Brandon Scott Tolbert (born April 6, 1975) 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 with ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

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

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

and

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 divisi ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

Early years

Tolbert attended

Villa Rica High School Villa Rica High School is a public high school, part of the Carroll County School System, located in Villa Rica, Georgia. The school's mascot is the Wildcat. Football team mass baptism In 2015, the school came under severe scrutiny for allowing a ...

, where he was a three-year starter at

strong safety Safety is a position in gridiron football on the defense. The safeties are defensive backs who line up ten to fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage. There are two variations of the position: the free safety and the strong safety. Their dut ...

. He also saw playing time as a wide receiver and

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 American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

. He was a two-time All-county selection and was named first-team Class AA All-State by the

Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...

as a senior. He was named the Most Valuable Player of the 1992 Georgia North-South All-star game. In

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

, he was a three-year starter and received All-county honors at

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

as a senior.

College career

Tolbert accepted a football scholarship from the

, where he was converted from

into a

. As a

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Entertainment * ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi * Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after b ...

freshman, he appeared in 9 games and played only 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 ...

, making 6 tackles. As a sophomore, he appeared in 9 games with 6 starts at

outside linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

. He missed 2 contests with an injury. He played most of the season behind

Randall Godfrey Randall Euralentris Godfrey (born April 6, 1973) is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League. Godfrey played college football at the University of Georgia, where he majored in housing and consumer economics. He also ...

, making 74 tackles (fourth on the team) and 5 tackles for loss (second on the team). He averaged 10 tackles per game in the last 8 contests, while Godfrey was limited with a pulled hamstring. He had 13 tackles and one interception against the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...

. He had 12 tackles against the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

. He started in the 1995 Peach Bowl, making 5 tackles and one sack. As a junior, he started all 11 games at

strongside linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

, posting 116 tackles (second on the team). He had a career-high 19 tackles against the

and earned SEC Defensive Player of the Week honors for his 18-tackle performance against

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

. As a senior, he started all 11 games and was one of the team's captains. He registered 67 tackles (third on the team) and one interception. He also had one interception in the

1998 Outback Bowl The 1998 Outback Bowl featured the Georgia Bulldogs and the Wisconsin Badgers. It was the 12th edition of the Outback Bowl Georgia scored first on a 2-yard touchdown run from running back Robert Edwards, giving Georgia an early 6–0 lead. Edwar ...

. He finished his college career with 270 tackles, 6.5 sacks, 2 interceptions and one fumble recovery.

Professional career

Jacksonville Jaguars

Tolbert was selected by the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

in the seventh round (214th overall) of the

1998 NFL Draft The 1998 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 18–19, 1998, at the Theater at M ...

. He was waived injured on August 24.

Atlanta Falcons

On September 2,

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

, he was signed by the

to their

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, ...

. He suffered a pulled hamstring and was released with an injury settlement on September 23.

Dallas Cowboys

On November 24,

, he was signed by the

to their

. On December 7, he was promoted to the active roster. He was declared inactive for the final 3 games and the playoffs. In

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

, he suffered a torn right ACL during a practice and was placed on the

injured reserve list 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 ...

on August 24. In

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

, he tore his left ACL in the fourth preseason game against the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

and was placed on waivers-injured reserve on August 21. He wasn't re-signed after the season.

New Orleans Saints

On June 4,

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

, he was signed 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 ...

by the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

. He was released before the start of the season.

References

External links

Catching Up With… Brandon Tolbert
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tolbert, Brandon 1975 births Living people Players of American football from Villa Rica, Georgia American football linebackers Georgia Bulldogs football players Jacksonville Jaguars draft picks Jacksonville Jaguars players Atlanta Falcons players Dallas Cowboys players