David Lofton (born January 28, 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 with ...

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are two slightly dif ...

. He was signed by the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...

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 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 Stanford. Lofton has also been a member of the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...

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 ...

and

New York Sentinels New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

. He is the son of former NFL wide receiver and

Hall of Famer A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

James Lofton James David Lofton (born July 5, 1956) is an American former professional football player and coach. He is a former coach for the San Diego Chargers but is best known for his years in the National Football League as a wide receiver for the G ...

Early years

Lofton was born in

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island o ...

. He was named one of the top prep players in the state of Texas during his senior year at

Plano West Senior High School Plano West Senior High School (commonly West, Plano West, or PWSH) is a public high school in Plano, Texas serving high school juniors and seniors. Plano West is named after its geographic location within West Plano. The school is part of the P ...

College career

Lofton attended

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

as an

Urban Studies Urban studies is based on the study of the urban development of cities. This includes studying the history of city development from an architectural point of view, to the impact of urban design on community development efforts. The core theoretica ...

academic major An academic major is the academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits. A student who successfully completes all courses required for the major qualifies for an undergraduate degree. The word ''major'' (also called ''conc ...

and was a National Achievement Scholar finalist and National Merit Scholarship Program semifinalist. He began play for the Stanford Cardinal football team in 2002 as a true freshman

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

and did not play. In the spring of 2003, he converted to the wide receiver position but saw limited playing time though he did catch two balls for 10 yards in the season finale. In 2004, he changed positions again, this time to the

position, where he saw time as a reserve free safety and

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 ...

player. Lofton played in all 11 games of the 2005 Cardinals season including five weeks as the starting free safety, finishing the year with 35 total tackles and one tackle-for-loss. He started six games and played the first seven of the 2006 season with a stress fracture in his foot before suffering a season-ending fracture that caused him to miss the final five games. He finished the year seventh on the team with 47 total tackles.

Professional career

Miami Dolphins

Lofton went undrafted in the 2007 NFL Draft and signed as an

with the

on May 27, 2007, attended

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events, ...

, and was released on July 29.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Lofton then signed with 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 ...

as a free agent on September 12 and dressed for four games (four starts) of the 2007 CFL season making 17 defensive tackles, 1 special teams tackle, and 1 quarterback sack. He was released following off-season surgery.

Toronto Argonauts

The

signed Lofton as a free agent on September 23 of the

2008 Toronto Argonauts season The 2008 CFL season, 2008 Toronto Argonauts season was the 51st season for the team in the Canadian Football League and 136th season overall. The Argonauts attempted to win their 16th Grey Cup, but they failed to make the playoffs ending the seaso ...

and placed him on the

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, ...

for week 13 before deferring his contract on September 29. He was re-signed on March 25, 2009. He was released on May 12, 2009.

New York Sentinels

Lofton was drafted by the

of the United Football League in the

UFL Premiere Season Draft The UFL "Premiere" Season Draft was the inaugural draft of the United Football League (UFL). The results of the draft were announced via press release on June 19, 2009. Among the players selected were those that participated in earlier workouts in ...

in 2009. He signed with the team on August 27.

Personal life

Lofton is the son of former NFL

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

wide receiver

. James Lofton coached five seasons in San Diego with then-offensive coordinator

Cam Cameron Malcolm "Cam" Cameron (born February 6, 1961) is an American football coach. He is the former offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach of the LSU Tigers football program. Cameron attended Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana and playe ...

, who originally signed David Lofton out of college in 2007. The elder Lofton also attended Stanford, from 1974 to 1977. David Lofton gave his father's Pro Football Hall of Fame induction speech in 2003.

References

External links

Just Sports StatsHamilton Tiger-Cats bio

Toronto Argonauts bioUnited Football League bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lofton, David 1984 births Living people Players of American football from Plano, Texas American football wide receivers American football safeties American players of Canadian football Canadian football linebackers Canadian football defensive backs Stanford Cardinal football players Miami Dolphins players Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Toronto Argonauts players New York Sentinels players