Tracy Lavon "Ace" Sanders (born November 11, 1991) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

wide receiver. He was drafted by the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

in the fourth round of the

2013 NFL Draft The 2013 NFL Draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

Early years

Sanders was born in

Palmetto, Florida Palmetto is a city in Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was listed as 13,323. It is part of the Bradenton-Sarasota-Venice, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. History A post office called Palmetto ha ...

. He played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

for

Manatee High School Manatee High School is the oldest public high school in Bradenton, Florida, operated by the Manatee County School District. History Bradentown High School would open in 1897 located on what is now 15th Street West and Ballard Park Drive operating ...

Bradenton Bradenton ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city's population is 55,698. History Late 18th and early 19th centuries A settlement established by Maroons or escaped sl ...

. He is the son of former Florida State Seminoles

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

Tracy Sanders. In addition to football, Sanders also ran

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

. He placed second in the

100 meters The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contest ...

at the 2010 FHSAA 3A District 11 Championships, setting a career-best time of 10.98 seconds. He also competed in the

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

, he had a career-best jump of 6.95 meters.

College career

Sanders received an athletic scholarship to attend the University of South Carolina, where he played for coach Steve Spurrier's

South Carolina Gamecocks football The South Carolina Gamecocks football program represents the University of South Carolina. The Gamecocks compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern ...

team from 2010 to 2012. As a junior in 2012, he was a first-team All-

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

(SEC) selection as a kick returner, and was named SEC Special Teams Player of the Year. In the

2013 Outback Bowl The 2013 Outback Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game, held on January 1, 2013, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, as part of the 2012–13 NCAA Bowl season. It was the 27th edition of the Outback Bowl, named afte ...

against the Michigan Wolverines, he caught a career-best nine passes for 92 yards and two touchdowns, scored on a 63-yard punt return, and was named the game's most valuable player (MVP).

Professional career

The

chose Sanders in the fourth round, with the 101st overall pick, of the

. He registered his first career reception in Week 1 against the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

. His first career punt return came in Week 4 against the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

. On December 5, 2013, in a ''

Thursday Night Football ''Thursday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''TNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that broadcast primarily on Thursday nights. Most of the games kick off at 8:15 Eastern Time (8:20 prior to 20 ...

'' game against the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

, Sanders threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to running back

Jordan Todman Jordan Todman (born February 24, 1990) is a former American football running back. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the sixth round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He played college football at Connecticut. Todman has also played for the Minne ...

on a trick screen play. The Jaguars went on to win the game, 27–20. On December 15, he scored his first touchdown reception against the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

. Sanders finished his rookie season with 484 receiving yards on 51 catches with one touchdown, one pass for 21 yards and a touchdown, three kick returns for 140 yards, 25 for 140 yards on punt returns (with 16 fair catches) all in 15 out of the 16 regular season games. Sanders's second season got off to a bad start as Sanders was suspended for the first four games of the 2014 season for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy. He was re-activated on October 4, 2014, ahead of the Jaguars' Week 5 matchup against the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

. Overall, he had six receptions for 55 yards in the 2014 season. On July 17, 2015, Sanders was waived by the Jaguars.

References

External links

Jacksonville Jaguars bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanders, Ace 1991 births Living people American football return specialists American football wide receivers Jacksonville Jaguars players South Carolina Gamecocks football players Sportspeople from Bradenton, Florida Players of American football from Florida People from Palmetto, Florida