Dwayne Jarrett (born September 11, 1986) 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 wi ...
wide receiver who played in 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) for four seasons. He played
college football for the
University of Southern California
, mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it"
, religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist
, established =
, accreditation = WSCUC
, type = Private research university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $8.1 ...
(USC), and was recognized as a consensus
All-American twice. The
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...
selected him in the second round of the
2007 NFL Draft.
Early years
Jarrett attended
New Brunswick High School
New Brunswick High School (NBHS) is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades in New Brunswick, in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States, operating as the main secondary school of the N ...
in
New Brunswick, New Jersey. He was a 2003 ''
Parade'' magazine All-American,
Super Prep All-American, Prep Star All-American, Super Prep Elite 50, Prep Star Top 100 Dream Team, Super Prep All-Northeast Offensive MVP, and Prep Star All-East. Jarrett also played in the 2004
U.S. Army All-American Bowl. He was also New Jersey's Offensive Pick of the Year as a senior wideout and defensive back. He scored 26 touchdowns as a senior (with three of those touchdowns coming in New Brunswick's 21-14 state title victory), including five on 15 punt returns (for a 48-yard return average). He also played basketball in high school.
College career
Jarrett attended the
University of Southern California
, mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it"
, religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist
, established =
, accreditation = WSCUC
, type = Private research university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $8.1 ...
, where he played for coach
Pete Carroll
Peter Clay Carroll (born September 15, 1951) is an American football coach who is the head coach and executive vice president for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He was previously the head football coach at USC from ...
's
USC Trojans football
The USC Trojans football program represents University of Southern California in the sport of American football. The Trojans compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Pac-12 ...
team from 2004 to 2006. He was a consensus first-team
All-American in 2005, and a unanimous first-team All-American in 2006. He was USC's all-time receptions leader with 216 and the Pacific-10 Conference's all-time leader in touchdown receptions with 41.
[Gary Klein]
NFL challenge next for Jarrett
''Los Angeles Times'', January 11, 2007, ''accessed January 11, 2007''.
As a freshman, he helped Trojan fans get over the loss of former USC standout wide receiver Mike Williams. He played in all 13 games and started 8 of them. He caught 55 passes for 849 yards and 13 touchdowns. He also made 5 catches for 115 yards in USC's
FedEx Orange Bowl
The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game i ...
victory over Oklahoma in 2004.
As a sophomore, he became
Matt Leinart
Matthew Stephen Leinart (born May 11, 1983) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons. He played college football at USC, where he won the Heisman Trophy ...
's favorite target. He recorded 91 receptions for 1,274 yards including 4 touchdowns while starting 6 games in 2005. He will be remembered by many fans for his catch against Notre Dame. On fourth-and-nine with less than a minute left, Leinart threw a pass down the sideline to him and Jarrett caught it, running for 61 yards to set up the winning touchdown, the famed and controversial "Bush Push" quarterback sneak. In USC's Rose Bowl loss to the Texas Longhorns he had 10 catches for 121 yards and a touchdown.
He was a 2005 first-team
All-American as a sophomore and one of three finalists for the
Biletnikoff Award
The Fred Biletnikoff Award is presented annually to the most outstanding receiver in American college football by the Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation, Inc. (TQCF), an independent not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. The award was creat ...
. He was on the 2006
Maxwell Award
The Maxwell Award is presented annually to the college football player judged by a panel of sportscasters, sportswriters, and National Collegiate Athletic Association head coaches and the membership of the Maxwell Football Club to be the best al ...
watch list as the best player in
college football.
His height, hands, and quickness made him one of the premier receivers going into the 2006 college football season. With the departure of former Trojan running backs
Reggie Bush
Reginald Alfred Bush Jr. (born March 2, 1985) is an American former football running back who now serves as an on-air college football analyst for Fox Sports. He played college football at USC, where he earned consensus All-American honors twi ...
and
LenDale White
LenDale Anthony White (born December 20, 1984) is a former American football running back. He was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the second round (45th overall) of the 2006 NFL Draft. He has also been a member of the Seattle Seahawks and De ...
, he was expected to be a big part of the Trojans' offense.
After a brief period of ineligibility due to his apparently inappropriate living situation with Leinart, the NCAA reinstated him on August 9, 2006, making him eligible to play for the 2006 football season. Despite being hampered by injuries, including missing games, Jarrett was named to the rivals.com and Pac-10 Coaches 2006 All-Pac-10 team First-team. He was also second-team All-America at rivals.com and SI and Walter Camp foundation first-team
All-America
The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...
. However, because of his lack of playing time, he was left off the 2006 list of
Biletnikoff Award
The Fred Biletnikoff Award is presented annually to the most outstanding receiver in American college football by the Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation, Inc. (TQCF), an independent not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. The award was creat ...
finalists, an omission noted by some sports writers.
On January 1, 2007, he was named offensive
most valuable player of the
Rose Bowl Game with a career-high 203 receiving yards and two touchdowns in the 32–18 win over
Michigan
Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...
