Jo-Lonn D. Dunbar (born March 13, 1985) is an American former

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

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 ...

who played eight seasons in the NFL. He was signed 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 ...

of 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 ...

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 2008. He has also played for the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994. The arri ...

. 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 ...

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

Early years

Dunbar attended

Corcoran High School Corcoran High School is a public high school located in Syracuse, New York, having approximately 1800 students. In 2005, it became a member of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program. It is one of the top 1000 ranked schools in the country ...

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...

where he played running back and linebacker, under the head coach Leo Cosgrove. He earned All-State Class AA first-team honors as a senior running back and second-team All-State as a junior, when he competed as a linebacker. He added All-American accolades from Super Prep and was an All-East choice by Tom Lemming's Prep Football Report.

College career

During his senior year at

, Dunbar received recognition by becoming the fourth player in

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 ...

history to return two fumbles for touchdowns in a single game. In 2006, he was named MVP of the

2006 Meineke Car Care Bowl The 2006 Meineke Car Care Bowl was a college football bowl game. It featured the Navy Midshipmen, and the Boston College Eagles. The game was played on Saturday, December 30, 2006, at 1:00 PM EST. Boston College got on the board first followin ...

; he recovered 3 fumbles, returning two for touchdowns. At the end of his college career, he registered 262 tackles (156 solo) with 2.5 sacks for -12 yards and 21.5 stops for losses of 58 yards. He caused three fumbles and deflected seven passes. He gained 45 yards on two of interceptions, returning one for a touchdown.

Professional career

New Orleans Saints

During his first season with the Saints, Dunbar made a brief trip into the NFL spotlight when he made an impressive block to allow

Reggie Bush Reginald Alfred Bush Jr. (born March 2, 1985) is an American former football running back who now serves as an on-air college football analyst for Fox Sports. He played college football at USC, where he earned consensus All-American honors twi ...

to return a punt for a touchdown on Monday Night Football against the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

. Dunbar continued to play backup linebacker and special teams in the 2009 season. He suffered a hamstring injury in the Saints' December 6, 2009 game against 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 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 December 8. The Saints went on to win

Super Bowl XLIV Super Bowl XLIV was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champions New Orleans Saints and the American Football Conference (AFC) champions Indianapolis Colts to decide the National Football League (NFL) champ ...

St. Louis Rams

Dunbar signed with the

on April 2, 2012. In Week 1 of the 2012 season against the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

, Dunbar recorded his first career interception, returning it 42 yards. He finished his first season with the Rams with 114 combined tackles, 4.5 sacks and two interceptions which were all career highs for him at the time. On August 14, 2013, the NFL announced that Dunbar had violated the NFL's policy on performance-enhancing substances and he will be suspended for the first four games of the 2013 regular season. He was later released from the team. Dunbar was re-signed by the Rams on October 1, 2013. In 2015, Dunbar found himself further down on the Rams depth chart, and was not activated for any games. He was released by the team on October 27, 2015.Joel A. Erickson
"Return to New Orleans is 'pretty strange' for Saints linebacker Jo-Lonn Dunbar"
''

The Advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. The Advocate, The Advocates or Advocate may also refer to: Magazines * ''The Advocate'' (LGBT magazine), an LGBT magazine based in the United States *''The Harvard Advocate'', a literary magazin ...

'', October 30, 2015.

New Orleans Saints (second stint)

After he was released by St. Louis, the Saints signed Dunbar on October 30, 2015 to provide depth in light of injuries to starting linebackers

Dannell Ellerbe Dannell Antonio Ellerbe (born November 29, 1985) is a former American football linebacker. He was signed by the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2009 and has also played for the Miami Dolphins, New Orleans Saints and Philadelphia Ea ...

and

David Hawthorne David Hawthorne (born May 14, 1985) is a former American football linebacker. He was signed by the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent in 2008. He played college football at TCU. Professional career Seattle Seahawks Hawthorne receive ...

. On November 23, 2015, he was waived by the team.

References

External links

*
Boston College Eagles bioNew Orleans Saints bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunbar, Jolonn 1985 births Living people Players of American football from Syracuse, New York American football linebackers Boston College Eagles football players New Orleans Saints players St. Louis Rams players