Jeremy Theron McNichols (born December 26, 1995) 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 ...

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 ...

for the Pittsburgh Steelers 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 played college football at Boise State, and was drafted by 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) South division. The cl ...

in the fifth round of the

2017 NFL Draft The 2017 NFL Draft was the 82nd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It was held in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 27–29, returning to Philadelphia ...

. McNichols has also played for the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

, Indianapolis Colts,

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...

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 hom ...

, Chicago Bears,

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...

, and Atlanta Falcons.

Early years

McNichols attended Lakewood High School in

Lakewood, California Lakewood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 80,048 at the 2010 census. It is bordered by Long Beach on the west and south, Bellflower on the north, Cerritos on the northeast, Cypress on the east, ...

before transferring to

Santa Margarita Catholic High School Santa Margarita Catholic High School (SMCHS) is a coeducational college preparatory Roman Catholic high school located in Rancho Santa Margarita, California, United States. SMCHS is owned and operated by the Diocese of Orange, and was opened in ...

Rancho Santa Margarita, California Rancho Santa Margarita is a city in Orange County, California, United States. One of Orange County's youngest cities, Rancho Santa Margarita is a master-planned community. The population was 47,853 at the 2010 census, up from 47,214 at the 2000 ...

for his senior year. As a youngster, McNichols and fellow NFL player John Ross played in Snoop Dogg's youth football league in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

. He played running back and wide receiver in high school, and his versatility led to him earning the nickname "McWeapon". During his career he rushed for 877 yards with nine

touchdowns 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 Amer ...

and had 72 receptions for 934 yards and 10 touchdowns. He originally committed to 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 ...

to play college football but later changed to

Boise State University Boise State University (BSU) is a Public university, public research university in Boise, Idaho. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has been awarding ...

College career

McNichols enrolled at Boise State in early August 2014 before the start of fall camp. Heading into the season, McNichols planned on being redshirted and sat out the first five games before the redshirt was pulled. McNichols ended up playing in nine games as a true freshman during the 2014 season. He rushed for 159 yards on 17 carries with a rushing touchdown and had 15 receptions for 155 yards and a touchdown. As a sophomore in 2015, he started 12 games, rushing for 1,337 yards on 240 carries and 20 touchdowns. He also had 460 receiving yards and six touchdowns on 51 receptions.

Professional career

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

McNichols was drafted by the

in the fifth round, 162nd overall, in the

. He was the 17th running back selected in that year's draft. He exhibited maturity issues and inability to read defenses which was documented in the twelfth season of '' Hard Knocks'' and was released by the team on September 2, 2017.

San Francisco 49ers

On September 4, 2017, McNichols was signed to the

' practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on November 29, 2017. On September 1, 2018, McNichols was waived by the 49ers.

Indianapolis Colts

On September 3, 2018, McNichols was signed to the Indianapolis Colts' practice squad. He was released on September 13, 2018, but was re-signed five days later. He was promoted to the active roster on September 28, 2018, but was waived four days later.

Denver Broncos

On October 10, 2018, McNichols signed to the

practice squad.

Tennessee Titans

On December 3, 2018, McNichols was signed by the

off the Broncos practice squad. He was waived on August 31, 2019.

Chicago Bears

On November 19, 2019, McNichols was signed to the Chicago Bears practice squad. He was waived on December 11.

Jacksonville Jaguars

On December 18, 2019, McNichols was signed to the

practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on December 28, 2019. On May 4, 2020, the Jaguars waived McNichols to make room for veteran running back Chris Thompson.

Tennessee Titans (second stint)

McNichols had a tryout with the

on August 23, 2020, and re-signed with the team three days later. He was waived on September 5, 2020, and signed to the practice squad the next day. After being elevated to the active roster for the first two games of the season, he was promoted to the active roster on September 23, 2020. In the Week 6 matchup against the Houston Texans, he accounted for more than 50 rushing yards in a dominant Titans performance, who had 601 offensive yards, most in franchise history. He finished the season playing in all 16 games as a backup to

Derrick Henry Derrick Lamar Henry Jr. (born January 4, 1994) is an American football running back for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). His imposing rushing game and larger stature than the average running back earned him the nickna ...

recording 47 carries for 204 yards and one touchdown along with 12 receptions for 55 yards. During the playoffs, McNichols recorded one carry for four yards in the Titans 20–13 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in the wildcard round. Jeremy McNichols

McNichols was waived by the Titans on January 8, 2022, a day before their final regular season game. He was re-signed to the practice squad on January 11.

Atlanta Falcons

On May 26, 2022, McNichols signed with the Atlanta Falcons. On June 16, 2022, McNichols was released by the Falcons.

Pittsburgh Steelers

On July 26, 2022, McNichols signed a one-year contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was placed on injured reserve on August 3, 2022.

References

External links

Tennessee Titans bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:McNichols, Jeremy 1995 births Living people Players of American football from Long Beach, California American football running backs Boise State Broncos football players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players San Francisco 49ers players Indianapolis Colts players Denver Broncos players Tennessee Titans players Chicago Bears players Jacksonville Jaguars players Atlanta Falcons players Pittsburgh Steelers players