Dave Tollefson
Encyclopedia
Dave Tollefson is an American football
defensive end
for the New York Giants
of the National Football League
. He was selected by the Green Bay Packers
in the seventh round, with the 253rd pick of the 2006 NFL Draft
. He played college football
at Northwest Missouri State
.
He has also been a member of the Berlin Thunder
and Oakland Raiders
.
and attended Ygnacio Valley High School
in Concord
, playing football for head coach Tim Murphy. He was a two-time All-League and All-City selection as a linebacker. He also played Tight End
. Tollefson's mother is a teacher.
in 1999 and 2000, and Fresno State University awarded Tollefson an athletic scholarship for defensive end. However, he suffered a series of injuries that made him miss three seasons. He missed the 2001 season due to right shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum. Then, he spent the 2002 season working at Home Depot, undergoing surgery on his right shoulder to clean up debris. In 2003 he enrolled at Northwest Missouri, but did not play; he was granted a medical hardship after suffering a broken bone in his right foot in August camp. He said that the summer before entering Northwest Missouri, he worked as a carpenter.
In the 2004 season he was an All-MIAA second-team choice in his first year at Northwest Missouri. He started twelve games at right defensive end and recorded 48 tackles (19 solos) with 8.5 sacks and 13 stops for losses. He also caused and recovered a fumble and had a pair of pass deflections.
In 2005, as a senior, he started fourteen games at right defensive end, recording 58 tackles (38 solos) with a team-high 16.5 stops for losses and five quarterback pressures. He set a school single-season record, and ranked 13th in the nation, with 12.5 sacks, caused a fumble, blocked a kick, and deflected four passes. As a result, he was named First-team All-Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association
, was the league's Defensive MVP, was named to the All-Southwest Region team, and earned College-division All-American First-team honors from the American Football Coaches Association
. He was also a finalist for the Gene Upshaw Award
, given to the best lineman in the small college ranks
(** represents Campus Pro day)
Bench press: 410 lb Squat: 665 lb
. He failed to make the final 53 man roster, however he was added to the Packers practice squad. Tollefson spent the whole 2006 NFL season as a member of the practice squad.
under a futures contract he signed with the Oakland Raiders
. The Raiders signed Dave Tollefson from the Packers practice squad before the 2007 NFL season, but he was waived by the Raiders during the final round of cuts. The Raiders allocated Tollefson to the Frankfurt Galaxy
of NFL Europa. Tollefson enjoyed good success for the Galaxy, recording 4.5 sacks, 25 tackles and 5 passes defensed.
Tollefson recorded 2 assisted tackles and a QB hurry . He also played in Super Bowl XLII
.
Tollefson was inactive for the first two games of the 2008 season for the Giants, but during the next two games he recorded the first two sacks of his NFL career. He ended the season with 19 tackles and 3.5 sacks.
After the 2010 season, he became an unrestricted free agent. However, he was re-signed on August 5, 2011.
On September 11th, 2011, Tollefson started his first game. The Giants were decimated by injuries, including both starting DEs, Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora. Tollefson started in place of Tuck against the Washington Redskins recording two tackles and a sack.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
defensive end
Defensive end
Defensive end is the name of a defensive position in the sport of American and Canadian football.This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations have substantially changed how the position is played over the years...
for the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
of the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
. He was selected by the Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
in the seventh round, with the 253rd pick of the 2006 NFL Draft
2006 NFL Draft
The 2006 National Football League Draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with additional coverage offered by ESPNU and, for the first time, by...
. He played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
at Northwest Missouri State
Northwest Missouri State University
Northwest Missouri State University is a state university in Maryville, Missouri. Founded in 1905 as a teachers college, it offers both undergraduate and graduate programs. The campus, based on the design for Forest Park at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, is the official Missouri State Arboretum....
.
He has also been a member of the Berlin Thunder
Berlin Thunder
The Berlin Thunder were a professional American football team in NFL Europe, which was a springtime American football league serving primarily as a developmental league for the National Football League. Most of the players were young American professional players assigned by NFL teams to receive...
and Oakland Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
.
Early years
Tollefson was born in Walnut Creek, CaliforniaWalnut Creek, California
Walnut Creek is an incorporated city located east of the city of Oakland. It lies in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. While not as large as neighboring Concord, Walnut Creek serves as the business and entertainment hub for the neighboring cities within central Contra Costa...
and attended Ygnacio Valley High School
Ygnacio Valley High School
Ygnacio Valley High School is a public secondary school located in Concord, California. It draws students from Concord as well as from the neighboring communities of Walnut Creek and Pleasant Hill. The school opened in 1962, and its first senior class graduated in 1964...
in Concord
Concord, California
Concord is the largest city in Contra Costa County, California, USA. At the 2010 census, the city had a population of 122,067. Originally founded in 1869 as the community of Todos Santos by Salvio Pacheco, the name was changed to Concord within months...
, playing football for head coach Tim Murphy. He was a two-time All-League and All-City selection as a linebacker. He also played Tight End
Tight end
The tight end is a position in American football on the offense. The tight end is often seen as a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like offensive linemen, they are usually lined up on the offensive line and are large enough to be...
. Tollefson's mother is a teacher.
College career
Dave Tollefson played outside linebacker at Los Medanos CollegeLos Medanos College
Los Medanos College is a two-year community college in Pittsburg in Contra Costa County, California. LMC has an extension in Brentwood....
in 1999 and 2000, and Fresno State University awarded Tollefson an athletic scholarship for defensive end. However, he suffered a series of injuries that made him miss three seasons. He missed the 2001 season due to right shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum. Then, he spent the 2002 season working at Home Depot, undergoing surgery on his right shoulder to clean up debris. In 2003 he enrolled at Northwest Missouri, but did not play; he was granted a medical hardship after suffering a broken bone in his right foot in August camp. He said that the summer before entering Northwest Missouri, he worked as a carpenter.
In the 2004 season he was an All-MIAA second-team choice in his first year at Northwest Missouri. He started twelve games at right defensive end and recorded 48 tackles (19 solos) with 8.5 sacks and 13 stops for losses. He also caused and recovered a fumble and had a pair of pass deflections.
In 2005, as a senior, he started fourteen games at right defensive end, recording 58 tackles (38 solos) with a team-high 16.5 stops for losses and five quarterback pressures. He set a school single-season record, and ranked 13th in the nation, with 12.5 sacks, caused a fumble, blocked a kick, and deflected four passes. As a result, he was named First-team All-Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association
Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association
The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association is a college athletic conference which operates in the states of Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and effective in 2012 in Oklahoma in the Midwestern United States. The conference was formerly known as the Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic...
, was the league's Defensive MVP, was named to the All-Southwest Region team, and earned College-division All-American First-team honors from the American Football Coaches Association
American Football Coaches Association
The American Football Coaches Association is an association of over 11,000 football coaches and staff on all levels. According to its constitution, some of the main goals of the American Football Coaches Association are to "maintain the highest possible standards in football and the profession of...
. He was also a finalist for the Gene Upshaw Award
Gene Upshaw Award
The Gene Upshaw Award is awarded to the best United States college football lineman, offensive or defensive, in Division II. The award is presented by the Manheim Touchdown Club and is recognized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association....
, given to the best lineman in the small college ranks
Measureables
| Pre-draft measureables | ||||||||||
| Ht | Wt | 40-yard dash 40 yard dash The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL Draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time in the 40 can have a heavy impact on his prospects in college or professional football... |
10-yd split | 20-yd split | 20 ss 20 yard shuttle The 20-yard shuttle, also simply called the short shuttle, is a test performed by American football athletes at the NFL combine. It is primarily run to evaluate the quickness and change-of-direction ability of players by scouts, particularly for the NFL Draft but also for collegiate recruiting... |
3-cone 3 cone drill The 3 cone drill, or three cone drill, is a test performed by American football athletes at the NFL combine. It is primarily run to evaluate the agility, quickness and fluidity of movement of players by scouts, particularly for the NFL Draft but also for collegiate recruiting... |
Vert Vertical jump A vertical jump or vertical leap is the act of raising one's center of gravity higher in the vertical plane solely with the use of one's own muscles; it is a measure of how high an individual or athlete can elevate off the ground from a standstill.-Types of vertical jump:The vertical jump is... |
Broad | BP Bench press The bench press is an exercise of the upper body. For bodybuilding purposes, it is used to stimulate the pectorals, deltoids, and triceps. While on his or her back, the person performing the bench press lowers a weight to the level of the chest, then pushes it back up until the arm is straight... |
Wonderlic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6-4 ** | 255 lb ** | 4.75 ** | X | X | 4.48 ** | 6.95 ** | 34½ in ** | 9'6" ** | 27** | X |
Bench press: 410 lb Squat: 665 lb
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers drafted Tollefson as their last pick of the 2006 NFL draft2006 NFL Draft
The 2006 National Football League Draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with additional coverage offered by ESPNU and, for the first time, by...
. He failed to make the final 53 man roster, however he was added to the Packers practice squad. Tollefson spent the whole 2006 NFL season as a member of the practice squad.
Oakland Raiders
Tollefson played with the NFL Europa team Berlin ThunderBerlin Thunder
The Berlin Thunder were a professional American football team in NFL Europe, which was a springtime American football league serving primarily as a developmental league for the National Football League. Most of the players were young American professional players assigned by NFL teams to receive...
under a futures contract he signed with the Oakland Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. The Raiders signed Dave Tollefson from the Packers practice squad before the 2007 NFL season, but he was waived by the Raiders during the final round of cuts. The Raiders allocated Tollefson to the Frankfurt Galaxy
Frankfurt Galaxy
The Frankfurt Galaxy was a professional American football team that originally played in the World League of American Football and later in the resurrected NFL Europe. The team was based in Frankfurt, Germany and played in the Commerzbank-Arena, formerly called the Waldstadion.-History:In 1991, the...
of NFL Europa. Tollefson enjoyed good success for the Galaxy, recording 4.5 sacks, 25 tackles and 5 passes defensed.
New York Giants
The New York Giants signed Tollefson from the Raiders practice squad on October 2, 2007; he played the final six games of the regular season for the Giants, recording 4 tackles. Tollefson was also activated for all four of the Giants postseason games, and during the NFC Divisional Playoff against the Dallas CowboysDallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
Tollefson recorded 2 assisted tackles and a QB hurry . He also played in Super Bowl XLII
Super Bowl XLII
Super Bowl XLII was an American football game on February 3, 2008 that featured the National Football Conference champion New York Giants and the American Football Conference champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League champion for the 2007 season...
.
Tollefson was inactive for the first two games of the 2008 season for the Giants, but during the next two games he recorded the first two sacks of his NFL career. He ended the season with 19 tackles and 3.5 sacks.
After the 2010 season, he became an unrestricted free agent. However, he was re-signed on August 5, 2011.
On September 11th, 2011, Tollefson started his first game. The Giants were decimated by injuries, including both starting DEs, Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora. Tollefson started in place of Tuck against the Washington Redskins recording two tackles and a sack.