Jason Geathers (born September 8, 1980) 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 in the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

for the

San Jose SaberCats The San Jose SaberCats were a professional arena football team based in San Jose, California. The SaberCats had been members of the Arena Football League (AFL) since 1995 (the year in which the team was founded); and until 2015, they belonged to ...

Tampa Bay Storm The Tampa Bay Storm were a professional arena football team based in Tampa, Florida, US. It played in the Arena Football League (AFL). Originally the team was located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and operated as the Pittsburgh Gladiators. The f ...

, Arizona Rattlers and

Orlando Predators The Orlando Predators were a professional arena football team based in Orlando, Florida and member of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team was most recently owned by Orlando Predators LLC, a company owned by David A. Siegel, and played its ...

. He was also a member of the New York Giants 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 ...

. He played college football at the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, i ...

Early years

Geathers attended

Spanish River Community High School Spanish River Community High School is a public, coeducational high school in Boca Raton, Florida, USA. It is part of the School District of Palm Beach County and serves the cities of Boca Raton and Delray Beach. History Spanish River Community ...

. In football, he played as a

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 handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Ther ...

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

, wide receiver,

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, ...

and returner. As a junior, he was a part of a backfield that included future professional football players Lance Frazier and Ladaris Vann. As a senior, he recorded 1,612 total offensive yards, rushing 105 times for 846 yards and 8 touchdowns, making 15 receptions for 328 yards and 5 scores, while also completing 20 passes for 438 yards and 4 touchdowns. He finished his high school football career after posting over 5,000 yards of total offense, 57 touchdowns (48 rushing, 8 receiving, 1 fumble recovery) and passing for 11 touchdowns. As a senior, he also averaged 15.5 points per game in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

and set personal bests in track of 10.7 seconds in the 100-meters and 22.4 seconds in the 200-meters. Geathers was considered an elite football recruit, receiving honors as Parade All-American, Palm Beach Post All-Area first-team, USA Today Honorable Mention All-American, ranked No. 5 overall by The Sporting News, ranked No. 8 on SuperPrep National 50 and No. 3 Florida, PrepStar Dream Team Top 100, selected to the Super 30 All-SEC Region by PrepStar, ranked No. 8 on the Sun-Sentinel national top 50, named Florida's #1 Tailback on Florida Times-Union Super 75, ranked No. 6 on Tampa Tribune national top 100, ranked No. 3 on Tampa Tribune Florida top 50, selected to the USA Today Super 25 preseason team, SuperPrep Preseason Elite 50 pick, Gridiron Greats Preseason Top 100 and National Recruiting Advisor Preseason Top 100 pick.

College career

Geathers accepted a football scholarship from the

. As a freshman, he appeared in 9 games as a backup running back and wide receiver. He also played on the special teams unit. He rushed for 122 yards on 18 carries. Against

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...

, he had 7 carries for 73 yards and one touchdown. As a sophomore, he appeared in 10 games as a backup wide receiver, making 9 receptions for 112 yards and one touchdown. He made his first catch in the season opener against Penn State University. He scored his first receiving touchdown against the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...

. He made a key downfield block on a touchdown run by running back

Clinton Portis Clinton Earl Portis (born September 1, 1981) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons. He played college football for the Miami Hurricanes. He was drafted ...

, in the second quarter of the

2002 Rose Bowl The 2002 Rose Bowl, played on January 3, 2002, was a college football bowl game. It was the 88th Rose Bowl game and was the BCS National Championship Game of the 2001 college football season. The game featured the Miami Hurricanes and the Nebra ...

37-14 victory over the

University of Nebraska A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

, contributing to the team winning the BCS National Championship. As a junior, he began the season as a backup tailback, before being moved back to wide receiver in the last 2 games, following an injury to Kevin Beard. He posted 398 yards on 68 carries (5.9-yard avg.), 3 rushing touchdowns, 7 receptions for 99 yards and 2 receiving touchdowns. In the season opener against

Florida A&M University Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), commonly known as Florida A&M, is a public historically black land-grant university in Tallahassee, Florida. Founded in 1887, It is the third largest historically black university in the Un ...

, he rushed for 199 yards (sixth all-time in school history) on 22 carries, scored 2 touchdowns and had a career-long run of 62 yards. Against the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from H ...

, he gained 86 yards on 9 carries. Against the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

, he tallied 165 all-purpose yards, rushing for 72 yards on 13 carries, catching two passes for 37 yards (both for touchdowns) and 56 return yards on three kickoff returns. He caught the winning touchdown in the 28-27 victory against Florida State University. As a senior, he suffered a hamstring injury that forced him to miss all of the preseason. He began the regular season as a backup wide receiver, before being moved to running back. He registered 35 carries for 151 yards (4.3-yard avg.), one rushing touchdown, 23 receptions for 277 yards and 3 receiving touchdowns.

Professional career

Geathers was signed by the

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 ...

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 ...

after the

2004 NFL Draft The 2004 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 24–25, 2004 at the Theater at ...

on April 30. He was waived on August 31. On October 13, he was signed to the New York Giants' practice squad. He was released on April 26, 2005. On December 14, 2005, he was signed as a

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 ...

by the

of the

. In 2008, he registered 37 receptions for 365 yards, 5 touchdowns, 22 tackles, 4 fumble recoveries, 3 pass breakups and 2 forced fumbles. Against the New Orleans VooDoo, he had 18 receptions for 188 yards and 2 touchdowns. In June 2009, he 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 ...

. He was released on September 8. On May 6, 2010, he was signed as a

by the

. On February 26, 2013, he signed with the

References

External links

Hurricanes bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Geathers, Jason 1980 births Living people Sportspeople from Delray Beach, Florida Players of American football from Florida American football wide receivers Miami Hurricanes football players Cleveland Browns players New York Giants players San Jose SaberCats players Saskatchewan Roughriders players Arizona Rattlers players Tampa Bay Storm players Alabama Vipers players Georgia Force players Orlando Predators players