Lance Dunbar facts for kids
Dunbar in 2012
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| Idaho Vandals | |||||||||||||
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| Position: | Running backs coach | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born: | January 25, 1990 New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. |
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| Height: | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight: | 187 lb (85 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school: | Haltom (Haltom City, Texas) | ||||||||||||
| College: | North Texas (2008–2011) | ||||||||||||
| Undrafted: | 2012 | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||
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| Player stats at PFR | |||||||||||||
Lance Dunbar Jr. (born January 25, 1990) is a former American football player. He was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for six seasons. Lance played college football for the North Texas Mean Green. The Dallas Cowboys signed him in 2012.
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Early Life and High School Football
Lance Dunbar was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He lived there until 2005. Due to Hurricane Katrina, his family had to move. He first went to De La Salle High School (New Orleans, Louisiana). There, he played running back and safety.
After his family moved to Haltom City, Texas, he transferred schools. He attended Haltom High School for his junior and senior years. During these years, he gained over 2,200 rushing yards. He was named first-team All-district both years.
College Football Career
Lance accepted a football scholarship from the University of North Texas. This university was close to his home. He played his first college football game on September 6, 2008. It was against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane. He ran for 72 yards and scored a touchdown. He also caught three passes for 25 yards. In his first season, he played in five games. He finished with 178 rushing yards.
Standout Seasons at North Texas
In 2009, Dunbar played in all 12 games for North Texas. On October 10, he had a great game against Louisiana-Lafayette. He ran for 187 yards and scored four touchdowns. A week later, he ran for 238 yards against Florida Atlantic. He also scored three touchdowns in that game.
For the 2009 season, Dunbar had 1,378 rushing yards. He led the conference with 17 rushing touchdowns. He was the team's top rusher.
In 2010, Dunbar was named to the preseason All-Sun Belt team. He had an amazing game against Kansas State University. He set a career-high with 270 rushing yards. He also scored three rushing touchdowns and one receiving touchdown. He finished his junior year with 1,553 rushing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns. He led North Texas in rushing yards for the second year in a row.
In his final college season in 2011, he had 1,115 rushing yards. He also scored 10 rushing touchdowns. He caught 29 passes for 350 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
College Records and Hall of Fame
Lance Dunbar achieved many records during his college career:
- He is the leading rusher in school history with 4,224 rushing yards.
- He is first in career touchdowns with 49.
- He is first in career all-purpose yards with 5,375.
- He is tied for career 100-yard rushing games (21).
- He is first in career points scored with 294.
- He is first in career rushing touchdowns with 41.
- He is the first running back in school history with three straight 1,000-yard rushing seasons.
In 2016, Lance Dunbar was honored. He was inducted into the North Texas Athletics Hall of Fame.
Professional Football Career
Dallas Cowboys (2012–2016)
Lance Dunbar was not chosen in the 2012 NFL draft. This was likely due to his size. However, the Dallas Cowboys signed him as a free agent on April 28, 2012. He showed his skills during the preseason. He earned a spot on the team's practice squad. He played as a running back and on special teams. On October 8, he joined the Cowboys' main roster. He also helped cover punts, making 10 special teams tackles. In 2012, he ran for 75 yards.
In the 2013 season, Dunbar was expected to be a backup running back. He faced some injuries and fumbled the ball at times. He had a great game against the Oakland Raiders. He ran for 82 yards. However, he suffered a knee injury that ended his season. He finished the year with 150 rushing yards. In 2014, he did not play much. He was behind star running back DeMarco Murray.
In 2015, Dunbar got a bigger role. The team's main running back, DeMarco Murray, left. Also, star receiver Dez Bryant got injured. In the first game, Dunbar caught eight passes for 70 yards. He was key in the winning drive. Against the Atlanta Falcons, he caught 10 passes for 100 yards. This was his career high. In the fourth game, he tore several ligaments in his left knee. This happened during a kickoff return. He was placed on the injured reserve list on October 10.
On March 17, 2016, Dunbar signed a new contract with the Cowboys. He was recovering from his knee injury. He made a good recovery and played in the last preseason game. However, his knee flared up again. He missed several games. With new players like Ezekiel Elliott, his playing time was limited. He finished the season with 31 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown.
Los Angeles Rams (2017)
On March 16, 2017, Dunbar signed a one-year contract with the Los Angeles Rams. He reunited with his former running backs coach, Skip Peete. He started the 2017 season on the physically unable to perform list due to his knee. He was activated on November 11, 2017. He played in four games. He ran for 51 yards and scored a touchdown. The Rams released him on March 9, 2018.
Dallas Renegades (2020)
In 2019, Lance Dunbar was chosen by the Dallas Renegades in the 2020 XFL Draft. He played in all five games before the league stopped operations. This happened in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He ran for 146 yards and scored one touchdown. He also caught 26 passes for 154 yards. His contract ended when the league closed on April 10, 2020.
