Mike Alstott
refer to caption
Alstott in 2010
No. 40
Position:Fullback
Personal information
Born: (1973-12-21) December 21, 1973
Joliet, Illinois, U.S.
Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:248 lb (112 kg)
Career information
High school:Joliet Catholic (Joliet, Illinois)
College:Purdue (1992–1995)
NFL Draft:1996 / Round: 2 / Pick: 35
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Rushing attempts:1,359
Rushing yards:5,088
Rushing average:3.7
Receiving yards:2,284
Rushing touchdowns:58
Receiving touchdowns:13
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Michael Joseph Alstott (born December 21, 1973), is an American former professional football player who was a fullback in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Nicknamed "A-Train", he played college football at Purdue and was selected by the Buccaneers in the second round of the 1996 NFL Draft. Alstott received six Pro Bowl and three first-team All-Pro honors during his career, in addition to being part of the Buccaneers team that won the franchise's first Super Bowl title in Super Bowl XXXVII. For his accomplishments in Tampa Bay, he was inducted to the Buccaneers Ring of Honor in 2015. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest fullbacks of all time. One of the NFL's YouTube channels called Alstott "the last legendary fullback".[1]

College career

Alstott attended Purdue University for four years, where he became the first player in school history named MVP in three consecutive seasons. Alstott scored 12 touchdowns as a sophomore, 14 as a junior, and 11 as a senior, and held the Purdue rushing touchdown record with 39 until Kory Sheets broke it in 2008. He averaged 5.6 yards per attempt during his Purdue career before graduating in 1995 with a bachelor's degree in business. He finished as Purdue's all-time leading rusher with 3,635 yards, including a school-best 1,436 yards in 1995.[2]

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeightArm lengthHand span40-yard dash10-yard split20-yard split20-yard shuttleVertical jumpBroad jumpBench press
6 ft 0+3⁄8 in
(1.84 m)		 240 lb
(109 kg)		 31+1⁄2 in
(0.80 m)		 9+7⁄8 in
(0.25 m)		4.68 s1.65 s2.73 s4.16 s33.0 in
(0.84 m)		9 ft 9 in
(2.97 m)		24 reps
All values from NFL Combine[3]

Alstott was selected in the second round (35th overall) of the 1996 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.[4] The Buccaneers utilized Alstott primarily as a running fullback as opposed to a blocking fullback that teams were starting to switch to at the time. He was a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers team that won Super Bowl XXXVII (2002), played at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California. Alstott rushed for 15 yards and the first Super Bowl touchdown in Tampa Bay Buccaneers history. He also caught five passes for 43 yards.

Alstott signing autographs as a member of the Buccaneers in 2006.

Alstott signed a one-year contract to stay in Tampa Bay for the 2005 season, and signed a similar contract at the conclusion of the 2006 season after contemplating retirement. However, he spent all of the 2007 season on injured reserve because of neck problems, leading to his retirement on January 24, 2008.

In the summer of 2007, shortly before he suffered his season-ending and ultimately career-ending neck injury, Alstott appeared in a television commercial for ESPN Fantasy Football along with former teammate Warrick Dunn, who was later signed by the Falcons.

He was ranked No. 10 on the NFL Network's "Top Ten Power Backs".

With 71 total touchdowns as a Buccaneer, Alstott broke the previous franchise record of 46 by running back James Wilder when he scored his 47th career TD on November 26, 2001. Alstott remained the Buccaneers' all-time leading touchdown scorer until November 22, 2021, when wide receiver Mike Evans scored his 72nd TD as a Buccaneer.[5]

NFL career statistics

Rushing statistics

YearTeamGPGSAttYardsAvgLngTDFDFumLost
1996TB 1616963773.93932121
1997TB 15151766653.84773443
1998TB 16162158463.93784944
1999TB 16162429493.93074766
2000TB 13131314653.62053732
2001TB 16161656804.139114000
2002TB 1691465483.83253721
2003TB 4327772.92921000
2004TB 1411672303.43222011
2005TB 16734802.4961200
2006TB 1615601712.91731711
Total1581371,3595,0883.747583242319

[6]

Receiving statistics

YearTeamGPGSRecYardsAvgLngTDFDFumLost
1996TB 1616655578.62932821
1997TB 1515231787.72631310
1998TB 1616221526.9261711
1999TB 1616272398.92421100
2000TB 131313937.2210300
2001TB 1616352316.6191922
2002TB 169352426.94421121
2003TB 4310838.3170300
2004TB 1411292027.02001111
2005TB 167252228.92411100
2006TB 161521854.0180600
Total1581373052,2847.5441311396

[6]

Personal life

Alstott and his ex-wife, Nicole Alstott, have three children.[7] His son Griffin was a quarterback at Western Michigan from 2018 to 2020, after spending the 2017 season at Purdue.[8]

References

  1. ↑ Mike Alstott's Ascent to Become the LAST Legendary Fullback! | Throwback Originals, retrieved November 10, 2023
  2. ↑ "2011 Purdue Football Information Guide" (PDF). cstv.com. Retrieved November 7, 2011.
  3. ↑ "Mike Alstott, Combine Results, FB - Purdue". nflcombineresults.com. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  4. ↑ "1996 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  5. ↑ Smith, Scott (November 23, 2021). "Mike Evans Breaks Mike Alstott's Touchdown Record". Buccaneers.com. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
  6. 1 2 "Mike Alstott". ESPN. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  7. ↑ "Alstott & Family". Retrieved December 31, 2008.
  8. ↑ "Griffin Alstott - Football". Western Michigan University Athletics. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
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