Brian P. Toal (born March 8, 1985) 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 ...
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 ...
. He was drafted by the
Las Vegas Locomotives
The Las Vegas Locomotives (called the Locos for short) were a professional American football team based in Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas, Nevada that played in the United Football League (2009–2012), United Football League. The team played their ...
in the
UFL premiere season draft in 2009. 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
Boston College
Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...
.
He has also been a member of the
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...
, but not played, and is married to
Phil Simms' daughter Dierdre.
Early life
Toal grew up in
Wyckoff, New Jersey. After a high school senior season in which he made 106 tackles and 10.5 sacks as a linebacker and ran for 1,063 yards and 32 touchdowns as a
half back, Toal was named an All-American by ''
USA Today
''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...
'' and ''
Parade'', selected as the New Jersey Player of the Year by
Gatorade and ''
The Star-Ledger'', and chosen to play in the
U.S. Army All-American Bowl where he scored 3 touchdowns. A two-time All-State first-team selection, he led
Don Bosco Preparatory High School to back-to-back
NJSIAA Parochial Group 4 titles (2002 and 2003). Toal also excelled on Don Bosco's track team, winning the 100 and 200 meters and shot put events at the league meet as a junior. Toal has 2 other brothers and is the son of Greg Toal (Don Bosco Prep Coach).
College career
One of the most coveted recruits in BC football history, Toal played in all 12 games as a true freshman, starting the final nine. He made his college debut in the season opener at
Ball State, making one solo stop and four assisted tackles. He was named
Big East Defensive Player of the Week after a career-high 15 tackles (12 solos, two tackles for loss) against Rutgers. He finished as BC's second-leading tackler with 77 (37 solos). He also recorded 4.5 tackles for loss, two pass breakups, one forced fumble and one blocked punt. He was selected as the 2004
Big East Rookie of the Year and a
The Sporting News Freshman All-American. He made seven tackles in BC's
Continental Tire Bowl victory of
North Carolina
North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
.
Playing on offense, defense, and special teams, Toal recorded 53 tackles (32 solos), seven tackles for loss, two sacks, one forced fumble, one pass breakup on defense, one blocked field goal, and carried the ball 21 times for 49 yards and a team-high six touchdowns, including a one-yard touchdown to give BC an overtime victory against
Clemson. Toal only played sparingly against
Boise State in the
MPC Computers Bowl, recording one assisted tackle.
Toal played in all of BC's 13 games, finishing the year with 50 tackles (29 solo) stops, 4.5 tackles for loss, one fumble recovery, two pass breakups, and two interceptions. On offense, he ran 19 times for 35 yards for a team high five touchdowns. Toal also had one receiving touchdown as a running back. He had one assisted tackle and a one-yard touchdown run against
Navy
A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...
in the
Meineke Car Care Bowl.
Toal started out the 2007 season on ''
The Sporting News'' Preseason All-ACC second-team and on the watch lists for the
Bednarik and
Butkus Awards. He would miss the entire season, however, due to a right shoulder injury. After receiving a
Medical Redshirt, Toal returned for his senior season in 2008. His college career would come to an early end, however, as he suffered a season-ending injury (broken right fibula) against
Virginia Tech
The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...
on October 18.
Professional career
Las Vegas Locomotives
Toal went undrafted in the
2009 NFL draft, but was drafted by the
Las Vegas Locomotives
The Las Vegas Locomotives (called the Locos for short) were a professional American football team based in Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas, Nevada that played in the United Football League (2009–2012), United Football League. The team played their ...
in the
UFL premiere season draft and signed with the team on August 5, 2009.
New York Jets
Toal signed a future contract with the
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...
on January 5, 2011. He was waived on August 23.
References
External links
Boston College Eagles bioUnited Football League bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Toal, Brian
1985 births
Living people
American football linebackers
Boston College Eagles football players
Don Bosco Preparatory High School alumni
Las Vegas Locomotives players
New York Jets players
Sportspeople from Wyckoff, New Jersey