emfinger Texas Super All-State Team, picked Texas Sports Writers Association Third-team, All-State and named District 6-4A Offensive Player-of-the-Year.

College career

Alridge chose to attend the University of Houston where he was

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

as a freshman; he was initially recruited as a wide receiver. He was not enrolled at the university for the 2004 season and sat out the year. In 2005, as a wide receiver, he appeared in all 12 games, starting six games. He was the Cougars leading receiver at yards per catch with an average of 22.7. During this season, the Cougars played in the

Fort Worth Bowl The Armed Forces Bowl, formerly the Fort Worth Bowl from 2003 to 2005, is an annual postseason college football bowl game. First played in 2003, the game is normally held at the 45,000-seat Amon G. Carter Stadium on the campus of Texas Christian U ...

. Alridge was approached after the 2005 season and asked if he would be interested in playing significant time at

. Alridge agreed and finished the 2006 season with 959 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on only 95 attempts for an

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Division I-A leading rushing average of 10.1 yards per attempt. The Cougars went on to earn a

Conference USA Conference USA (C-USA or CUSA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose current member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. C-USA's offices are l ...

championship, and played against the SEC's

South Carolina Gamecocks The South Carolina Gamecocks represent the University of South Carolina in the NCAA Division I. The University of South Carolina uses "Gamecocks" as its official nickname and mascot. While the men's teams were traditionally known as the Fighti ...

in the

2006 Liberty Bowl The 2006 Liberty Bowl was a college football postseason bowl game played on December 29, 2006, at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee. The 48th edition of the Liberty Bowl pitted the Houston Cougars against the South Carolina Gam ...

. As a junior, Alridge shared time at running back with the Cougars' senior Jackie Battle. Battle and Alridge combined for 1,762 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns during the 2006 regular season.Michael Murphy
Setting aside egos to help the team
''Houston Chronicle'', December 27, 2006 After Battle graduated and signed a free-agent contract with the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

, Alridge assumed the bulk of the running back duties for Houston in 2007 and rushed for 1,597 yards on 259 carries (a 6.2 per-carry average) and scored 14 rushing touchdowns. He also caught 19 passes for 274 yards (a 14.4 average) and five touchdowns.

Professional career

Denver Broncos

On April 27, 2008, Alridge signed a contract with the Denver Broncos as a

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 ...

. He was put on the

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

by the Broncos following the 53-man cut, ending his season. The Broncos waived him on February 11, 2009.

First stint with Redskins

Alridge was claimed off waivers by the

on February 12, 2009. He was waived on September 5.

Houston Texans

Alridge was signed to the Houston Texans

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

on September 16, 2009.

Second stint with Redskins

Alridge was re-signed by the

from the Houston Texans'

on September 22, 2009 after

offensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

Randy Thomas was placed on

. He was released on October 20, 2009. On December 9, 2009, he was re-signed to the practice squad. After his contract expired following the 2009 season, Alridge was re-signed to a future contract on January 6, 2010. On May 3, 2010, Alridge was waived by the Redskins for the third time.

Toronto Argonauts

On September 16, 2010, Alridge was signed by the

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

to a practice roster agreement. On November 22, 2010, he was released by the Argonauts. While with the Argonauts, Alridge played in three regular season games, rushing for 47 yards on 13 carries and catching two passes for three yards.

Personal life

Alridge graduated from

in 2003. He majored in

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...

and graduated in 2007. Alridge and his wife Lauren reside in Houston, Texas.University of Houston Football Player Biography
/ref>

References

External links

Just Sports StatsToronto Argonauts bioHouston Texans bioWashington Redskins bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alridge, Anthony 1984 births Living people Players of American football from Denton, Texas Players of American football from Fort Worth, Texas American football running backs Houston Cougars football players Denver Broncos players Washington Redskins players Houston Texans players