Melvin Bullitt
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Melvin Terry Bullitt (born November 13, 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 ...
defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...
. He was signed by the
Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...
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 and played for the team for five seasons. 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
Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...
.


Early life

Bullitt starred at
Naaman Forest High School Naaman Forest High School is a public secondary school located in Garland, Texas, United States. Naaman Forest enrolls students in grades 9- 12 and is a part of the Garland Independent School District. In 2009, the school was rated "academicall ...
in
Garland, Texas Garland is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located within Dallas County, Texas, Dallas County with portions extending into Collin County, Texas, Collin and Rockwall County, Texas, Rockwall counties. It is located northeast of Dallas and is a ...
, where he was team MVP as a senior after totaling 78 tackles (43 solo), five pass deflections, and three interceptions. He also caught seven passes for 185 yards and a touchdown. He was teammates with Uche Nwaneri and Jacob Lacey. Bullitt committed to Texas A&M at the end of his junior year.


College career

As a freshman at
Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...
, Bullitt played in 8 games and produced 13 tackles. As a sophomore, he played in 12 games, finishing with 29 tackles, one interception, and one forced fumble. He started 10 games as a junior and compiled 59 tackles, two interceptions, and two forced fumbles. In the 2006 season, as a senior outside linebacker, he started in all 13 games had 84 tackles (26 solo), one interception, one fumble recovery, and eight pass deflections. After the season, he was named to the 2006 AT&T All-Big 12 Football First-team. He finished his college career with 183 tackles (80 solo), 10.5 tackles for losses, and four interceptions. Bullitt changed positions every season. He began playing at corner, then free safety, then strong safety, and finally at outside linebacker.


Professional career


2007 season

Bullitt signed with the
Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...
as an undrafted free agent. In Week 5 he started in the Colts' dime package in a 33-14 victory over the
Tampa Bay Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater i ...
. He also saw action on defense in Week 9 against the
New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...
as a replacement for injured
Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...
safety
Bob Sanders Demond "Bob" Sanders (born February 24, 1981) is an American former professional football player who was a safety in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons. He played college football for the Iowa Hawkeyes and was selected by th ...
. He had his most extensive playing time in Week 17 against
Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
, when he entered the game in the second half after the Colts rested starters on both sides of the ball. Despite only playing the second half, he made a team-high 10 tackles.


2008 season

During the 2008 season, Bullitt made three game-saving interceptions to seal victories for the Colts. In the 31–27 comeback win over the Texans on October 5, he intercepted a pass by quarterback
Sage Rosenfels Sage Jamen Rosenfels (born March 6, 1978) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Iowa State Cyclones and was selected by the Washington ...
at the Indianapolis 22, with 42 seconds remaining in the game. On November 9, Steelers quarterback
Ben Roethlisberger Benjamin Todd Roethlisberger Sr. ( ; born March 2, 1982), nicknamed "Big Ben", is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons with the Pittsburgh Ste ...
attempted to throw a touchdown pass into the end zone on the final play, but Bullitt intercepted the pass, preventing a Steelers comeback and sealing the 24–20 Colts win. The third game-saver occurred in the second matchup against the Texans on November 16, when Bullitt intercepted Rosenfels' pass at the Colts 35, with 32 seconds left in the game. In the same game, however, he missed a tackle near the line of scrimmage on running back
Steve Slaton Steve Slaton (born January 4, 1986) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the West Virginia Mountaineers, earning unanimous All-American ...
, who ran 71 yards for a touchdown. The Colts still won 33–27. Overall, Bullitt started nine games during the season, recording 42 solo tackles and four interceptions. After the season, Bullitt received recognition from ''
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 ...
'', which listed him on its annual "All-Joe" team. Regarding his then-new role as a starter, Bullitt stated: "You always want to be a starter. That's why you come to the NFL. You don't want to come in and be a backup. You have to learn and you have to wait your time. You have to be patient, because anytime, an opportunity may come. Mine came this year, and I just wanted to go out and do the best I can and show people in the league I can play, too."


2009 season

In January 2009, Bullitt was named the "emerging star" of the
AFC South The American Football Conference – Southern Division or AFC South is one of the four Division (sport), divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It was created before the 2002 NFL season, 200 ...
by an
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blogger; seven other players representing each division of the league were named one, as well. The players were picked based on their performances in the 2008 season. His teammates elected him as one of the two 2009 special-teams captains. He started the season as a starter, replacing the injured Bob Sanders. He was named the "Unsung Hero of the Week" for week 3 by ''USA Today'' for his performance against the Arizona Cardinals. Bullitt forced a fumble and also prevented an airborne player from scoring a touchdown at the goal line. Bullitt also made a crucial fourth-down stop in the 35–34 victory over the New England Patriots. For the second straight year, Bullitt made ''USA Today's '' "All-Joe" team.


2010–2011 seasons

In October 2010, Bullitt was placed on injured reserve and missed the rest of the season. Three weeks into the 2011 season, Bullitt was placed on injured reserve. He was released following the 2011 season on March 9, 2012.


NFL career statistics


Regular season


Playoffs


Post-playing career

Following his retirement, Bullitt was named coach of the
Legends Football League The Extreme Football League (X League) is a women's Semi-professional sports, semi-professional indoor American football league operating in the United States. The league was originally founded in 2009 as the Lingerie Football League (LFL), and ...
's Dallas Desire for the franchise's return in 2016. His brother Terrance will be his assistant. Melvin maintains an athletic training facility with his family in
Rowlett, Texas Rowlett (, traditionally ) is a city in Dallas and Rockwall Counties in Texas, United States, and an eastern suburb of Dallas. It is a growing, upscale community with nearly $1.5 billion in development in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, loc ...
.


Personal

During his playing career, Melvin wore the number 33 in honor of his father, Jerry Bullitt, who wore the number as a linebacker at Texas A&M. When asked about his number, Melvin stated: "I kind of feel like when I'm wearing (No. 33), a piece of my dad is with me when I'm on the field." Teammate
Dominic Rhodes Dominic Dondrell Rhodes (born January 17, 1979) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Midwestern State Mustangs and was signed by the ...
previously wore the same number for six seasons from 2001 to 2006 before playing the 2007 season for 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 ...
. Once Rhodes returned to the Colts prior to the 2008 season, he tried to get the number back and even offered Bullitt serious money for it, but to no avail.


References


External links


COLTS CHAT: MELVIN BULLITT: November 14, 2008Colts.com article
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bullitt, Melvin Texas A&M Aggies football players 1984 births American football defensive backs Indianapolis Colts players Living people Players of American football from Garland, Texas Players of American football from Collin County, Texas Players of American football from Dallas County, Texas Legends Football League coaches Coaches of American football from Texas