Bradley R. Hoover (born November 11, 1976) 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 fullback for the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

of 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). 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 ...

for the

Western Carolina Catamounts The Western Carolina Catamounts are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent Western Carolina University. The Catamounts compete in the NCAA Division I as members of the Southern Conference. Western Carolina fields 16 varsity sports t ...

. He was signed by the Panthers 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 2000.

Early life

Hoover was a Shrine Bowl participant and an all-state selection at Ledford Senior High School in

Thomasville, North Carolina Thomasville is a city in Davidson County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 27,183 at the 2020 census. The city was once notable for its furniture industry, as were its neighbors High Point, North Carolina, High Point and Lexington ...

. He led the state with 2,662 yards rushing and scored 34

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

s as a senior. He earned

Davidson County, North Carolina Davidson County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, its population was 168,930. Its county seat is Lexington, and its largest community is Thomasville. Davidson County is included in the Winston-S ...

and Central Carolina Conference Player of the Year honors.

College career

Hoover attended

Western Carolina University Western Carolina University (WCU) is a public university in Cullowhee, North Carolina, United States. It is part of the University of North Carolina system. The fifth oldest institution of the sixteen four-year universities in the UNC system, WCU ...

, being second all-time in school history in career yards. In his

junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Aircraft * Ekolot JK-05L Junior, a Polish ultralight aircraft * PZL-112 Junior, a Polish training aircraft * SZD-51 Junior, a Polish-made training and club glider Arts and entertainment Characters * Bowser Jr., ...

season, he set a school rushing record with 1,663 yards, scoring 13

s in the process. He earned first-team All-

Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. Southern Conference College football, football teams c ...

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 . In 2008, Hoover was inducted by Western Carolina University into the school's Athletics Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Carolina Panthers

Hoover went

undrafted 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 the

2000 NFL draft The 2000 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur U.S. college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 15– 16, 2000, at the Theat ...

; he was later signed as a

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 ...

by the

. After a foot injury sidelined starting running back

Tshimanga Biakabutuka Tshimanga "Tim" Biakabutuka (born January 24, 1974) is a former American football running back. He played college football at the University of Michigan from 1993 to 1995, and was drafted with the eight overall pick in the 1996 NFL draft by th ...

, Hoover got two starts at tailback, including a ''

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'' game against the

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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 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

. He caught two passes for touchdowns that season, the first touchdown receptions of his career. During the Panthers run to

Super Bowl XXXVIII Super Bowl XXXVIII was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 2003 Carolina Panthers season, Carolina Panthers and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 2003 New England Patriots season, New E ...

, he was the primary blocker for Stephen Davis, allowing Davis to rush for a team record 1,444 yards.

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

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.

After football

In March 2013 Hoover was hired as the head football coach of Union Academy, a charter school in Monroe, North Carolina. 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

Regular season

Playoffs

External links

Carolina Panthers bio

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoover, Brad 1976 births Living people People from Thomasville, North Carolina Players of American football from North Carolina American football fullbacks Western Carolina Catamounts football players Carolina Panthers players Western Carolina University alumni High school football coaches in North Carolina