Bradley R. Hoover (born November 11, 1976) is an American former professional football player who was a fullback for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Western Carolina Catamounts. He was signed by the Panthers as an undrafted free agent in 2000.
.JPG) Hoover signing autographs at the Panthers' training camp facility in Spartanburg, SC. | |||||||||||||||
| No. 45 | |||||||||||||||
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| Position: | Fullback | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born: | November 11, 1976 High Point, North Carolina, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight: | 245 lb (111 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school: | Ledford (Thomasville, North Carolina) | ||||||||||||||
| College: | Western Carolina | ||||||||||||||
| Undrafted: | 2000 | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||
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Early life
editHoover was a Shrine Bowl participant and an all-state selection at Ledford Senior High School in Thomasville, North Carolina. He led the state with 2,662 yards rushing and scored 34 touchdowns as a senior. He earned Davidson County, North Carolina and Central Carolina Conference Player of the Year honors.
College career
editHoover attended Western Carolina University, being second all-time in school history in career yards. In his junior season, he set a school rushing record with 1,663 yards, scoring 13 touchdowns in the process. He earned first-team All-Southern Conference honors as a result. His senior year, he followed up with 1,025 yards and 12 touchdowns, good enough for second-team All-SoCon. He became the second player in school history to post back-to-back 1,000 rushing yard seasons. His 3,616 career yards are second all-time in school history, and his 28 touchdowns place him fifth on the list. He is a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity at Western and has contributed greatly to charitable causes in the Piedmont of North Carolina[citation needed].
In 2008, Hoover was inducted by Western Carolina University into the school's Athletics Hall of Fame.[1]
Professional career
editCarolina Panthers
editHoover went undrafted in the 2000 NFL draft; he was later signed as a free agent by the Carolina Panthers. After a foot injury sidelined starting running back Tshimanga Biakabutuka, Hoover got two starts at tailback, including a Monday Night Football game against the Green Bay Packers where he became only the second rookie in team history to post a 100-yard game (Fred Lane was the first). After switching to fullback for his second season, he became the full-time starter in 2002. He caught two passes for touchdowns that season, the first touchdown receptions of his career. During the Panthers run to Super Bowl XXXVIII, he was the primary blocker for Stephen Davis, allowing Davis to rush for a team record 1,444 yards.
2004 saw Hoover miss the first game of his career due to injury, as he sat out several games with an injured hip. However, he still managed to contribute on offense, catching two touchdown passes and rushing for 246 yards.
On March 8, 2010, Hoover was released by the Panthers. [2]
After football
editIn March 2013 Hoover was hired as the head football coach of Union Academy, a charter school in Monroe, North Carolina. [3] In January 2014, Hoover was named the head football coach at Marvin Ridge High School, also in Union County. He also served as the head football coach at Cannon School, an independent school in Concord, North Carolina.
Career statistics
editRegular season
edit| Rushing | Receiving | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | Att | Yds | TD | Rec | Yds | TD | ||
| 2000 | Carolina | NFL | 16 | 89 | 290 | 1 | 15 | 112 | 0 | ||
| 2001 | Carolina | NFL | 16 | 17 | 71 | 0 | 26 | 185 | 0 | ||
| 2002 | Carolina | NFL | 16 | 31 | 129 | 0 | 17 | 187 | 2 | ||
| 2003 | Carolina | NFL | 16 | 6 | 21 | 0 | 12 | 72 | 1 | ||
| 2004 | Carolina | NFL | 14 | 68 | 246 | 0 | 21 | 161 | 2 | ||
| 2005 | Carolina | NFL | 15 | 10 | 22 | 0 | 10 | 58 | 0 | ||
| 2006 | Carolina | NFL | 16 | 22 | 73 | 1 | 20 | 122 | 0 | ||
| 2007 | Carolina | NFL | 16 | 12 | 39 | 0 | 14 | 87 | 0 | ||
| 2008 | Carolina | NFL | 16 | 9 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 39 | 0 | ||
| Regular season totals | 141 | 264 | 909 | 2 | 141 | 1023 | 5 | ||||
Playoffs
edit| Rushing | Receiving | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | Att | Yds | TD | Rec | Yds | TD | ||
| 2003-04 | Carolina | NFL | 4 | 4 | 12 | 1 | 5 | 35 | 0 | ||
| 2005-06 | Carolina | NFL | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 22 | 0 | ||
| 2008-09 | Carolina | NFL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 | ||
| Playoff totals | 8 | 6 | 12 | 1 | 9 | 64 | 0 | ||||
External links
editReferences
edit- ^ "Western Carolina Announces its 2008 Athletics Hall of Fame Class". CBS Sports.com College Network. Archived from the original on January 18, 2013. Retrieved March 22, 2012.
- ^ "Hoover Released by Panthers". The Carolina Panthers. Archived from the original on June 12, 2012. Retrieved March 22, 2012.
- ^ "Former Panthers Takes Monroe Coaching Job". Retrieved April 8, 2012.[permanent dead link]