Jason Michael Snelling (born December 29, 1983) 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 ...

. He played his entire career with the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

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 ...

. He was drafted by the Falcons in the seventh round of the 2007 NFL Draft. 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 ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

Early years

Snelling played football at Lloyd C. Bird High School, where he was an all-district tailback and was named to the all-region team three times. He rushed for 3,300 yards during his career, including 1,444 yards and 14 touchdowns during his senior year. His jersey number was retired by the school in 2007

College career

Snelling enrolled to

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

. His average of 5.3 yards per rush is the fifth on the school's all-time rushing record list, topped only by John Papit (1947–50),

Terry Kirby Terry Gayle Kirby (born January 20, 1970) is a former professional American football player who played ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL) from 1993 to 2002. A 6'1" running back from the University of Virginia, he is the younger br ...

(1989–92),

Barry Word Barry Quentin Word (born July 17, 1964) is a former American football running back for the National Football League. College Word played college football at the University of Virginia. In 1985, he ran for 1224 yards, which is currently the fifth ...

(1982–85) and Nikki Fisher (1988–91). His 325 rushing yards in 2005 were the most by a Virginia fullback in a season since

Charles Way Charles Christopher Way (born December 27, 1972) is a former professional American football fullback in the National Football League for five seasons for the New York Giants. Early life Way was born in 1972 to Jacqueline and Cleveland Way. he ...

totaled 517 yards in 1994, he also led the ACC fullbacks in rushing yards in 2005. Snelling was diagnosed with

epilepsy Epilepsy is a group of non-communicable neurological disorders characterized by recurrent epileptic seizures. Epileptic seizures can vary from brief and nearly undetectable periods to long periods of vigorous shaking due to abnormal electrical ...

, and the condition caused him to take a medical redshirt his sophomore season and later miss practices and games. His condition was eventually diagnosed and is now treated by medication. He was unable to talk openly about epilepsy until his senior season at Virginia.

Professional career

He was drafted by the Falcons in the seventh round of the 2007 NFL Draft (244 overall). He made his

debut against the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

and scored his first professional

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

against the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

. He started his first game November 22, 2009 against the New York Giants, rushing for 76 yards and 2 touchdowns on 25 carries, while also catching 3 passes for 13 yards. On January 3, 2010, he rushed 25 times for a career-high 147 yards and added three receptions for 21 yards in a victory against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, helping the Falcons to the first back-to-back winning seasons in the franchise's 44-year history. Snelling was re-signed by the Falcons on April 15, 2010. He finished the 2009 season with 613 yards on 142 carries with 4 rushing touchdowns. He also caught 30 passes for 259 yards and 1 touchdown. On March 4, 2014, Snelling announced his retirement from the National Football League.

References

External links

Atlanta Falcons bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Snelling, Jason 1983 births Living people Sportspeople from Toms River, New Jersey People with epilepsy American football fullbacks Virginia Cavaliers football players Atlanta Falcons players Players of American football from New Jersey Ed Block Courage Award recipients