Glenwood Razeem Coffee Jr. (born May 1, 1987) 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 ...

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 selected by the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

in the third round of the

2009 NFL Draft The 2009 NFL Draft was the seventy-fourth annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 25 and 26, 2009. T ...

and played one season before retiring from football in 2010 and serving in the U.S. Army from 2013 to 2017. Coffee came out of retirement and was reinstated by the NFL on April 21, 2017. 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 Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...

College career

2005 season

In Coffee's freshman season at Alabama, he appeared in all twelve games. On September 17, he rushed for a season-high 75 yards on 15 attempts in a 37–14 win over

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

. He did not see significant action throughout the remainder of the season, as he was a backup to starter

Kenneth Darby Kenneth Darby (born December 26, 1982 in Huntsville, Alabama) is a former American football running back. He was originally drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the seventh round of the 2007 NFL Draft. Darby has been a member of the Atlanta F ...

while sharing time with Jimmy Johns. In Alabama's homecoming game versus

Utah State Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Utah's ...

, he scored his first collegiate touchdown on a 9–yard reception from quarterback

John Parker Wilson John Parker Wilson (born October 17, 1985) is a former American football quarterback. Wilson played college football at the University of Alabama. He went undrafted during the 2009 NFL Draft before signing with the Atlanta Falcons. College caree ...

. In his freshman season, Coffee rushed for a 179 yards on 48 attempts. He also caught eight passes for 91 yards, including one touchdown.

2007 season

After redshirting his sophomore season on campus, Coffee returned in the 2007 season under new head coach

Nick Saban Nicholas Lou Saban Jr. (; born October 31, 1951) is an American football coach who has been the head football coach at the University of Alabama since 2007. Saban previously served as head coach of the National Football League's Miami Dolphins ...

. In that season, he split time as the starting running back with freshman Terry Grant. In the season opener versus

Western Carolina Western Carolina University (WCU) is a public university in Cullowhee, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina system. The fifth oldest institution of the sixteen four-year universities in the UNC system, WCU was founded t ...

, Coffee rushed nine times for 76 yards and one touchdown in a 52–6 victory. In the season's homecoming game, he had his first 100-yard rushing game in a 30–24 win over

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 in ...

. In total, he rushed for 121 yards on 30 attempts and one touchdown, as well as catching one pass for six yards. However, he did not accumulate any statistics in four of Alabama's final five games. Alabama earned an appearance in the

2007 Independence Bowl The 2007 PetroSun Independence Bowl, part of the 2007–08 NCAA football bowl season, took place on December 30, 2007 at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana. The competing teams were the Alabama Crimson Tide, representing the Southe ...

versus

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

. Coffee carried the ball 19 times for 72 yards in a 30–24 win. Coffee finished his redshirt sophomore season with 545 yards on 129 carries, scoring four touchdowns. He also caught 18 passes for 142 yards.

2008 season

In the 2008 season, Coffee was the starter in all 14 games, though shared time with two other running backs, Roy Upchurch and Mark Ingram II Coffee's first 100-yard rushing performance came in the fourth game of the season in a 49–14 rout of

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

. He carried the ball ten times for 162 yards and two touchdowns, including his career-long run of 87 yards. In the following game, Coffee again scored twice in a 41–30 upset over #3 Georgia, finishing the game with 23 carries for 86 yards. Coffee's career best game came in the following week in a 17–14 win over

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

, as he ran for 218 yards on 25 attempts, including a 78-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. His 218 yards was the most by an Alabama running back since Shaun Alexander in

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

. Alabama clinched a berth in the

2008 SEC Championship Game The 2008 Dr Pepper SEC Championship Game was played December 6, 2008, in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia to determine the 2008 football champion of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The game featured the Florida Gators and the Alabama Crim ...

with a 27–21 overtime victory over

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

, in which Coffee rushed for 126 yards and one touchdown. In the annual

Iron Bowl The Alabama–Auburn football rivalry, better known as the Iron Bowl, is an American college football rivalry game between the Auburn University Tigers and University of Alabama Crimson Tide, both charter members of the Southeastern Conferenc ...

