Jared Scott Norris (born July 19, 1993) 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 wi ...
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, ...
who is a free agent. He played football at
Centennial High School in
Bakersfield, California, where he was a three-year
letterman and earned All-State honors during his senior year. Norris played
college football at
Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
and signed with 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. ...
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 2016.
Early years
Norris played linebacker at
Centennial High School in
Bakersfield, California, where he was a three-year starter and three-year
letterman.
In his junior year, he was named Second-team All-Area, Second-team All-
Southwest Yosemite League and Centennial High's co-Defensive
Most Valuable Player.
He also won the Hometown All-Stars Linebacker Award.
He earned Second-team
MaxPreps
MaxPreps is an American website that specializes in coverage of American high school sports. The site is owned by Paramount Global and is a division of CBS Sports. Founded on August 1, 2002, the company has covered up to 29 sports, including b ...
Division I All-State accolades as a senior.
He was named the All-Area Defensive Player of the Year by ''
The Bakersfield Californian
''The Bakersfield Californian'' is a daily newspaper serving Bakersfield, California and surrounding Kern County in the state's San Joaquin Valley.
History
''The Bakersfield Californian'' is the direct descendant of Kern County's first newsp ...
'' and the
Southwest Yosemite League Defensive Player of the Year.
He also won the Bakersfield Jockey Club's Outstanding Athlete Award.
He won the Hometown All-Stars Linebacker Award for the second consecutive year.
He missed a few games his senior year due to
Valley fever
A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams ove ...
.
He graduated from Centennial High School in 2011.
He was teammates with future NFL player
Cody Kessler at Centennial High.
Norris was a team captain as well.
He also earned one letter in baseball.
In the class of 2011, Norris was rated a three-star recruit by
Rivals.com
Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel.
History
Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...
,
Scout.com
Scout Media is an integrated sports publishing company that produces Internet content covering hundreds of professional and college teams across America. The company was founded in 2001 and was acquired by Fox Sports in 2005. In 2013, Fox Sports ...
,
ESPN.com
ESPN.com is the official website of ESPN. It is owned by ESPN Internet Ventures, a division of ESPN Inc.
History
Since launching in April 1995 as ESPNET.SportsZone.com (ESPNET SportsZone), the website has developed numerous sections including ...
and
247Sports.com.
He was also rated the No. 30
inside 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, ...
in the country by Rivals.com,
the No. 29
middle 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, ...
in the country by Scout.com,
the No. 37 inside linebacker in the country by ESPN.com,
and the No. 28 inside linebacker in the country by 247Sports.com.
He was also rated both a three-star recruit and the No. 28 inside linebacker in the country on 247Sports.com's composite rating, which takes into account the ratings of all the other major recruiting services in the country.
Norris committed to play
college football for
Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
in May 2010.
He also received offers from
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
and
New Mexico State
New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public land-grant research university based primarily in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest public institution of higher education in New Mexico and one of the state's tw ...
.
College career
Norris played for the
Utah Utes
The Utah Utes are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent the University of Utah, located in Salt Lake City. The athletic department is named after the Ute tribe of Native Americans. The men's basketball team is known as the Runnin' ...
of the
University of Utah
The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...
from 2012 to 2015. He was
redshirted
Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...
in 2011.
He was a three-year starter and four-year letterman.
He played in seven games in 2012, recording two total tackles and a
fumble recovery.
He played in ten games and started seven of them in 2013.
Five of his starts were at
mac linebacker and two were at
rover linebacker.
He totaled 2 sacks, two pass breakups, two forced fumbles and 64 total tackles, 4.5 of which were tackles for loss. He missed two games due to injury.
He earned Honorable Mention Academic All-
Pac-12 honors.
Norris played in 13 games in 2014. All of his starts were at rover linebacker. He recorded 116 total tackles, which was the most on the team and fourth most in the Pac-12. He also averaged 8.9 tackles per game, which was third most in the Pac-12.
He was named the
2014 Las Vegas Bowl
The 2014 Las Vegas Bowl was an American college football bowl game that was played on December 20, 2014, at Sam Boyd Stadium in Whitney, Nevada, in the Las Vegas Valley. The 23rd annual Las Vegas Bowl, it featured the 2014 Utah Utes football team, ...
Defensive "Out-Performer" of the game.
