Zurlon Tipton (April 27, 1990 – June 28, 2016) was an American football running back. He played college football at Central Michigan and signed with the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2014.
| No. 37 | |||||||||||||
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| Position: | Running back | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born: | April 27, 1990 Detroit, Michigan, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Died: | June 28, 2016 (aged 26) Detroit, Michigan, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight: | 221 lb (100 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school: | Parkway Christian (Sterling Heights, Michigan) | ||||||||||||
| College: | Central Michigan (2009–2013) | ||||||||||||
| Undrafted: | 2014 | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
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College career
editTipton played college football at Central Michigan University. During his career, he rushed for 2,463 yards on 461 carries with 34 touchdowns.[1]
Professional career
editIndianapolis Colts
editTipton was signed by the Indianapolis Colts after going undrafted in the 2014 NFL draft.[2] Tipton performed well in the preseason and made the Colts initial 53 man roster,[3] but was waived on September 9, 2014, and re-signed to the practice squad shortly afterward. On November 22, Tipton was promoted to the active roster when Griff Whalen was waived.[4]
After seeing some limited action on special teams, Tipton played running back against the Dallas Cowboys and scored his first NFL touchdown on a 1-yard pass from Matt Hasselbeck.
Tipton saw the first significant game action of his pro football career in the Colts' first game of the 2014 playoffs, supplanting the role of former third-overall Cleveland Browns draft pick Trent Richardson as the second running back behind Dan Herron. He carried the ball 11 times for a total of 40 yards, and also recorded a single reception for six yards. The Colts defeated the visiting Cincinnati Bengals by a score of 26–10 in the game.[5] In the AFC Championship against the New England Patriots, Tipton scored his first NFL rushing touchdown.
On September 5, 2015, Tipton was waived by the Colts, but signed to the practice squad on September 17, 2015.[6] He was signed shortly after to the active roster.
On November 26, 2015, Tipton was again waived by the Colts.[7] He was signed by the Colts again on November 30,[8] and waived again on December 21.[9]
NFL career statistics
editRegular season
edit| Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | Fumbles | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Fum | Lost | ||
| 2014 | IND | 6 | 0 | 10 | 18 | 1.8 | 9 | 0 | 6 | 68 | 11.3 | 32 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2015 | IND | 7 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 4.5 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 13 | 0 | 12 | 27 | 2.2 | 9 | 0 | 6 | 68 | 11.3 | 32 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
Postseason
edit| Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | Fumbles | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Fum | Lost | ||
| 2014 | IND | 3 | 0 | 18 | 68 | 3.8 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 22 | 7.3 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 3 | 0 | 18 | 68 | 3.8 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 22 | 7.3 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Personal life
editLegal history
editOn December 25, 2015, Tipton was arrested and charged with criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon, after reportedly firing a single shot from his AR-15 rifle into his girlfriend's house. He was released on a $3,000 bond.[10]
Death
editOn June 28, 2016, Tipton accidentally shot himself in the stomach while removing a bag containing two guns from his car. He was taken to the hospital in good condition but died shortly afterwards.[11][12]
References
edit- ^ "Zurlon Tipton College Stats, School, Draft, Gamelog, Splits". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
- ^ Schneider, Nate (May 10, 2014). "Central Michigan standout running back Zurlon Tipton signs as undrafted free agent with Indianapolis Colts". The Morning Sun. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
- ^ "2014 Colts 53-Man Roster". colts.com. August 31, 2014. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
- ^ Patra, Kevin (November 22, 2014). "Colts promote Zurlon Tipton, waive Griff Whalen". NFL.com. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
- ^ "Colts pull away from Bengals for Wild Card victory". NFL.com. January 5, 2015. Retrieved January 9, 2015.
- ^ "Indianapolis Colts Make Roster Moves". blogs.colts.com. September 5, 2015. Archived from the original on September 7, 2015. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
- ^ "Indianapolis Colts make roster moves". blogs.colts.com. November 26, 2015. Archived from the original on November 29, 2015. Retrieved November 26, 2015.
- ^ "Indianapolis Colts make roster moves". blogs.colts.com. November 30, 2015. Archived from the original on December 4, 2015. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
- ^ "Indianapolis Colts make roster moves". blogs.colts.com. December 21, 2015. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved December 21, 2015.
- ^ Remeika, Bill (December 25, 2015). "Former Indianapolis Colt arrested after gun incident at girlfriend's house". cbs4indy.com. Retrieved June 28, 2016.
- ^ Margason, Greg (June 28, 2016). "Former Colts running back Zurlon Tipton dies after accidental shooting in Michigan". fox59.com. Retrieved June 28, 2016.
- ^ Hall, Christina; Manzullo, Brian (June 28, 2016). "Ex-CMU football player Zurlon Tipton dies after accidental shooting". freep.com. Retrieved June 28, 2016.
External links
edit- Career statistics and player information from Pro Football Reference