College career

Tolbert had a four-year career at Coastal Carolina University and was named a second-team FCS All-American after leading the Chants in rushing with 748 yards on 111 carries and 9 touchdowns. In four years he had 303 touches without any fumbles. He followed in the footsteps of Quinton Teal who was undrafted in 2007, but went to San Diego Chargers training camp as an undrafted free agent and made the roster becoming the first CCU player to play in an NFL game. At Coastal Carolina, Tolbert also was teammates with quarterback Tyler Thigpen and wide receiver Jerome Simpson, who would both also go on to play in the NFL.

College Career Statistics

		Rushing				Receiving					Fumbles
Year	Att	Yds	Avg	Lng	TD 20	Rec	Yds	Avg	Lng	TD 6	FUM	LST
2004	47	281	6.0	52	1	2	26	13.0	15	0	0	0
2005	49	202	4.1	16	4	3	20	6.7	17	0	0	0
2006	70	439	6.3	80	7	14	187	13.4	45	1	0	0
2007	111	748	6.7	86	9	7	58	8.3	14	0	0	0

Professional career

San Diego Chargers

Tolbert was signed as an undrafted free agent by the San Diego Chargers on April 28, 2008. 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, Tolbert rushed for 148 yards with one touchdown, as well as catching 17 passes for 192 yards and three receiving touchdowns. In 2010, Tolbert emerged as a co-starter along with Ryan Mathews, and broke out with 182 carries for 735 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Carolina Panthers

On March 19, 2012, Tolbert signed a four-year, $10 million ($4.2 million guaranteed) contract with the Carolina Panthers where he got the nickname the Toldozer. Utilized as a fullback, Tolbert earned his first Pro Bowl appearance in 2013. He was also named to the 2013 All-Pro Team, another first of his career.

Tolbert finished the 2015 Regular Season with 62 carries for 256 yards and one rushing touchdown. He also finished with 18 receptions for 154 yards and 3 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 15-1. The 15 wins set a new franchise record. Tolbert and the Panthers reached Super Bowl 50, but lost 24-10 to the Denver Broncos.

On March 9, 2016, Tolbert signed a 2-year deal with the Carolina Panthers worth $3.3 million with $700,000 guaranteed.

NFL Career Statistics

Year	Team	GP	GS	Rushing					Receiving					Fumbles
				Att	Yds	Avg	Long	TD	Rec	Yds	Avg	Long	TD	Fum	Lost
2008	SD	13	7	13	37	2.8	11	0	13	171	13.2	670	1	0	0
2009	SD	16	3	25	148	5.9	32	1	17	192	11.3	66	3	1	0
2010	SD	15	4	182	735	4.0	36	11	25	216	8.6	28	0	5	3
2011	SD	15	1	121	490	4.0	40	8	54	433	8.0	27	2	2	1
2012	CAR	16	4	54	183	3.4	13	7	27	998	9.9	26	0	0	0
2013	CAR	16	13	101	361	3.6	22	5	27	184	6.8	18	12	0	0
2014	CAR	8	2	37	78	2.1	15	0	12	93	7.8	18	0	0	0
2015	CAR	16	3	62	256	4.1	29	1	18	153	8.6	40	3	0	0
Career		115	42	595	2,288	3.8	40	33	193	1,711	8.9	67	11	8	4

In Popular Culture

In the third season of the FXX comedy series The 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.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]