Lance Dunbar Jr. (born January 25, 1990) 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

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). 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

North Texas Mean Green North Texas Mean Green (formerly North Texas Eagles) represents the University of North Texas (UNT) in intercollegiate athletics. The teams compete in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). North Tex ...

and was signed by 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 ...

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 2012.

Early life

Dunbar was born in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, and lived in New Orleans until 2005, when he was forced to move due to

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

. He initially attended

De La Salle High School (New Orleans, Louisiana) De La Salle High School is a private, Catholic secondary school run by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools in New Orleans, Louisiana. The school's campus is located at the picturesque St. Charles Avenue in uptown New Orleans ...

where he played

and

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, but transferred after his family settled in

Haltom City, Texas Haltom City is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Tarrant County. It is part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. Its population was 46,073 at the 2020 census. Haltom City is an inner suburb of Fort Worth, a ...

. In his junior and senior years at Haltom High School, he had over 2,200 combined rushing yards and was named first-team All-district both years.

College career

Dunbar accepted a football scholarship from the

University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public university, public research university located in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Its main campus is in Denton, Texas, Denton, with a satellite campus in Frisco, Texas, Frisco. It serves as the ...

, as it was close to his home. He played in his first

game on September 6, 2008, against

Tulsa Tulsa ( ) is the second-most-populous city in the state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tul ...

. He had 10 rushing attempts for 72 yards and a

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 ...

, and he also had three receptions for 25 yards. He played in five games that season, finishing with 178 rushing yards on 39 attempts, for a 4.6 average. In 2009, Dunbar played in all 12 of

North Texas North Texas is a term used primarily by residents of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex to refer to a geographic area of Texas, generally considered to include the area south of Oklahoma, east of Abilene, Texas, Abilene, west of Paris, Texas, Par ...

' games. He did not have more than 16 rushing attempts during the first four games. On October 10, against Louisiana-Lafayette, he had 32 carries and set career-highs with 187 rushing yards and four

s. Against Florida Atlantic one week later, he ran for 238 yards, his highest total of the season, and had three touchdowns. Dunbar had 1,378 rushing yards and a conference-leading 17 rushing

s in 2009 and was the team's leading rusher.

had a record of 2–10. Dunbar was named to the preseason All-Sun Belt team in 2010. He did not rush for over 141 yards in any of the first seven games that year. However, in the last five games, he rushed for over 200 yards three times. During the final game of the season, against

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant coll ...

, he set a career-high for rushing yards, with 270. He had 22 carries and averaged 12.3 yards per attempt that day. In addition, he scored three rushing

s and one receiving

lost that game and had a 3–9 record in 2010. He finished his junior year with 1,553 rushing yards and 13 rushing

s. He led

in rushing yards for the second-straight season. In his final season in 2011, he had 1,115 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns to go along with 29 receptions for 350 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Dunbar finished his college career with many accomplishments: * Leading rusher in school history with 4,224 rushing yards * First in career

s with 49. * First in career all-purpose yards with 5,375. * Tied in career 100-yard rushing games (21) with

Patrick Cobbs Stanley Patrick Cobbs (born January 31, 1983) is an American football coach and former player who currently serves as the run game coordinator and running backs coach at the University of North Texas. He played as a running back in the Nationa ...

. * First in career points scored with 294. * First in career rushing

s with 41. * Second in career rushing attempts with 782. * First

in school history with three consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons. * Second

in school history two consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons. In 2016, Dunbar was inducted into the North Texas Athletics Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

After being passed over in the

2012 NFL draft The 2012 NFL draft was the 77th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players for their rosters. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held ...

because of size concerns, he was signed as an undrafted free agent by the

on April 28,

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

. Dunbar showed off his skills during the preseason and made the team's

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 ...

as a

and

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 ...

player. On October 8, he was promoted to the Cowboys' 53-man roster. He was also used as a gunner covering punts, finishing with 10

tackles. In the 2012 season, he finished with 21 carries for 75 rushing yards. Dunbar began the 2013 season with the expectation of being a change-of-pace back that could play backup to DeMarco Murray, but injuries (three games missed) and fumble issues impacted his playing time at the start of the season. He was fighting for the third-string

position with rookie

Joseph Randle Joseph David Randle (born December 29, 1991) is an American former professional football running back in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys. He was selected by the Cowboys in the fifth round of the 2013 NFL draft. He playe ...

