Edward Videl Jasper (January 18, 1973 – April 14, 2022) was an American professional football player who was a defensive tackle 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). He was selected by the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

in the sixth round of the

1997 NFL Draft The 1997 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 19–20, 1997, at the Paramount T ...

and played for the Eagles, Atlanta Falcons, and Oakland Raiders from 1997 to 2005.

Early life

Jasper was born in

Tyler, Texas Tyler is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the largest city and county seat of Smith County, Texas, Smith County. It is also the largest city in Northeast Texas. With a 2020 census population of 105,995, Tyler was the List of cities in Texa ...

, on January 18, 1973. He attended Troup High School, where he was a three-time All-East Texas and honored as Defensive Most Valuable Player. He was also part of the school's basketball team that won the

University Interscholastic League The University Interscholastic League (UIL) is an organization that creates rules for and administers almost all athletic, musical, and academic contests for public primary and secondary schools in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the largest organi ...

Class 2A state championship in 1992.

College career

After graduating from Troup, Jasper studied at

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

and played four seasons of college football for the Aggies. In his first year with the team in 1993, the Aggies won the

Southwest Conference The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference included schools from Oklahoma ...

(SWC) title, before losing 24–21 to Notre Dame Fighting in the 1994 Cotton Bowl Classic. They finished 10–0–1 the following season, but were ineligible to defend their title. The Aggies switched from the SWC to the

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its ...

during Jasper's senior year in 1996. Although the team was 6–6 that season, he received honorable mention All-Big 12 honors. He was also conferred the Aggie Heart Award, as voted for by his teammates. He was subsequently drafted by the

in the sixth round (198th overall selection) of the

Professional career

Jasper made his NFL debut with the Eagles on September 15, 1997, at the age of 24, in a 21–20 loss against the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...

. After two seasons with the franchise, he joined the Atlanta Falcons in 1999. He had the most effective years of his career with the team, with arguably his best season coming in 2002, when he started all 16 games and helped the Falcons qualify for the playoffs that year. The franchise also qualified for the playoffs two years later, advancing to the NFC Championship Game. He went to the Oakland Raiders in 2005, where he tallied 2 sacks and 24 tackles in 15 games played. He retired at the conclusion of the 2005 season. During his nine-season NFL career, Jasper registered 250

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking u ...

, 17 sacks, forced four fumbles, and made four fumble recoveries in 118 games played.

Personal life

Jasper's brother, Shane, served as president of the Troup Independent School District board. Jasper died on April 14, 2022, at the age of 49.Edward Jasper
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jasper, Ed 1973 births 2022 deaths American football defensive tackles Texas A&M Aggies football players Philadelphia Eagles players Atlanta Falcons players Oakland Raiders players Players of American football from Texas Sportspeople from Tyler, Texas Ed Block Courage Award recipients