Tag Archives: leaf rookies & stars 2003

NFL, ufl

Hankton, Cortez

CARDS: Upper Deck Infinite Rookie 2003 (104/500), Leaf Rookies & Stars 2003, Top Notch UFL 2011
ACQUIRED: TTM 2025, C/o Work
SENT: 5/6/25 RECEIVED: 6/5/25 (30 days)

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

  • Cortez Hankton played WR at Texas Southern from 1999-’02.
  • At the time of his departure, Hankton was the all time leader in many categories for the Tigers, and finished with 3,400 career yards, 175 receptions and 30 TDs.
  • Undrafted he signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2003.
  • He managed to make the Jags roster, catching 17 passes for 166 yards his rookie season.
  • In 2004, Hankton only had 9 receptions, but scored his first and second professional TD.
  • After the 2006 season, he signed with the Minnesota Vikings, but didn’t make the squad.
  • Joined the Bucs in 2008- but was injured and spent the entire year on IR.
  • Released in 2009, Cortez joined the fledgling United Football League, signing with the New York Sentinels.
  • He’d catch 11 passes for 144 yards, as the Sentinels were euthanized after the season, in favor of Hartford.
  • Hankton played for the Florida Tuskers in 2010, where he started 6 games, and caught 23 passes for 283 yards and 2 TDs.
  • As the Tuskers then moved themselves- he’d join them in Virginia as the Destroyers in 2011, adding 12 catches for 151 yards to his resume.
  • Went straight into coaching after that and has travelled the college circuit, first at Dartmouth (2012-’14) and then later at Vanderbilt (2015-’17) as a WR coach.
  • In 2018, Cortez took his skills to Georgia as their WR Coach and then also as a Pass Game Coordinator.
  • He’d hop to LSU in 2022 where he shared the same duties from his time at Georgia.
  • Cortez in ’24 also picked up co-offensive coordinator duties as well.

ACCOLADES:

  • UFL Offensive MVP 2010

NOTES:

All of a sudden the guys who played in the UFL- no not the ’24+ iteration, but the ’09 version have started popping up. I got teammates Cortez Hankton and Brooks Bollinger back to back TTM. I have to thank my friend Lance who sent out to Cortez a few months ago and let me know that he was coaching with the Tigers.

It took me a hot minute to send out to him all I had of Cortez was an early beta version of my custom that was on some pretty weak paper, so I decided to go ahead and do it right and reprint it on some nice card stock. It’s a great looking card.

NFL, ufl

Bollinger, Brooks

CARD: TNT UFL 2011, Leaf Rookies & Stars 2003, Upper Deck Finite Rookies 2003
ACQUIRED: TTM 2025, C/o Home
SENT: 5/9 RECEIVED: 5/27 (18 days)
FAILURE: TTM 2011, C/o Home

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

  • Brooks Bollinger saw action in 44 contests playing QB at the University of Wisconsin.
  • In his Senior campaign he threw for 1,758 yards and 14 TDs to just 4 picks.
  • Over his college career he completed 398 of 740 passes for 5,406 yards and 36 TDs (17 INT).
  • 6th round pick of the New York Jets in 2003.
  • 3rd string QB behind Chad Pennington and Vinny Testaverde that year.
  • Saw emergency action from time to time over his career with the Jets.
  • Traded to the Vikings in 2006.
  • Seldom saw the field over his career with the Vikings.
  • Signed by the Cowboys in 2008 and saw action after starter Tony Romo went down and backup Brad Johnson proved ineffective.
  • Joined the Lions in 2009 but didn’t make the squad.
  • Opted to play in the UFL with the Florida Tuskers.
  • Completed 121 of 179 passes for 1,518 yards and 14 TDs (3 INT) and compiling a 6-0 record as a starter.
  • Returned to the league in 2010, but beset by injuries… opted to retire after season.
  • Brooks dabbled in coaching after his pro days were over at both the high school level and briefly at the University of Pittsburgh.

ACCOLADES:

  • University of Wisconsin Athletics Hall of Fame 2017
  • UFL MVP 2009

NOTES:

Brooks had been on my list since the early days of TTMing. When I started creating these custom cards of the UFL back in 2010, I knew I wanted to get him eventually. I tried back in 2011 but failed, so I just bode my time and picked up these two additional cards.

I had a version of the card I printed out on flimsy card stock way, way back in 2011. Since I had improved the quality of the paper and print, I went ahead and reprinted it and his card came out nicely.

NFL

Foster, DeShaun

Cards: Playoff Contenders 2005, Leaf Rookies & Stars 2005 Longevity
Acquired:  TTM 2017, C/o UCLA
Sent: 8/29    Received: 9/17   (18 days)

I remember DeShaun Foster playing for UCLA back in I think it was 1998. The University of Texas was beginning to feel its oats again, and big things were expected out of the Longhorns that year. UCLA was the home opener- and well, Foster and the Bruins blew the doors off of UT. Over his 4 years in LA, DeShaun rushed 696 times for 3087 yards and 39 TDs.

He’d be selected in the 2nd round of the 2002 NFL Draft by the Carolina Panthers, but be injured during the preseason. He’d return in 2003 and be paired up in the backfield with former Redskin Stephen Davis. Davis was more of a straight ahead between the tackles back, while Foster was a slasher with good speed.  It wouldn’t be until 2005 that Foster surpassed Davis in the lineup as the primary starter. Over the next 3 seasons, he’d post almost 3 identical seasons hovering between 875-900 yards rushing.  He’d sign with the San Fransisco 49ers where he played a final season in 2008. Afterwards he had a tryout with the Rams but did not make the squad and opted to retire.

Foster went into coaching first as a volunteer assistant at UCLA in 2013, and then later in 2016 as the RB coach at Texas Tech. He rejoined UCLA in the same capacity in 2017, where he kindly signed these 2 cards of his in less than a month’s time.

G/Gs 79/42     Rush 927         Yds 3570        Avg 3.9         Td 11          Lg 71t
Rec   142           Yds 1129              Avg 8.0         Td 5            Lg 47