Anthony Lewis Tolbert (born December 29, 1967) is an American former professionalfootball player who was adefensive end for theDallas Cowboys of theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football for theUTEP Miners and was selected in the fourth round of the1989 NFL draft.

Tolbert grew up inEnglewood, New Jersey, and attendedDwight Morrow High School, where he was an All-conference selection. He accepted a football scholarship from theUniversity of Texas-El Paso.^[1]

Tolbert was light for adefensive end (6 feet 2 inches and 175 pounds as a freshman), but developed into apass rusher.

As a junior, Tolbert was named the starter atoutside linebacker, contributing to a 7-4 record, for the program's first winning season since 1970. He posted 49 tackles (five for loss), four sacks, three passes defensed, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. AgainstColorado State University, he tallied five tackles and one sack, helping the school win its first football road game in seven years.

During his senior season, Tolbert tied a school record with 11 sacks, while making 101 tackles, 15 tackles for loss (led the team), two passes defensed, one forced fumble and earningAll- WAC honors. UTEP's 1988 team is the winningestfootball team in school history with 10 wins. It also clinched its first bowl bid since 1967, losing 38-18 toUniversity of Southern Mississippi in theIndependence Bowl.

In 2014, Tolbert was named to the UTEP football Centennial team.^[2] He graduated with a degree in criminal justice.

Tolbert was selected by theDallas Cowboys in the fourth round (85th overall) of the1989 NFL draft,^[3] after falling because he was considered a tweener (slow to playlinebacker and light for adefensive end at 230 pounds). As a rookie, Tolbert was converted into adefensive end. He started five games atleft defensive end overEd "Too Tall" Jones, making 52 tackles, two sacks, 18 quarterback pressures, five passes defensed (led the team) and one forced fumble.^[4] Tolbert had 10 tackles, one pass defensed and one forced fumble against theKansas City Chiefs.

In1990, Tolbert played at both end positions anddefensive tackle on passing downs. He started four games, in place of an injuredJim Jeffcoat andDanny Stubbs. He registered 55 tackles, six sacks (third on the team), 24 quarterback pressures (third on the team), three passes defensed and one forced fumble.

In1991, Tolbert took advantage of a contract holdout by Stubbs and became the regular starter atleft defensive end. He posted 73 tackles (fifth on the team), seven sacks (led the team), 25 quarterback pressures (led the team), five passes defensed and two forced fumbles.

In1996, he was named to thePro Bowl, when he had a career-high of 12 sacks and 85 tackles.

Tolbert played with chronic knee pain through the final years of his career, because of a degenerative knee condition. Despite playing in pain, Tolbert started all 16 games in1997, compiled five sacks and led all Cowboysdefensive linemen in tackles for the seventh consecutive season, with 60. Tolbert's five sacks were the most on the team that year.

On June 161998, Tolbert was released because of his declining performance while playing on aching knees.

As adefensive end for the Cowboys from1989-1997, Tolbert played an important role in the Cowboys' rise to prominence in the 1990s and their threeSuper Bowl victories. Tolbert became one of the stalwarts on one of the best defenses of the 1990s. During that time, he teamed up withCharles Haley to become one of the toppass-rushing duos in theNFL. Although Tolbert came into the league as apass rush specialist, he developed into an effective run stopper, making him the leading tackler among Cowboydefensive linemen for seven straight years.

During Tolbert's career, he recorded 59 quarterback sacks in 128 games played over the course of nine seasons, plus he returned his only interception 54 yards for atouchdown. He had more sacks during the 1990s than any other Cowboy player.

Ten years after Tolbert retired, he had knee-replacement surgery on both knees, the result of seven knee surgeries during his nine-year career.^[5]

• 1967 births
• Living people
• Dwight Morrow High School alumni
• Players of American football from Englewood, New Jersey
• American football defensive ends
• UTEP Miners football players
• Dallas Cowboys players
• National Conference Pro Bowl players

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