, when he had a breakout game against the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

, registering 82 rushing yards (6.8 average), but also suffering a season-ending knee injury. For the year, he recorded 150 yards, averaging five yards per attempt, leaving the Cowboys with high hopes about his running ability. In

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

, he did not see much playing time behind Offensive Player of the Year DeMarco Murray and also fell to third-string behind Joseph Randle. In

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

, after the team lost Murray to the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

free agency 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 ...

and

Dez Bryant Desmond Demond Bryant (born November 4, 1988) is an American former professional American football, football wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Oklahoma State Cowboys football, Oklahoma State ...

to injury in the season opener against the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

, Dunbar earned a more prominent role in the offense. In the first game against the Giants, he registered a team-high eight receptions for 70 yards and was a key player in the fourth quarter game-winning drive with two catches for 40 yards. Against the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

, he finished with a career-high of 10 receptions for 100 yards. He entered the fourth game of the season against 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 ...

as the team's leading receiver and recorded a 45-yard run, before tearing the ACL, the MCL and the

patellar tendon The patellar tendon is the distal portion of the common tendon of the quadriceps femoris, which is continued from the patella to the tibial tuberosity. It is also sometimes called the patellar ligament as it forms a bone to bone connection whe ...

in his left knee, during a kickoff return, which was a task he was assigned to replace the recently departed Dwayne Harris. He was placed on the

injured reserve list The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in t ...

on October 10. On March 17,

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

, Dunbar re-signed with the Cowboys on a one-year, $1.75 million contract. He began training camp on the physically unable to perform list, while recovering from his previous knee injury. He made a surprising recovery that had him available to play in the last preseason game and that made the Cowboys decide to keep

Darren McFadden Darren McFadden (born August 27, 1987) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Arkansas Razorbacks football, Arkansas ...

on the Non Football Injury List. His injury knee flared up and was declared inactive against the

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Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

, and

. With the emergence of rookie

Ezekiel Elliott Ezekiel Elijah Elliott (born July 22, 1995), nicknamed "Zeke", is an American professional American football, football running back. He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes football, Ohio State Buckeyes, earning second-team College ...

, the offseason addition of Alfred Morris, and the late season return of McFadden, his impact and production were limited, finishing with 31 rushing yards, 122 receiving yards, and one rushing

Los Angeles Rams

On March 16,

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

, Dunbar signed a one-year contract with 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 ...

, who were looking to replace Benny Cunningham. He also reunited with running back coach Skip Peete, who coached him in his first season with the Cowboys. He was placed on the physically unable to perform list to start the 2017 season after dealing with a knee injury. He was activated off PUP to the active roster on November 11, 2017. He finished the season with 11 carries for 51 rushing yards and a touchdown in four games. On March 9, 2018, Dunbar was released by the Rams.

Dallas Renegades

In 2019, Dunbar was selected in the eighth round of the 2020 XFL Draft by the

Dallas Renegades The Arlington Renegades are a professional American football team based in Arlington, Texas. The Renegades compete in the United Football League (2024), United Football League (UFL) as a member of the XFL Conference. The team was founded as the D ...

. In March, amid the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, the league announced that it would be cancelling the rest of the season. Playing in all 5 games, he registered 30 carries for 146 yards and a score, as well as 26 receptions for 154 yards. He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.

References

External links

North Texas Mean Green bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunbar, Lance 1990 births Living people Players of American football from Tarrant County, Texas Players of American football from New Orleans American football running backs North Texas Mean Green football players Dallas Cowboys players Dallas Renegades players Los Angeles Rams players 21st-century African-American sportsmen Tulsa Golden Hurricane football coaches