He also had 13 tackles for loss, 4 sacks and one pass breakup.
He earned Honorable Mention All-Pac-12 and Honorable Mention Academic All-Pac-12 accolades.
He appeared in 12 games in 2015.
All of his starts were at mac linebacker.
He accumulated one sack, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, five pass breakups and 87 total tackles, 6.5 of which were tackles for loss. He missed one game due to injury.
He was named Second-team All-Pac-12.
In April 2015, he was named to the watchlist for the
Lott IMPACT Trophy
The Lott IMPACT Trophy is presented annually to the college football defensive IMPACT player of the year. IMPACT is an acronym for: Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community, and Tenacity. The award purports to equally recognize the ...
. Three months later, he was named to the watchlists for the
Bednarik Award
The Chuck Bednarik Award is presented annually to the defensive player in college football as judged by the Maxwell Football Club to be the best in the United States. The award is named for Chuck Bednarik, a former college and professional Ameri ...
, the
Bronko Nagurski Trophy and the
Butkus Award
The Butkus Award, instituted in 1985 by the Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando, is given annually to the top linebackers at the high school, collegiate and professional levels of football. The award, named in honor of College Football Hall of Fame ...
. In October 2015, he was named a quarter-finalist for the Lott IMPACT Trophy.
He was a team captain in 2015 as well.
He also played in the
2016 Senior Bowl
The 2016 Senior Bowl was an all-star college football exhibition game featuring players from the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season, and prospects for the 2016 Draft of the professional National Football League (NFL). The game concluded th ...
as part of the North team.
Throughout his college career, Norris played in 42 games and started 32 of them.
He recorded 7 sacks, eight pass breakups, four forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, and 269 total tackles, 24 of which were tackles for loss.
He had at least 10 tackles in 11 games during his career.
He graduated from Utah with a
bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
in economics.
Professional career
Norris was rated the ninth best inside linebacker in the
2016 NFL Draft
The 2016 NFL Draft was the 81st annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015 NFL Draft, 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park (Chicago), ...
by NFLDraftScout.com.
Lance Zierlein
Lance Zierlein is a sports analyst and commentator. He has hosted sports talk shows on KILT 610, KBME 790, KGOW 1560 AM, and KFNC 97.5 FM in Houston, Texas
Career
Zierlein graduated from Lamar Consolidated High School in 1988. Following high ...
of NFL.com predicted that he would be selected in the sixth or seventh round. Zierlein said that "Norris looks the part of a backup WILL inside linebacker in a 3-4 who has the potential to become an average starter down the road".
Carolina Panthers
After going undrafted in the
2016 NFL Draft
The 2016 NFL Draft was the 81st annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015 NFL Draft, 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park (Chicago), ...
, Norris signed with 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. ...
on May 2, 2016. He played in 14 games in 2016, recording three solo tackles and three tackle assists.
On December 5, 2017, Norris was placed on injured reserve. He played in 11 games in 2017 and recorded four solo tackles.
On October 12, 2018, Norris was placed on injured reserve after suffering a toe injury in practice. On March 3, 2019, Norris signed a two-year contract extension, but was waived during on August 31, 2019.
Washington Football Team
On February 13, 2020, Norris signed with the
Washington Football Team
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) E ...
, then known as the
Redskins. He was waived on September 5, 2020 and signed to the practice squad the next day. He was elevated to the active roster on September 19 and September 26 for the team's weeks 2 and 3 games against the
Arizona Cardinals and
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...
, and reverted to the practice squad after each game. He was promoted to the active roster on October 2, 2020.
Norris re-signed with the team on March 23, 2021. He was released on August 31, 2021, and re-signed to the
practice squad the following day. He was promoted to active roster on September 11, 2021 after placing
Curtis Samuel
Curtis Samuel (born August 11, 1996) is an American football wide receiver for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Ohio State, where he was a member of the team that won the 2015 Colle ...
on injured reserve. He was placed on injured reserve on October 15 with a shoulder injury.
Personal life
Norris once attended
Camp Woodward, a professional skateboarding camp.
References
External links
*
College stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Norris, Jared
1993 births
Living people
Players of American football from Bakersfield, California
American football linebackers
Utah Utes football players
Carolina Panthers players
Washington Redskins players
Washington Football Team players