Jason Jamaal Alford (born May 28, 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 wi ...

defensive tackle. He most recently played for 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 ...

. He was drafted by the New York Giants in the third round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at Penn State. Alford has also been a member of the Oakland Raiders and Seattle Seahawks. In 2007, Alford served as the Giants'

long snapper In American football, the long snapper (or deep snapper) is a center on special teams whose duty is to snap the football over a longer distance, typically around 15 yards during punts, and 7–8 yards during field goals and extra point att ...

during field goal attempts, due to a season-ending injury to

Ryan Kuehl Ryan Philip Kuehl (born January 18, 1972) is a former American football long snapper in the National Football League (NFL). Early years Kuehl attended Walt Whitman High School (Bethesda, Maryland), Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda, Maryland, ...

. Alford won Super Bowl XLII in his first season, sacking

Tom Brady Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American football quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He spent his first 20 seasons with the New England Patriots organization, with which ...

in the final minute of the Giants' 17–14 win over the New England Patriots.

Early career

Alford attended Orange High School about 30 minutes from Giants Stadium. He was a three-year starter who was selected First-team All-State, U.S. Army All-American and was listed among the G&W Recruiting Report Top 50 defensive players in the nation.

College career

Alford was a four-year starter for the

Nittany Lions The Penn State Nittany Lions are the athletic teams of Pennsylvania State University, except for the women's basketball team, known as the Lady Lions. The school colors are navy blue and white. The school mascot is the Nittany Lion. The interc ...

. He played in 46 games with 41 starts for the Nittany Lions and recorded 118 tackles (60 solo), 32 tackles for losses and 19 sacks. He also recovered four fumbles, forced three fumbles, deflected 12 passes and registered three quarterback pressures. He was named Third-team All-America selection by the Associated Press and was All-

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

selection as a junior and senior. Alford finished his senior season with 32

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking u ...

and eight sacks. Alford earned a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

in Integrative Arts from Penn State in 2006. He was selected for Penn State's Jim O’Hora Award which honors the defense's most improved player each season.

Professional career

National Football League

Pre-draft

New York Giants

Alford's most memorable moment with the Giants was a devastating sack of

in Super Bowl XLII. With less than one minute remaining in the game and the New England Patriots down 17–14 with possession of the ball, Alford sacked Brady resulting in a 3rd and 20 situation. The Giants went on to shock the previously undefeated Patriots 17–14 in the greatest upset in Super Bowl history. As a rookie in 2007, Alford played in all 16 regular season games and all 4 postseason games. He was the snapper for field goals and extra points all season. He finished with 8 tackles (1 solo), 1 sack, 5 QB hurries and 2 QB hits. In 2008, he played in all 16 regular season games with 3 starts and played in the NFC Divisional Playoff game vs. Philadelphia. He finished with 26 tackles (9 solo), 2.5 sacks, 3 tackles for losses, 4 QB hurries, 7 QB hits, and 1 pass defensed. Alford missed the

2009 NFL season The 2009 NFL season was the 90th season in the history of the National Football League (NFL). The 50th anniversary of the original eight charter members of the American Football League was celebrated during this season. The preseason started ...

after he tore his

MCL The litre (international spelling) or liter (American English spelling) (SI symbols L and l, other symbol used: ℓ) is a metric unit of volume. It is equal to 1 cubic decimetre (dm3), 1000 cubic centimetres (cm3) or 0.001 cubic metre (m3) ...

and partially tore his ACL in the preseason. He was waived on September 4, 2010. On September 8, 2010, Alford signed with the Oakland Raiders. He was waived on October 6. He then spent the following offseason with the Seattle Seahawks, but did not make the final roster.

United Football League

Virginia Destroyers

Alford signed with the

Virginia Destroyers The Virginia Destroyers were a professional American football team based in Virginia Beach, Virginia. They began play in the United Football League (UFL) in the 2011 season. They played their home games at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex. The tea ...

of the UFL. It was the Destroyers' inaugural season in the UFL, and Alford helped lead them to a victory in the

2011 UFL Championship Game The 2011 UFL Championship Game was the third championship game of the United Football League and took place on October 21, 2011, the concluding weekend of the league's truncated third season. The game was won by the Virginia Destroyers, who, i ...

over the two-time defending champion Las Vegas Locos. The win gives Alford a championship in both the NFL and UFL.

Canadian Football League

Saskatchewan Roughriders

Alford signed with the

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 ...

on June 17, 2012. Alford was cut June 25, 2012 in training camp, but was re-signed on August 7, 2012. He played in 10 regular season games for the Roughriders during the 2012 season, making 11 tackles and two sacks. He was released by the team on May 23, 2013.

Personal life

Alford was born in

Orange, New Jersey The City of Orange is a township in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 30,134, reflecting a decline of 2,734 (−8.3%) from the 32,868 counted in 2000. Orange was original ...

and raised by his grandmother. He was a standout player at Orange High School, where he was named All-State, a U.S. Army All-American, and was listed among the G&W Recruiting Report Top 50 defensive players in the nation. Alford also was named to the Prep Star Dream Team. On February 29, 2008, Alford was awarded the City of Orange Township's

Key to the City The Freedom of the City (or Borough in some parts of the UK) is an honour bestowed by a municipality upon a valued member of the community, or upon a visiting celebrity or dignitary. Arising from the medieval practice of granting respected ...

References

External links

"Alford Meets the Media"
''The Giants Insider'', April 29, 2007 {{DEFAULTSORT:Alford, Jay 1983 births Living people African-American players of American football African-American players of Canadian football American football defensive tackles Canadian football defensive linemen New York Giants players Oakland Raiders players Orange High School (New Jersey) alumni Penn State Nittany Lions football players People from Orange, New Jersey Players of American football from New Jersey Saskatchewan Roughriders players Seattle Seahawks players Sportspeople from Essex County, New Jersey Virginia Destroyers players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people