Brian Lewis Jennings (born October 14, 1976) 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 ...

long snapper In American football, the long snapper (or deep snapper) is a center on special teams whose duty is to snap the football over a longer distance, typically around 15 yards during punts, and 7–8 yards during field goals and extra point attempt ...

and

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

for the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). 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 ...

for

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

, and was picked by the 49ers in the 7th round of the

2000 NFL Draft The 2000 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur U.S. college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 15– 16, 2000, at the Thea ...

. He is a two-time

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

selection, having been chosen for the 2004 and 2012 Pro Bowls as a special teams player. He is the founder of Jennings 1-4-1, dedicated to developing the skill of long snapping.

Early years

Jennings was born in

Mesa, Arizona Mesa ( ) is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, Maricopa County, in the U.S. state of Arizona. It is the most populous city in the East Valley (Phoenix metropolitan area), East Valley section of the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. It is bordered by ...

. At

Red Mountain High School Red Mountain High School is a four-year public high school in the eastern part of Mesa, Arizona. It opened in 1988 with Robert Free as the founding principal. In the 1994–95 and 1995-96 school years, it was honored as a Blue Ribbon school. RMHS ...

in Mesa, he lettered in football,

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

, and

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

. As a senior, he was the team captain of the football team and was an all-region honorable mention as a tight end.

College career

Jennings attended

, where he played in 32 games as a tight end and long snapper for the

Arizona State Sun Devils football The Arizona State Sun Devils football team represents Arizona State University in the sport of American football. The Sun Devils team competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the ...

team. He finished his college career with four receptions, one touchdown and nine tackles.

NFL career

Jennings played his entire career as the starting long snapper for the

, a role he filled for the team for thirteen seasons. In 2003, Jennings signed an

offer sheet In North American professional sports, an offer sheet is a contract offered to a restricted free agent by a team other than the one for which he played during the prior season. Different leagues have different ways to handle offer sheets. NHL In th ...

as a

restricted free agent A restricted free agent (RFA) is a type of free agent in the National Football League (NFL), National Hockey League (NHL), or National Basketball Association (NBA). Such players have special restrictions on the terms under which they can retain ...

with the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

. The 49ers matched the offer, and ultimately signed Jennings to a long-term deal. In 2011, Jennings and Amendment M started Jennings 1-4-1, a long snapping camp for players of all ages. The first camp took place on July 16 at Spartan Stadium in

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...

. Jennings was selected to his second

following the 2011 season. He had previously been named to the Pro Bowl following the 2003 season. At the end of the 2012 season, Jennings and the 49ers appeared in

Super Bowl XLVII Super Bowl XLVII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Baltimore Ravens and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...

. In the game, he contributed on special teams, but the 49ers fell to the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

by a score of 34–31. Jennings was released by the 49ers prior to the start of the 2013 NFL season.

Post football career

Jennings is a regular on KNBR radio, due to his lively personality and intelligently comedic commentary. Jennings has also appeared on the Point After with Mark Ibanez doing post-game commentary on KTVU. He also has a very peculiar diet, eschewing poultry and pork, largely subsisting on a strict whole grain and beef diet.

References

External links

NFL ProfileESPN ProfileSan Francisco 49ers bioBrianjennings.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jennings, Brian 1976 births Living people American football long snappers American football tight ends Arizona State Sun Devils football players National Conference Pro Bowl players Players of American football from Arizona San Francisco 49ers players Sportspeople from Mesa, Arizona