Jamaal Branch (born January 30, 1981) 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 ...

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 ...

. who played two seasons with the

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 ...

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 was originally signed by the Saints as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2006. 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 ...

Colgate University Colgate University is a private liberal arts college in Hamilton, New York. The college was founded in 1819 as the Baptist Education Society of the State of New York and operated under that name until 1823, when it was renamed Hamilton Theologi ...

Early life and education

Jamaal Branch was born in

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

, but soon after his family moved to

Mashpee, Massachusetts Mashpee ( wam, Mâseepee) is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States, on Cape Cod. The population was 15,060 as of 2020. The town is the site of the headquarters and most members of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, one of two feder ...

, where he still resides. Branch attended Falmouth High School and graduated in 1999. While at Falmouth, Branch was a 4-time letter-winner for Football & Track teams, and was teammates at Falmouth with another former NFL player from Mashpee, Willie Ford.Branch was also a star football player while attending New Hampton Preparatory School where he was a post graduate student.

College career

Branch played

from 2000–2001, 2003-2004. After sitting out all of 2002 for personal reasons, Branch led all of Division I football with 168.8 rushing yards and 12.5 points per game in 2003, setting

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

records for yards (2,026), touchdowns (25), rushes (338), 100-yard games (11), and consecutive 100-yard games (11). He received the 2003

Walter Payton Award The Walter Payton Award is awarded annually to the most outstanding offensive player in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) of college football as chosen by a nationwide panel of media and college sports ...

, given annually by The Sports Network.com to the best player in

Division I-AA The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the Football Bowl Subdivision. Sponsored by the National Collegiate Athletic ...

football. It is widely considered to be the equivalent of the

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...

for

Division I-A The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As ...

. He graduated in 2005 and is the first in his family to attend and graduate from college.

Professional career

Before Branch's rookie season, he played in

NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...

for the

Rhein Fire Rhein may refer to: Places * Rhine, a major river in Europe (german: Rhein, link=no) * Rhein, a village in the municipality of Morsbach in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany * Rhein (Ostpreussen), a former name of the town Ryn in Poland Ships * SM ...

and Cologne Centurions to help develop his skills and adjust to playing in the NFL. On December 29, 2006, it was reported that the

signed Branch to their roster. Two days later, in the Saints'

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the last day of the year, on 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly referred to ...

game A game is a structured form of play (activity), play, usually undertaken for enjoyment, entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator s ...

against 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. T ...

, Branch scored his first touchdown. It was a 7-yard outside rush to the

end zone The end zone is the scoring area on the field, according to gridiron-based codes of football. It is the area between the end line and goal line bounded by the sidelines. There are two end zones, each being on an opposite side of the field. ...

. Branch broke his leg on the opening kickoff of the 2007 season's week 16 game against Philadelphia. Branch did not play again that season. He was released by the Saints on May 2, 2008.

Personal life

Branch currently works with the

Pop Warner Glenn Scobey Warner (April 5, 1871 – September 7, 1954), most commonly known as Pop Warner, was an American college football coach at various institutions who is responsible for several key aspects of the modern game. Included among his inn ...

Youth Football players in his hometown of Mashpee, and also works with a company called D-1 Athletes, alongside former

and

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...

wide receiver, Isaac Byrd. Branch works with highly touted high school football prospects & players who are being recruited by or potential D-1 College Football players. Branch works on speed development and running back techniques with the company. A native of

, Branch is of mixed African-American and Native American Indian (

Wampanoag The Wampanoag , also rendered Wôpanâak, are an Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands based in southeastern Massachusetts and historically parts of eastern Rhode Island,Salwen, "Indians of Southern New England and Long Island," p. 17 ...

) descent. His mother is from the

Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe (formerly Mashpee Wampanoag Indian Tribal Council, Inc.) is one of two federally recognized tribes of Wampanoag people in Massachusetts. Recognized in 2007, they are headquartered in Mashpee, Massachusetts, Mashpee on ...

References

External links

Colgate University bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Branch, Jamaal 1981 births Living people American football running backs Colgate Raiders football players New Orleans Saints players People from Mashpee, Massachusetts Sportspeople from Barnstable County, Massachusetts Players of American football from Hartford, Connecticut Players of American football from Massachusetts Walter Payton Award winners Cologne Centurions (NFL Europe) players Mashpee Wampanoag people Native American people from Massachusetts Falmouth High School (Massachusetts) alumni Native American players of American football