, he ran for his fourth 100+ yard game in a 36–0 rout of rival

Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...

with 144 yards and one touchdown. After rushing for 112 yards in the SEC Championship game loss to

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, Coffee was held to his season low in the

2009 Sugar Bowl The 2009 Allstate Sugar Bowl was the 75th annual edition of the annual college football bowl game that is part of the 2008–09 bowl season of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The game was played on ...

against

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

. The Utes defense held Coffee to 36 yards on 13 attempts in a 31–17 Utah victory. In his best statistical season at Alabama, Coffee ran for 1,383 yards and ten touchdowns, while averaging 5.9 yards per carry. With his season's performance, Coffee was named to the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

All- SEC first-team. On January 9, 2009, Coffee announced he would forgo his Senior year and declare for the

. He was represented by sports agent Todd Crannell of Q2 Sports & Entertainment.

College statistics

Professional career

San Francisco 49ers

Coffee was drafted in the third round of the

with the 74th overall pick by the

. He was used primarily as a backup to Pro Bowl running back Frank Gore. Coffee finished with 83 carries for 226 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown in 14 games, of which he started two.

Retirement

After attending OTAs minicamp, and two weeks of training camp, Coffee abruptly announced on August 13 that he would retire just before the start of the 2010 NFL preseason. Head coach

Mike Singletary Michael Singletary (born October 9, 1958), also known by his nickname Samurai Mike, is an American professional football coach and former middle linebacker. After playing college football for the Baylor Bears, Singletary was drafted by the Chi ...

stated that sixth round draft pick

Anthony Dixon Anthony Rishard "Boobie" Dixon (born September 24, 1987) is a former American football running back. He was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the sixth round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He played college football for Mississippi State University ...

and veteran Michael Robinson would compete for the second running back spot and that Coffee's departure would not be a distraction to the team. However, on August 16, the 49ers signed free agent veteran

Brian Westbrook Brian Collins Westbrook (born September 2, 1979) is a former American football running back who played for nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the third round of the 2002 NFL Draft af ...

as the backup running back to a one-year deal. The 49ers considered trying to recoup $621,000 of Coffee's $828,000 signing bonus. Coffee planned to return to the University of Alabama to finish his degree in consumer affairs, with an eye towards graduate school. Coffee confirmed that the reason he retired was that his heart was never in football and that he believed God wanted him to take another path.

Comeback

On April 21, 2017, Coffee was officially reinstated by the NFL and was subsequently released by the San Francisco 49ers who still owned his player rights. Coffee announced his intentions to play in

The Spring League The Spring League was an American football developmental league and scouting event (pro showcase) that played from 2017 to 2021 and was founded by Brian Woods. Aimed at professional athletes but not paying a salary or expenses, the league's go ...

Showcase on July 15, 2017. Coffee returned to the University of Alabama to finish his college degree and is now an assistant coach with the running backs for Nick Saban's coaching staff.

Military service

Coffee subsequently enlisted in the U.S. Army in February 2013 to become a paratrooper. In June 2013, Coffee graduated from

United States Army Airborne School The United States Army Airborne School – widely known as Jump School – conducts the basic paratrooper (military parachutist) training for the United States Armed Forces. It is operated by the 1st Battalion (Airborne), 507th Infantry, Unit ...

. He trained as a paratrooper, and was assigned to the 6th Ranger Training Battalion. He reached the rank of Specialist (E-4) and served as an airborne infantryman.

Personal life

Coffee's brother, Matt, played fullback for the University of South Carolina. Coffee co-authored a book with his father Glen Coffee Sr. ''There’s More to Life than the Pursuit of Money'' from Christian Faith Publishing.

References

External links

Alabama Crimson Tide biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coffee, Glen 1987 births Living people People from Valparaiso, Florida African-American players of American football Players of American football from Florida American football running backs Alabama Crimson Tide football players San Francisco 49ers players United States Army soldiers African-American United States Army personnel The Spring League players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people