William Michael Tolbert (born November 23, 1985) is an American former professional

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 ...

fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to: Sports * A position in various kinds of football, including: ** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position ** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...

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). 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 ...

for the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers. Tolbert was signed by the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

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 was also a member of the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

, where he was a three-time

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

er and two-time first-team All-Pro. He signed with the

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

in 2017 after being released by the Panthers.

Early life

Tolbert attended and played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

at Douglas County High School. He served as the lead Fullback to open holes for Matthew Land, his Tight End, in High School.

College career

Tolbert had a four-year career at

Coastal Carolina University Coastal Carolina University (CCU or Coastal) is a public university in Conway, South Carolina. Founded in 1954 as Coastal Carolina Junior College, and later joining the University of South Carolina System as USC Coastal Carolina, it became an in ...

under head coach David Bennett. As a freshman, he had 281 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown. As a sophomore, he had 202 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns. As a junior, he had 439 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns. He was named a second-team FCS All-American after leading the Chanticleers in rushing with 748 yards on 111 carries and nine touchdowns. In four years, he had 303 touches without any fumbles. He followed in the footsteps of

Quinton Teal Quinton Teal (born March 8, 1984) is a former American football safety. He was born in Bennettsville, South Carolina where he attended Marlboro County High School. He played college football at Coastal Carolina University. A three-time first te ...

, who was undrafted in 2007, but went to

training camp as an undrafted free agent and made the roster becoming the first player in school history to appear in an NFL game. At Coastal Carolina, Tolbert also was teammates with quarterback

Tyler Thigpen Tyler Beckham Thigpen (born April 14, 1984) is a former American football quarterback. Thigpen was drafted out of Coastal Carolina University in the seventh round of the 2007 NFL Draft (217th overall) by the Minnesota Vikings. He was the first ...

and wide receiver

Jerome Simpson Jerome Louis Simpson (born February 4, 1986) is a former American football wide receiver. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He has also played for the Minnesota Vikings and San Francisco 49ers. S ...

, who would both also go on to play in the NFL.

College statistics

Professional career

San Diego Chargers

Tolbert was signed as an undrafted free agent by the

on April 28, 2008. On September 22, against the New York Jets, he had his first professional touchdown in the 48–29 victory. Tolbert played in 13 games in the 2008 season (starting 7 at fullback) and rushed for only 37 yards on 13 carries. In the 2009 season, he rushed for 148 yards with one touchdown, as well as catching 17 passes for 192 yards and three receiving touchdowns, of which one was a 66-yarder against the Cleveland Browns. In the 2010 season, he emerged as a co-starter along with Ryan Mathews. In Week 2, against the Jacksonville Jaguars, he had 82 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. On October 3, against the Arizona Cardinals, he had 100 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown in the 41–10 victory. On November 22, against the Denver Broncos, he had 111 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown in the 35–14 victory. Overall, he finished the 2010 season with 182 carries for 735 yards and 11 touchdowns. He started the 2011 season with 35 rushing yards, a rushing touchdown, nine receptions, 58 receiving yards, and two receiving touchdowns in the 24–17 victory. Overall, he finished the 2011 season with 490 rushing yards, eight rushing touchdowns, 54 receptions, 433 receiving yards, and two receiving touchdowns.

Carolina Panthers

On March 19, 2012, Tolbert signed a four-year, $10 million ($4.2 million guaranteed) contract with the

where he got the nickname, The Toldozer. In the regular season finale against the New Orleans Saints, he had three rushing touchdowns in the 44–38 victory. Overall, in the 2012 season, he finished with 183 rushing yards, seven rushing touchdowns, 27 receptions, and 268 receiving yards. Utilized as a fullback, Tolbert earned his first

appearance in 2013. Overall, he finished the season with 361 rushing yards, five rushing touchdowns, 27 receptions, 184 receiving yards, and two receiving touchdowns. He was also named to the

2013 All-Pro Team The 2013 All-Pro Teams were named by the Associated Press (AP) the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA), and the ''Sporting News'' (SN) for performance in the 2013 NFL season. While none of the All-Pro teams have the official imprimatur of the ...

, another first of his career. In the 2014 season, Tolbert finished with 37 carries for 78 rushing yards and 12 receptions for 93 receiving yards in eight games in the regular season. The Panthers made the playoffs and faced off against the Arizona Cardinals in the

Wild Card Round A wild card (also wildcard or wild-card and also known as an at-large berth or at-large bid) is a tournament or playoff berth awarded to an individual or team that fails to qualify in the normal way; for example, by having a high ranking or winnin ...

. He finished the 27–16 victory with seven rushing yards and a one-yard touchdown reception. In the Divisional Round against the Seattle Seahawks, he had ten rushing yards and a 14-yard reception in the 31–17 loss. Tolbert finished the 2015 regular season with 62 carries for 256 yards and one rushing touchdown to go along with 18 receptions for 154 yards and three touchdowns. For his efforts, he was named to the 2015 Pro Bowl as well as the AP All-Pro First-team. The Panthers finished the season with a 15–1 record, which set a new franchise record for wins. On February 7, 2016, Tolbert was part of the Panthers team that played in Super Bowl 50. In the game, the Panthers fell to 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 ...

by a score of 24–10. In the loss, Tolbert had five carries for 18 yards and one fumble. On March 9, 2016, Tolbert signed a two-year deal with the

worth $3.3 million with $700,000 guaranteed. He finished the 2016 season with 114 rushing yards to go along with 10 receptions for 72 yards and a receiving touchdown. On February 21, 2017, Tolbert was released by the Panthers.

Buffalo Bills

On March 8, 2017, Tolbert signed with the

. Throughout training camp, he competed for the backup running back role against Jonathan Williams. Head coach

Sean McDermott Sean Michael McDermott (born March 21, 1974) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He began his NFL coaching career as an assistant for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2001, ...

named him the backup to LeSean McCoy to start the regular season. On September 10, in the season opening 21–12 victory over the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

, Tolbert had a one-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter for his first score with the Buffalo Bills. Overall, he finished the 2017 season with 247 rushing yards, one rushing touchdown, 14 receptions, and 78 receiving yards.

NFL career statistics

In popular culture

In the third season of the

FXX FXX is an American basic cable channel owned by the Walt Disney Television unit of The Walt Disney Company through FX Networks, LLC. It is the partner channel of FX, with its programming focusing on original and acquired comedy series and fea ...

comedy series ''

The League ''The League'' is an American sitcom that aired on FX and later FXX from October 29, 2009, to December 9, 2015, for a total of seven seasons. The series, set in Chicago, Illinois, is a semi-improvised comedy show about a fantasy football league ...

'', the character Andre goes on a rant about Mike Tolbert and what he calls "Touchdown Vultures," or players who enter the game in goal line situations and score touchdowns, "stealing" fantasy points from the player whom they replaced. This has led to Tolbert's nickname "The Vulture". Tolbert has worked as a correspondent for the Carolina Panthers since 2018.

References

External links

*
Coastal Carolina Chanticleers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tolbert, Mike 1985 births Living people Players of American football from Douglas County, Georgia Players of American football from Carrollton, Georgia American football fullbacks Coastal Carolina Chanticleers football players San Diego Chargers players Carolina Panthers players Buffalo Bills players Unconferenced Pro Bowl players National Conference Pro Bowl players