. Jarrett finished the 2006 season as USC's all-time leading receiver with 216 catches The junior, a two-time All-American, had 70 catches for 1,015 yards and led the Trojans with 12 touchdowns in his final college season.
Projected as a first-round pick in the
2007 NFL Draft, on January 10, 2007, Jarrett declared his intent to leave USC early to enter the NFL.
At a press conference, the tearful Jarrett noted the best part of his USC career was being with his "teammates" but that he was "definitely doing it for my family, because I wasn't the most fortunate kid growing up."
Professional career
Carolina Panthers
Jarrett was drafted in the second round (45th overall) of the
2007 NFL Draft by the
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...
, he was the eighth receiver selected. Originally projected as a first-round pick, Jarrett's stock fell due to his unremarkable time in the
40-yard dash
The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed and acceleration of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL Draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time can have a h ...
.
Jarrett often drew similarities to former
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 ...
WR Keyshawn Johnson
Joseph Keyshawn Johnson (born July 22, 1972) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for eleven seasons.
He played college football for the University of Southern Calif ...
. Both were considered "possession" receivers and both played at USC. Although Johnson had publicly stated that he looked forward to mentoring Jarrett, it did not become a reality as Johnson was released three days after Jarrett was drafted.
[Sam Farmer and Gary Klein]
USC's Jarrett hurt by separation anxiety
''Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
'', May 2, 2007. Johnson had initially stated that he would be best served by staying at USC an extra year and entering the draft as a senior.
After being inactive for 7 of the first 8 games, Jarrett was activated for week 9 against the Atlanta Falcons due to the injury of 2nd string receiver
Keary Colbert. He had two catches for 28 yards and recorded a special-teams tackle. On the year he had 6 catches for 73 yards and one tackle.
In 2008, Jarrett played in 9 games, starting one. He had 10 receptions for 119 yards.
On November 1, 2009, Jarrett made his second career start in place of an injured
Muhsin Muhammad
Muhsin Muhammad II (; born Melvin Darnell Campbell Jr. May 5, 1973) is a former American football wide receiver who played for the Carolina Panthers and Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). Muhammad played college football for ...
, in a victory over the
Arizona Cardinals.
On January 3, 2010, Dwayne caught his first touchdown pass from
Matt Moore. A pass of 30 yards against division rival
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...
. The Panthers went on to win the game 23-10.
Jarrett was cut from the Panthers on October 5, 2010 following his second DUI arrest.
["Dwayne Jarrett arrested for DWI," http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=5650680 (accessed November 24, 2010)] He had been pulled over for speeding on I-77 near Charlotte just before 2:00 a.m., according to Charlotte-Mecklenburg police spokesman Bob Fey.
Jarrett had declined to take a breath test and was, instead, given a blood test.
He was released on a bond of $2,000.
During the week of November 21, 2010, Jarrett worked out with the Seattle Seahawks and his former college coach, Pete Carroll.
Saskatchewan Roughriders
On May 11, 2012, Jarrett was signed by the
Saskatchewan Roughriders
The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division.
The Roughriders were founded in ...
of the
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
. On June 7, 2012, the Roughriders placed him on the retired list.
Personal life
Jarrett credits his ability to growing up and playing catch with his uncle who "forced me to make one-handed catches."
During his sophomore year, Jarrett shared a Los Angeles apartment with quarterback
Matt Leinart
Matthew Stephen Leinart (born May 11, 1983) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons. He played college football at USC, where he won the Heisman Trophy ...
.
Jarrett has had some of his best college games against USC's rival, the
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...
, he credits this to how he was treated during the high school recruiting process: "They came down to recruit me, they talked to my coaches and everything. They didn't think I was intelligent enough to go to their school. That was kind of an insult to me. I've always had a little grudge against them."
DWI
Jarrett was arrested and charged for
DWI on the morning of March 11, 2008 in a Charlotte suburb of Mint Hill. A police officer witnessed Jarrett run a red light and performed a sobriety test, which Jarrett failed. He was released on $1,000 bond. Jarrett later pleaded guilty to his
DWI charge. Jarrett got a 30-day suspended sentence, must pay $420 in fines, and perform 24 hours of
community service
Community service is unpaid work performed by a person or group of people for the benefit and betterment of their community without any form of compensation. Community service can be distinct from volunteering, since it is not always performe ...
and could be suspended by the league.
Jarrett pleads guilty
On Tuesday, October 5, 2010, he was arrested for his second DWI in less than three years, after being pulled over shortly after 2 a.m. in Charlotte, North Carolina.
See also
* List of NCAA major college football yearly receiving leaders
The list of college football yearly receiving leaders identifies the major college receiving leaders for each season from 1937 to the present. It includes yearly leaders in three statistical categories: (1) receptions, (2) receiving yardage; (3) y ...
*
References
External links
USC Trojans bio
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jarrett, Dwayne
1986 births
Living people
All-American college football players
American football wide receivers
Carolina Panthers players
New Brunswick High School alumni
Sportspeople from New Brunswick, New Jersey
Saskatchewan Roughriders players
USC Trojans football players