Jack Zephania Tocho (born November 2, 1995) is an

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 ...

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 ...

who is a free agent. 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 ...

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universit ...

, and was selected by the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

in the seventh round of the

2017 NFL Draft The 2017 NFL Draft was the 82nd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It was held in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 27–29, returning to Philadelphia f ...

Early years

Born in Gastonia, North Carolina, Tocho started playing football at age eight. He attended Independence High School, where he played

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

and

for coach Bill Geiler. Tocho started at

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

on varsity during his sophomore season because of a void at the position. In 2011, Tocho was moved back to cornerback for his junior year where he earned All-Southwestern Conference honors after ending the campaign with five

interceptions In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...

, 28

pass breakups In American football, a pass deflected, also known as a pass deflection, a pass defended, a pass , a pass knockdown, or a pass breakup, is an incomplete pass that is caused by a defensive player. This is done by slapping or blocking the ball with ...

, 48 tackles, a forced

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful ...

, a blocked kick, and two

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether Rush (gridiron football), running, Forward pass, passing, returning a Kickoff (gridiron football), kickoff or Punt (gridiron football), punt, or recovering a Turno ...

on kickoff returns. During the summer, Tocho was timed at 4.49 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 he ...

and recorded a 35.5-inch

vertical jump A vertical jump or vertical leap is the act of jumping upwards into the air. It can be an exercise for building both endurance and strength, and is also a standard test for measuring athletic performance. It may also be referred to as a ''Sargent ...

at the

Under Armour Under Armour, Inc. is an American sports equipment company that manufactures footwear, sports and casual apparel. Under Armour's global headquarters are located in Baltimore, Maryland, with additional offices located in Amsterdam (European hea ...

Combine, after checking in at 6'0" and 175 pounds. As a senior, he was named Independence's 2012 Scholar Athlete of the Year and was named to the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

All-State team after helping lead his team to a 10–3 record and second round of the state playoffs. He totalled 57 tackles (49 of them solo), six interceptions and returned three kicks for touchdowns in his final season. Tocho also participated in

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 ...

for the Patriots. Despite his combine numbers and on-field accomplishments, Tocho was an under the radar prospect and only NC State and Virginia expressed interest in him. After taking a visit to NC State, he committed to play

for the Wolfpack on January 18, 2013.

Professional career

Pre-draft

Tocho ran a 4.54-second

at the 2017

NFL Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Footba ...

Minnesota Vikings

Tocho was selected in the seventh round (245th overall) by the

in the

. Tocho is the fifth player in Vikings history to be drafted from North Carolina State, joining running back Ted Brown, cornerback Dewayne Washington, safety

Brian Williams Brian Douglas Williams (born May 5, 1959) is an American retired journalist and television news anchor. He was a reporter for ''NBC Nightly News'' starting in 1993, before his promotion to anchor and managing editor of the broadcast in 2004. ...

and linebacker Audie Cole. Tocho was the only player in the

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

position group taken by the Vikings in the 2017 draft. On September 2, 2017, Tocho was waived by the Vikings. He was signed to their

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

on September 20, 2017. He was released on November 1, 2017, and was re-signed on November 14. He was released again on December 12, 2017, but was re-signed three days later. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Vikings on January 29, 2018. On September 1, 2018, Tocho was waived by the Vikings and was signed to the practice squad the next day. He was released on September 19, 2018.

Washington Redskins

On December 19, 2018, Tocho was signed to the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

practice squad.

Birmingham Iron

In 2019, Tocho joined the Birmingham Iron of the

Alliance of American Football The Alliance of American Football (AAF) was a professional American football minor league. The AAF consisted of eight centrally owned and operated teams in the southern and western United States, seven of which were located in metropolitan are ...

(AAF).

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tocho was signed by 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 ...

on April 5, 2019, three days after the AAF suspended football operations. He was released on May 9, 2019.

Los Angeles Wildcats

In October 2019, Tocho was selected by the Los Angeles Wildcats of the

XFL XFL may refer to: Sports * XFL (2001), a defunct American football league that played its only season in 2001 * XFL (2020), a professional American football league Vehicles * Bell XFL Airabonita, a 1940 U.S. Navy experimental interceptor aircra ...

in the

2020 XFL Draft The 2020 XFL Draft was the inaugural player selection process to fill the rosters of the eight teams of the 2020 reboot of the XFL. The draft was held on October 15–16, 2019, via conference call, with results released through the XFL's social m ...

. He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.

Personal life

Tocho's parents, David and Gertrude, immigrated to the United States from

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

in pursuit of a better life. His middle name, Zephania, comes from his paternal grandfather. Tocho was a two-time Academic All-

ACC ACC most often refers to: * Atlantic Coast Conference, an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic conference located in the US *American College of Cardiology, A US-based nonprofit medical association that bestows credentials upon cardiovascular spec ...

performer, qualifying for the honor by maintaining a 3.0 cumulative grade point average during his undergraduate academic career. He earned his undergraduate degree in finance with a minor in accounting in just three years.

References

External links

NC State Wolfpack bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tocho, Jack 1995 births Living people American football cornerbacks American football safeties Birmingham Iron players Los Angeles Wildcats (XFL) players Minnesota Vikings players NC State Wolfpack football players Players of American football from Charlotte, North Carolina Pittsburgh Steelers players Washington Redskins players Philadelphia Stars (2022) players