CHARLOTTE, N.C. — I walk off the practice field with Carolina Panthers fullback Mike Tolbert. I tell Tolbert, who is listed at 5-foot-9 and 245 pounds, he's shorter and thicker than I expected.
I try to make it sound like a compliment.
Panthers coach Ron Rivera was San Diego's defensive coordinator when the Chargers signed Tolbert as a free agent out of Coastal Carolina in 2008.
What was your first impression?
"Honestly, I thought he was roly poly," says Rivera.
Rivera fails to suppress a smile.
"Oh, he's going to kill me for that," Rivera says.
A roly poly is a squat round terrestrial crustacean that, as bugs go, is likeable. It can turn into a ball.
Tolbert only looks as if he could.
Do people underestimate you?
"It happens all the time," Tolbert, 26, says.
He made the Douglas County High varsity football team (in Douglasville, Ga., about 20 miles west of Atlanta) as a freshman.
Says Tolbert: "People were, 'Oh, we got him, we got him, he's a fat running back.' I got the ball and started moving and it was, 'Oh, snap. I got my work cut out for me.' It's one of those things that definitely catches people off guard."
Great Article on Tolbert
#1
Posted 25 August 2012 - 10:55 PM
#2
Posted 25 August 2012 - 11:21 PM
#3
Posted 25 August 2012 - 11:22 PM
"Everybody's been playing football since they were kids and it's only a select few of us that get to play as professionals," Tolbert says as we stand outside the stadium. "So why make it a job when you can have fun like we used have on Saturday mornings with our buddies? That's what I'm doing here. Getting paid is a bonus."
I can see why he turned down that money besides the convenient location. His personality fits perfectly into this offense. This offense is full of players just like him (Cam, Dwill, Stewart, Kalil, Lafell, etc). They all have a strong desire to win, but they all have fun while playing the game. Match made in heaven.
#4
Posted 25 August 2012 - 11:32 PM
Not mine but a new Tolbert highlight video. The dude breaks tackles and runs people over quite often. Welcome to Charlotte!
#5
Posted 25 August 2012 - 11:50 PM
i didn't realize he was only 26.
Lots of tread on that tire, at least 5 years.
#6
Posted 26 August 2012 - 12:02 AM
#7
Posted 26 August 2012 - 12:40 AM
i prefer the words smash, kill, and destroy. agreed, tho.So excited for our running game this season. We are going to juke, burn, stiff arm and bulldoze people.
#8
Posted 26 August 2012 - 05:54 AM
#9
Posted 26 August 2012 - 07:05 AM
@ 2:50 dude goes to stiff arm one guy and ends up knocking two over.
Not mine but a new Tolbert highlight video. The dude breaks tackles and runs people over quite often. Welcome to Charlotte!
#10
Posted 26 August 2012 - 07:06 AM
#11
Posted 26 August 2012 - 07:07 AM
#12
Posted 26 August 2012 - 07:18 AM
#14
Posted 26 August 2012 - 07:40 AM
Hopefully, this is behind him, but seeing him put it on the ground against Miami brought this back to mind.
#15
Posted 26 August 2012 - 09:20 AM
Not mine but a new Tolbert highlight video. The dude breaks tackles and runs people over quite often. Welcome to Charlotte!
the singing in this video is 1001X better than Jack White screeching in that Cam video...
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