Lance Dunbar facts for kids
Dunbar in 2012
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| Idaho Vandals football | |||||||||||||
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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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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
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| Player stats at PFR | |||||||||||||
Lance Dunbar Jr. was born on January 25, 1990. He is a former American football player. He played as a running back, which is a player who runs with the ball. He played college football at the University of North Texas. The Dallas Cowboys signed him in 2012. He was not chosen in the main draft, so he was an undrafted free agent.
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Growing Up: Lance Dunbar's Story
Lance Dunbar was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He lived there until 2005. He had to move because of Hurricane Katrina, a very strong storm. His family settled in Haltom City, Texas.
Lance first went to De La Salle High School in New Orleans. He played both running back and safety there. After moving, he went to Haltom High School. In his junior and senior years, he ran for over 2,200 yards. He was named first-team All-district both years. This means he was one of the best players in his area.
College Football Journey
Lance Dunbar received a football scholarship from the University of North Texas. He chose this school because it was close to his home. His first college game was on September 6, 2008, against Tulsa. He ran for 72 yards and scored a touchdown. He also caught three passes for 25 yards. He played in five games that year. He finished with 178 rushing yards.
Standout Seasons at North Texas
In 2009, Lance 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, against Florida Atlantic, he ran for 238 yards. This was his highest total that season.
He finished 2009 with 1,378 rushing yards. He also had 17 rushing touchdowns, which led his conference. He was the team's top rusher.
In 2010, Lance was named to the preseason All-Sun Belt team. He had three games where he ran for over 200 yards. In the last game of the season, against Kansas State University, he set a new career high. He ran for 270 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 season in 2011, he ran for 1,115 yards. He scored 10 rushing touchdowns. He also caught 29 passes for 350 yards and two touchdowns.
College Career Records
Lance Dunbar achieved many great things in college:
- He became the leading rusher in school history with 4,224 rushing yards.
- He was first in career touchdowns with 49.
- He was first in career all-purpose yards with 5,375.
- He tied for first in career 100-yard rushing games with 21.
- He was first in career points scored with 294.
- He was first in career rushing touchdowns with 41.
- He was the first running back in school history to have three straight seasons with over 1,000 rushing yards.
In 2016, Lance Dunbar was honored. He was put into the North Texas Athletics Hall of Fame.
Professional Football Career
Lance Dunbar was not chosen in the 2012 NFL draft. This was partly because of concerns about his size. However, the Dallas Cowboys signed him on April 28, 2012. He showed his skills during the preseason games. He earned a spot on the team's practice squad. He played as a running back and on special teams.
Playing for the Dallas Cowboys
On October 8, 2012, Lance was moved to the Cowboys' main roster. He also played as a gunner on punt plays. He made 10 tackles on special teams. In the 2012 season, he ran for 75 yards.
In the 2013 season, Lance was expected to be a backup running back. He could change the pace of the game. But he missed three games due to injuries. He also had some issues with fumbling the ball. 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, Lance did not play much. This was because DeMarco Murray was the team's main running back. Murray was named Offensive Player of the Year. Lance was also behind another running back, Joseph Randle.
The 2015 season brought more chances for Lance. DeMarco Murray left the team. Also, Dez Bryant, a star receiver, got injured. Lance got a bigger role in the offense. In the first game, he caught eight passes for 70 yards. He helped the team win in the fourth quarter. Against the Atlanta Falcons, he caught 10 passes for 100 yards. This was a career high for him.
In the fourth game of the season, Lance was the team's leading receiver. He had a 45-yard run. But then, he got a very serious knee injury. He tore his ACL, MCL, and patellar tendon. This happened during a kickoff return. He was placed on the injured reserve list on October 10. This meant he could not play for the rest of the season.
On March 17, 2016, Lance signed a new contract with the Cowboys. It was for one year. He started training camp while recovering from his knee injury. He recovered surprisingly well. He was able to play in the last preseason game. This helped the Cowboys decide to keep him. However, his knee injury flared up again. He missed several games. With new players like Ezekiel Elliott and Alfred Morris, Lance's playing time was limited. He finished the season with 31 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown.
Other Professional Teams
On March 16, 2017, Lance signed a one-year contract with the Los Angeles Rams. He was still dealing with a knee injury. He was placed on the physically unable to perform list. He was able to play starting in November 2017. He finished the season with 51 rushing yards and one touchdown in four games. The Rams released him on March 9, 2018.
In 2019, Lance was chosen by the Dallas Renegades in the 2020 XFL Draft. The XFL was a new football league. He played in all five games. He ran for 146 yards and scored a touchdown. He also caught 26 passes for 154 yards. In March 2020, the league stopped playing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. His contract ended when the league closed down on April 10, 2020.
