Tolbert attended Villa Rica High School, where he was a three-year starter at strong safety.
He was a two-time All-county selection and was named first-team Class AA All-State by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution as a senior.
In baseball, he was a three-year starter and received All-county honors at outfielder as a senior.
Tolbert accepted a football scholarship from the University of Georgia, where he was converted from strong safety into a linebacker.
As a redshirt freshman, he appeared in 9 games and played only on special teams, making 6 tackles.
Tolbert was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the seventh round (214th overall) of the 1998 NFL draft.
[6] In 2000, he tore his left ACL in the fourth preseason game against the Denver Broncos and was placed on waivers-injured reserve on August 21.