NFL alum Toribio joins football coaching staff
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman head coach Ken Sparks has announced the addition of former Kansas City Chief and three-time All-SAC selection Anthony Toribio to his coaching staff.
VIDEO: Anthony Toribio Interview
Toribio will assist coaching with the defensive line – the position he played at C-N and in the NFL.
"It feels like home," Toribio said. "Anytime you can go back and pour back into the program that helped set the foundation for your life, it's a no brainer."
He was signed by the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent in 2008 and also spent time on the practice squad for the Green Bay Packers. Toribio played for the Kansas City Chiefs from 2010 to 2013 where he registered 15 career tackles.
"The thing I want to leave kids with is the opportunity that they have here," Toribio said. "They have the opportunity to grow as men. Coach Sparks does a great job brining a positive influence from the outside. When I was in the NFL, I really valued coming back and talking to the players because I wanted them to see that the same thing they're being taught here, that was the same thing I used when playing professional football."
Toribio finished his senior season with 24.5 tackles from his defensive tackle spot...The senior faced double teams for much of the season, and still finished with 11.5 tackles-for-loss. He also had 5.5 sacks and three QB hurries. His most memorable effort came in C-N's win at Dixie State. The Miami, Fla.-native drove a Dixie State offensive guard into the Rebel backfield and wrapped both the Rebels' running back and quarterback at the point of the handoff.
Not surprisingly, Toribio said not much has changed in the eight years since he graduated with Sparks, now in his 36th year at Mossy Creek, still at the helm.
"This is the exact same thing. Coach Sparks is the man," Toribio said. "If you're breathing, you're fighting."
Toribio is married to assistant volleyball coach Kirby Toribio (ne' Ellis). The two reside in Jefferson City.
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