Dalton Tucker
{{Short description|American football player (born 2000)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2024}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name = Dalton Tucker
| image =
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption =
| number = 68
| current_team = Indianapolis Colts
| position = Guard
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|2000|3|18}}
| birth_place = Lexington, Kentucky, U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 6
| weight_lb = 307
| high_school = Bourbon County
(Paris, Kentucky)
| college = Marshall (2018–2023)
| undraftedyear = 2024
| pastteams =
- Indianapolis Colts ({{NFL Year|2024}}–present)
| status = Active
| highlights =
| statweek = 18
| statseason = 2024
| statlabel1 = Games played
| statvalue1 = 14
| statlabel2 = Games started
| statvalue2 = 7
| pfr = TuckDa00
}}
Dalton Tucker (born March 18, 2000) is an American professional football guard for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL), first making the team's roster as an undrafted free agent. He played college football for the Marshall Thundering Herd.
Early life
Tucker was born on March 18, 2000, and grew up in Paris, Kentucky.Hayden Clark, et al., (eds.), [https://archive.org/details/colts-2024-media-guide-indianapolis-c 2024 Media Guide.] Indianapolis, IN: Indianapolis Colts, Inc., 2024; unpaginated [p. 430].{{Cite web|url=https://herdzone.com/sports/football/roster/dalton-tucker/7487|publisher=Marshall Thundering Herd|title=Dalton Tucker}} He attended Bourbon County High School in Paris where he was a tackle and defensive end, being named honorable mention all-state and an invitee to the Blue-Grey All-American combine. A two-star recruit, he committed to play college football for the Marshall Thundering Herd over two other offers.
College career
Tucker redshirted as a true freshman in 2018, appearing in two games, and then played two games again in 2019. He appeared in all 10 games with two starts in 2020, then played in 11 games with two starts in 2021, helping block for Freshman All-American Rasheen Ali. He started all 13 games at guard in 2022 and all 13 in 2023 while being named honorable mention All-Sun Belt Conference.
In his last two years at Marshall, he allowed only three sacks and 19 pressures, while being ranked 51st nationally for guards in Pro Football Focus's 2023 pass-blocking efficiency metric.{{Cite news|url=https://coltswire.usatoday.com/2024/05/10/colts-rookie-minicamp-preview-udfa-ol-dalton-tucker/|newspaper=USA Today|title=Colts rookie minicamp preview: UDFA OL Dalton Tucker|date=May 10, 2024|author=Bretl, Paul}} In his collegiate career, Tucker appeared on close to 2,300 snaps, mainly playing right guard, although he played tackle for 608 snaps.{{Cite news|url=https://sports.yahoo.com/colts-host-marshall-ol-dalton-010821367.html|newspaper=USA Today|author=Bretl, Paul|via=Yahoo! Sports|title=Colts host Marshall OL Dalton Tucker on top 30 pre-draft visit|date=April 22, 2024}} Across his six years at Marshall, he played in 51 games with 30 starts, with 22 of those starts being at right guard, five at right tackle, and three at left tackle.
Professional career
{{NFL predraft
| height ft = 6
| height in = 6 1/2
| weight = 307
| dash = 5.19
| ten split = 1.88
| twenty split = 3.04
| shuttle = 4.70
| cone drill = 7.64
| vertical = 34.0
| broad ft = 9
| broad in = 4
| bench = 22
| arm span = 34
| hand span = 9 1/2
| note = All values from Pro Day{{Cite web |url=https://draftscout.com/dsprofile.php?PlayerId=1046992&DraftYear=2024 |title=Dalton Tucker College Football Profile |website=DraftScout.com |access-date=November 10, 2024}}
}}
After going unselected in the 2024 NFL draft, Tucker signed with the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent. He impressed the team in training camp and preseason at right guard.{{Cite news|url=https://sports.yahoo.com/colts-rookie-udfa-dalton-tucker-162646319.html|newspaper=USA Today|via=Yahoo! Sports|title=Colts' rookie UDFA Dalton Tucker making strong roster push|author=Bretl, Paul|date=August 20, 2024}}{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.si.com/nfl/colts/news/surprise-undrafted-roster-dalton-tucker-marshall|magazine=Sports Illustrated|title=Surprise Undrafted Free Agent Has a Chance to Make the Colts' Roster|date=August 16, 2024|author=Hicks, Zach}} He made the Colts' initial 53-man roster for the 2024 season.{{Cite news|url=https://www.herald-dispatch.com/sports/marshall_sports/marshall-football-six-former-herd-players-make-the-cut-for-nfl-53-man-rosters/article_3cd6931c-655a-11ef-92b8-17344df266a1.html|newspaper=The Herald-Dispatch|title=Six former Herd players make the cut for NFL 53-man rosters|author=Creasy, Luke|date=August 29, 2024}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- Kent Sterling, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_EW-qLKpZk "Dalton Tucker Speaks Softly and Carries a Big...Everything as UDFA Who Made It!"] YouTube.com, Sept. 7, 2024. (Video.)
{{Indianapolis Colts roster navbox}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tucker, Dalton}}
Category:American football offensive linemen
Category:Players of American football from Kentucky
Category:People from Paris, Kentucky