Bubba Thumper
 Image of Bubba Thumper | |
| No. 00 – Retired | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Defensive Tackle |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | February 28, 2008 (aged 53) Houston, Texas |
| Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Weight: | 310 lb (141 kg) |
| Username: | woelkers |
| Career information | |
| High school: | North Shore High School |
| College: | University of Tennessee |
| Career history | |
| Roster status: | Retired |
Bubba Eugene Thumper (born February 28, 2008) is a retired American football defensive tackle formerly of the Colorado Yeti and New York Silverbacks.
Early years
Bubba Eugene Thumper was born February 28th, 2008, to parents Eugene and Irma Thumper, in the city of Houston, Texas, where he spent the entirety of his youth. Thumper, like his father, first got his start on the gridiron at the age of fifteen, during his freshman year at North Shore High School. It was not until a growth spurt between his junior and senior seasons that Thumper truly began to excel at the sport; sprouting about five inches and gaining roughly fifty pounds left Thumper at 6'4", 270, and his coaches at North Shore moved him from the fullback position to the other side of the ball, rotating him around the defensive line. Thumper took this opportunity to break the state's single season tackles for loss record, collecting 41 in just ten regular season games. This, unfortunately, was not enough to draw recognition for Thumper, and he ended his high school football career ten pounds heavier with zero offer from D-I programs.
College career
Thumper spent his first three years of eligibility at Trinity Valley Community College, leading the Cardinal defense in tackles for loss all three seasons on route to breaking both the single-season (46) and career (112) records for the program. Thumper's junior season was more than enough to draw an offer from the Tennessee Volunteers, which he gratefully accepted; however, before he could even set foot in Neyland Stadium, Thumper suffered a devastating ACL tear which threatened to derail not only his senior season, but his entire football career. More than a year of grueling rehab and one medical redshirt later, Thumper quietly produced solid results for the Volunteer defense on the gridiron, once again leading his team in tackles for loss; however, a shoddy offense left the Volunteers short of bowl eligibility, and Thumper finished his college career having never appeared in a bowl game.
College career statistics
| Career statistics | Tackles | Sacks | Interceptions | Other | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | Games | Reg | TFL | Total | Sack | Int | IntTD | DefTD | FFum | FRec | PD | Safety |
| 2030 | TENN | 12 | 13 | 31 | 44 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
