Sean Tufts
| File:Tufts v. Tampa Bay 2005.jpg Tufts v. Tampa Bay 2005 | |
| Date of birth | March 26, 1982 |
|---|---|
| Place of birth | Aurora, CO |
| Career information | |
| Position(s) | Linebacker |
| US college | Colorado |
| NFL draft | 2004 / round: 6 / Pick 196 |
| Career stats | |
| |
Sean Tufts (born March 26, 1982 in Aurora, Colorado) is a former American football linebacker in the NFL for the Carolina Panthers.
University of Colorado Football 2000–2003
At the University of Colorado Sean Tufts was the starting middle linebacker from 2001–2003. Including the 2001 Big 12 Championship season. His senior year Tufts was voted Captain and was placed on the Butkus watch list. He averaged 8 tackles per game and finished the 2003 season with 95 tackles.[1] Despite a disappointing team record, Sean was drafted in the 6th Round of the NFL draft.
Carolina Panthers Football 2004–2006
Tufts was the 196th pick in the 2004 NFL draft. He was used sparingly in 2004, playing in the season's final three games. In 2005, he backed up Pro-bowler Dan Morgan and was a key contributor on special teams. The Panthers reached the playoffs as the NFC Wildcard and defeated the New York Giants 23–0, and the Chicago Bears 29–21 before losing to the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship Game. Knee injuries forced Tufts to the sidelines for the 2006 season. In his career Tufts played in 18 games for the Panthers and totaled 16 career tackles, with one recovered fumble.[2]
Professional
After retiring from the NFL, Sean returned to the University of Colorado to pursue his MBA. At the Leeds School of Business Sean focused on Energy and Finance, and was voted class president[3] and was the Director of the Net Impact Case Competition.[4] While pursuing his MBA Sean joined the Ralphie Handlers, responsible for the #1 mascot in college football.[5] The Ralphie team runs a live American bison before CU Football games. Sean was the first and only former CU player to run Ralphie.[6]
Currently, Sean is working in the wind industry. As a Development Manager for RES Americas, based out of Broomfield, CO [3] RES Americas has developed or constructed over 5,700 MW of wind and solar projects. In late 2011, Sean was selected to Forbes Magazine's inaugural "30 Under 30" Energy List. <http://www.forbes.com/pictures/mef45eldh/sean-tufts-development-manager-res-americas-29/>
Amateur Softball
Despite executive concerns over hiring an applicant that didn't wear pants to his interview because he "forgot". RES Turbinators Player/Manager Dale Shoope (note: term "player" is applied loosely) saw what he claimed was "raw softball talent" and convinced company leadership that despite his liabilities in the office, he would be an indispensable asset to the struggling company softball team. Unfortunately, Shoope was quickly proven wrong. Ripmaster-Tufts (or Whiffmaster-Tufts as he is lovingly known on the team) missed most of the 2011 season from an injury sustained while sneezing with his eyes open. To begin the 2012 season Tufts started 0-4 with a 3U Error resulting in a Home Run. One scout in attendance likened Tufts' swing to that of Taylor Henderson. Sean also proved to be ineffective in the field and on the base path. Player/Manager (again term "player" is really being stretched as applied here) Dale "Flama Blanca" Shoope pulled himself from the mound and put Tufts in Right Center field. While preoccupied remembering to breathe, Tufts neglected to field a routine ground ball forcing team All-Star and fan favorite Michael Duran to field the ball on his behalf. Not wanting that to be the last impression he left on the field, Tufts managed to get on base. The details are hazy but it happened. While making a close play at the plate, Tufts conducted a textbook headfirst slide into home plate with one minor miscalculation; Tufts began his slide as he rounded third base. Using the simple formula for friction Fƒ≤µFn (fat joke?), Sean ended up considerably short of the plate, but still managed to crawl safely to the plate. Despite his inability to play softball, Tufts should get plenty of opportunities to prove that Rec Softball requires more athleticism than Professional Football.
Personal
On June 26, 2010 Sean married the former Orly Ripmaster in Vail, Colorado.[7] Orly lettered in both Soccer and Lacrosse at Harvard University[8] before using her red-shirt season to play soccer for the CU Buffs.[9] In 2003, while Tufts Captained the CU Football Team, Orly helped lead the CU Soccer team to the first Big 12 Conference championship. Orly and Sean reside in Denver with their two AKC Registered Bernese Mountain Dogs. Orly is a hotel consultant for Smith Travel Research (STR Analytics) based in Boulder and is a regular contributor to HotelNewsNow.com.[10] Sean enjoys wood working and photography.[11]
References
- ^ http://www.cubuffs.com/pdf1/3815.pdf?DB_OEM_ID=600
- ^ Sean Tufts 2004 NFL Draft Profile – ESPN. Insider.espn.go.com. Retrieved on 2011-06-02.
- ^ a b [1][dead link]
- ^ [2][dead link]
- ^ Ralphie the Buffalo – CUBuffs.com – Official Athletics Web site of the University of Colorado. CUBuffs.com (1967-10-28). Retrieved on 2011-06-02.
- ^ Brooks: Tufts Takes Different Run – CUBuffs.com – Official Athletics Web site of the University of Colorado. CUBuffs.com. Retrieved on 2011-06-02.
- ^ http://www.peppercorn.com/goopages/pages_downloadgallery/downloadget.php?filename=10125.pdf
- ^ Athlete of the Week: Orly Ripmaster `03 | Sports | The Harvard Crimson. Thecrimson.com (1999-10-13). Retrieved on 2011-06-02.
- ^ Orly Ripmaster Bio – CUBuffs.com – Official Athletics Web site of the University of Colorado. CUBuffs.com (1980-09-04). Retrieved on 2011-06-02.
- ^ The year-end RevPAR recovery race. Hotelnewsnow.com. Retrieved on 2011-06-02.
- ^ tufts54's Photostream. Flickr. Retrieved on 2011-06-02.