Alvin Toles (born March 23, 1963) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

for the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

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) from 1985 until 1988, when a knee injury ended his career. 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 ...

at the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...

, initially as a fullback before switching to linebacker his junior year. He was the Saints' 1st-round pick in the

1985 NFL draft The 1985 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. The NFL draft, draft was held April 30 and May 1, 1985 NFL season, 1985, at the Omni Park Central Hotel in New York City, New ...

Early life

Toles played high school football at Mary Persons High School in

Forsyth, Georgia Forsyth is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County, Georgia, United States.Forsyth
Georgia.gov The pop ...

, under long-time coach Dan Pitt. Playing as a fullback, he rushed for 1,663 yards during his senior season in 1980,Jonathan Heeter,
The Numbers Game: The 40s
", ''The Telegraph'' (Macon), July 22, 2012. Retrieved: July 31, 2013. leading the Bulldogs to the Class AA state championship and a 15–0 season.1981 Tennessee Signees
", ''1981 Tennessee Volunteers Football Guide'' (University of Tennessee, 1981), p. 58. He rushed for 149 yards and 2 touchdowns in the Bulldogs' 34–6 victory over

Duluth Duluth ( ) is a Port, port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of St. Louis County, Minnesota, St. Louis County. Located on Lake Superior in Minnesota's Arrowhead Region, the city is a hub for cargo shipping. The population ...

in the title game. He earned All-State honors, and was named the "All-Middle Georgia Player of the Year" by the ''

Macon Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', frequently called The Macon Telegraph, is the primary print news organ in Middle Georgia. It is the third-largest newspaper in the State of Georgia (after the ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' and ''Augusta Chronicle''). Founde ...

''. He was ranked among the top 33 recruits in the state of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

by the ''

Atlanta Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' (''AJC'') is an American daily newspaper based in Atlanta metropolitan area, metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Jo ...

''.

Tennessee

Toles joined the Tennessee Volunteers in 1981, part of a signing class that included Reggie McKenzie,

Raleigh McKenzie Raleigh McKenzie (born February 8, 1963) is an American former professional football player who was a guard and center in the National Football League (NFL). During a 16-year football career, he played for four different teams. Raleigh played ...

, Johnnie Jones, Alan Cockrell and Carl Zander. Playing as a fullback during his freshman year, he rushed for 220 yards on 47 carries while splitting time with junior Doug Furnas. During his sophomore year in 1982, he rushed for 135 yards on 46 carries. With 250-pound sophomore Sam Henderson poised to take over the starting slot at fullback at the start of the 1983 season, Toles switched to linebacker at the request of head coach Johnny Majors.Tim Hix,
Vol Profile: Alvin Toles
, ''Tennessee vs. LSU Football Program'' (University of Tennessee, 1983), pp. 47-48. In spite of never having played defense, Toles had a breakout season, registering a team-leading 135 tackles (72 solo), including 8 tackles-for-loss (1 less than All-American teammate

Reggie White Reginald Howard White (December 19, 1961 – December 26, 2004) was an American professional football defensive end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons. White played college football for the Tennessee Volunteers, ear ...

). In the Vols' season-opening loss against

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

, Toles had 19 tackles, one of which broke the

collarbone The clavicle, collarbone, or keybone is a slender, S-shaped long bone approximately long that serves as a strut between the shoulder blade and the sternum (breastbone). There are two clavicles, one on each side of the body. The clavicle is the ...

of Panthers quarterback John Cummings. In Tennessee's loss to Auburn, he had 17 tackles, including 4 tackles-for-loss. He also had 18 tackles (8 solo) against

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

, 14 tackles (8 solo) against

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...

, and 20 tackles (7 solo) against

Ole Miss OLE, Ole or Olé may refer to: * Olé, a cheering expression used in Spain * Ole (name), a male given name, includes a list of people named Ole * Overhead lines equipment, used to transmit electrical energy to trams, trolleybuses or trains Co ...

.1984 Tennessee Squad
, ''1984 Tennessee Volunteers Football Guide'' (University of Tennessee, 1984), p. 60. In Tennessee's 30–23 victory over

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

in the 1983 Florida Citrus Bowl, Toles stuffed Terrapins running back Rick Badanjek at the 1-yard line to prevent a touchdown on the opening drive, and he had a fumble recovery and an interception — both of which led to scores — in the fourth quarter. He finished the game with 6 tackles, and he was named the game's "Outstanding Defensive Player." Toles was expected to have a big year as a senior in 1984, but broke his ankle during the game against Auburn and missed the rest of the season. In just four games, he had 43 tackles (26 solo), broke up a pass and recovered a fumble. He finished his career at Tennessee with 178 tackles (98 solo), 8 of which were for a loss, to go along with the 355 yards rushing on 93 carries he had amassed while playing fullback.

New Orleans Saints

Toles was selected by the New Orleans Saints in the first round (24th overall pick) in the

, one of three Vol linebackers (the others being Carl Zander and Reggie McKenzie) to be drafted that year. He played 55 games over four seasons for the Saints, much of it 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 ...

as he competed with

Sam Mills Samuel Davis Mills Jr. (June 3, 1959 – April 18, 2005) was an American professional football player who was a linebacker for 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers. He also played f ...

and

Vaughan Johnson Vaughan Monroe Johnson (March 24, 1962 – December 12, 2019) was an American professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for the New Orleans Saints and Philadelphia Eagles. He also was a member of ...

for playing time at linebacker. In the Saints' 24–22 loss to

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

on October 25, 1987, Toles returned a blocked punt for a touchdown, temporarily giving the Saints the lead. During the Saints' 14–10 victory over the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

on November 13, 1988, he suffered a serious knee injury. He was waived by the Saints in 1990.

Personal life

Toles' son, Andrew Toles, was a

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Moder ...

player. His daughter, Morgan Toles, is a former Seminole basketball standout.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Toles, Alvin 1963 births Living people People from Monroe County, Georgia People from Barnesville, Georgia Sportspeople from Lamar County, Georgia Players of American football from Georgia (U.S. state) American football linebackers Tennessee Volunteers football players New Orleans Saints players 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen