Here at Cat Scratch Reader we have counted down the final 100 days leading up to the Carolina Panthers season opener by for at least the past ten years. We’ve always done this by highlighting the current player on the roster whose jersey number matches the day on the countdown. This year, we decided to change that up a bit by counting down our own list of the Top 100 Panthers of all time. This does not correspond to jersey number, does not need to be somebody who wore a jersey, and will in no way be controversial.
#52. Brad Hoover
Fullbacks are a relic of a bygone era of NFL football. For the Panthers, one of their fans’ favorite players from the early aughts happened to be one. Brad Hoover was the epitome of a local product, hailing from High Point, NC and attending Western Carolina. Following the 2000 NFL Draft, the Panthers signed Hoover as an undrafted free agent. His rookie season was actually the most usage he got, carrying the ball 89 times for 290 yards and a touchdown.
The 2004 season was another memorable one for Hoover. Starting running backs Stephen Davis and DeShaun Foster both suffered season ending injuries early in the year (as did wide receiver Steve Smith, it was a rough year all around). The defending NFC Champions had eight different running backs carry the ball that year, including a good chunk by Hoover, who was second on the team in rushing attempts that year behind only Nick Goings. Hoover played several snaps at running back for the first time since his college days and led the way for Goings the back half of the year. Once Goings was established as the starter for the last eight games, the Panthers went 6-2. Unfortunately, those aforementioned injuries to key players led to a 1-7 start, and the team missed the playoffs.
Hoover would play all ten of his NFL seasons in Carolina, endearing him to the fanbase, many of whom were familiar with him from his college and high school days in the region. His willingness to do the dirty work to spring big plays was constantly on full display, and the fans rewarded his efforts with loud chants of “HOOOOOOOOV” any time he touched the football. Fullbacks never break any statistical records, and Hoover’s career stats are considered paltry by most standards (he finished with less than a thousand career rushing yards). Still, his impact was felt by the fans as well as the opposing defenders as he blew open holes for some of the best rushing attacks the franchise has ever seen. Though his position is often overlooked, fans of the Panthers knew just how important Hoover was to that 2003 Super Bowl run. As one of the unsung heroes of the Panthers ground and pound offense of the early 2000s, Hoover earned the No. 52 spot on our countdown.
