Alonzo Coleman (born January 27, 1984) is a former

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

. He was signed by the

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager 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 a contract at present ...

in 2007. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Hampton University Hampton University is a private, historically black, research university in Hampton, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1868 as Hampton Agricultural and Industrial School, it was established by Black and White leaders of the American Missiona ...

Early years

Coleman attended

Halifax County High School Halifax County High School is a public high school located in South Boston, Virginia, United States. It is located less than from Halifax County Middle School. Having 2,319 students currently enrolled in the 2017–18 school year, there are 118 ...

, where he finished as the school's all-time leading rusher with more than 3,500 yards in his high school career. He also recorded over 700 receiving yards and 600 return yards. As a senior, he set the

single-season rushing record with over 1,500 yards and also set the school's single-game rushing record with 315 yards. He received first-team All-district, All-region and Western Valley District Co-Player of the Year honors. In track, he was a regional qualifier in the

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...

4 × 100 metres relay The 4 × 100 metres relay or sprint relay is an athletics track event run in lanes over one lap of the track with four runners completing 100 metres each. The first runners must begin in the same stagger as for the indiv ...

and

300 metres The 300 metres is an uncommon (meaning not on an Olympic or World Championship program) sprinting event in track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contes ...

competitions. In 2017, he was inducted into the South Boston-Halifax County Sports Hall of Fame.

College career

He accepted a football scholarship from

. As a true freshman, he was named the starter over senior Rian Thompson. He tallied 239 carries for 1,137, becoming the first freshman in school history to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season. He also had a conference-best 18 touchdowns (third in school history). As a sophomore, he posted 225 carries for 1,133 yards and 13 touchdowns, becoming the first player in school history to start his career with back-to-back 1,000-plus rushing yard seasons. He had a career-high 209 yards with three touchdowns in the season opener against

Jackson State University Jackson State University (Jackson State or JSU) is a Public university, public Historically Black colleges and universities, historically black research university in Jackson, Mississippi. It is a member of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and ...

. He was limited with an ankle injury he suffered against

Morgan State University Morgan State University (Morgan State or MSU) is a Public university, public historically black colleges and universities, historically black research university in Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland. It is the largest of Maryland's historically bla ...

. Along with Ardell Daniels, they were the only teammates in Division I-AA to each rush for more than 1,000 yards. As a junior, he had 204 carries for 1,326 yards (second in school history) and 19 touchdowns (second in school history). He set a school record five rushing touchdowns (30 points) and a season-high 172 rushing yards against

Gardner–Webb University Gardner–Webb University (Gardner–Webb, GWU, or GW) is a private Christian university in Boiling Springs, North Carolina. It was founded as Boiling Springs High School in 1905. Gardner–Webb is classified among "Doctoral/Professional Univer ...

. Coleman (1,326) and Daniels (1,044) also became the third pair of teammates in Division I-AA history, to each rush for more than 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons. As a senior, although he was limited with a hip pointer injury, he registered 158 carries for 1,052 yards and 12 touchdowns, becoming the sixth player in Division I-AA history to rush for more than 1000 yards in each of his four seasons. He broke the

MEAC The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC ) is a collegiate athletic conference whose full members are historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the Southeastern and the Mid-Atlantic United States. It participates in the Nation ...

career rushing record against

Winston-Salem State University Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) is a historically black public university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina system. History Winston-Salem State University was founded as "Slater Industrial A ...

. He had 180 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns against

Bethune–Cookman University Bethune–Cookman University (B–CU or Bethune–Cookman) is a Private university, private Historically black colleges and universities, historically black university in Daytona Beach, Florida. Bethune–Cookman University is affiliated wit ...

. He tallied 181 rushing yards and 4 touchdowns against

Florida A&M University Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), commonly known as Florida A&M, is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically black land-grant university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. ...

. Coleman finished his college career with 826 carries (conference and school record) for 4,648 yards (conference and school record), 62 rushing touchdowns (conference and school record), 64 total touchdowns (school record) and 24 100-yard rushing games. He also contributed to three straight

championships (2004, 2005, 2006).

Professional career

Coleman was signed as an

by the

after the

2007 NFL draft The 2007 NFL draft was the 72nd annual meeting of National Football League franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 28 and April 29, 2007. The draf ...

on April 23. He began training camp on the physically unable to perform list with an ankle injury. The injury limited his playing time and although he was waived on September 1, he was later signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

. He was cut on August 30,

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, after being passed over on the depth chart by

Tashard Choice Tashard J. Choice (born November 20, 1984) is an American football coach and former player who currently serves as the running backs coach for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Georgia ...

and was later signed to the

. On December 5, he was promoted to the active roster, because of injuries to both

Marion Barber III Marion Sylvester Barber III (June 10, 1983 – June 1, 2022) was an American professional football player who was a running back for seven seasons in the National Football League (NFL). After playing college football for the Minnesota Golden G ...

and

Felix Jones Felix Jones Jr. (born May 8, 1987) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers. He played college football for the Arkansas Razo ...

. He made his

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

debut playing on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

against the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

. He was declared inactive in the last 3 games of the season. In

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, a knee injury limited his playing time during training camp and he was waived injured on August 17.

References

External links

Hampton Pirates bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coleman, Alonzo 1984 births Living people People from Halifax, Virginia Players of American football from Virginia American football running backs Hampton Pirates football players Dallas Cowboys players