Jermar Jefferson (born April 15, 2000) 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 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 ...

for the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

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 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 ...

at Oregon State and was drafted by the Lions in the seventh round of the

2021 NFL Draft The 2021 NFL Draft was the 86th National Football League Draft, the annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2021 NFL season. The draft was held in Cleveland from April 29 to May 1, 2021 ...

Early years

Jefferson initially attended high school at Redondo Union High School in Redondo Beach, California, before transferring to

Narbonne High School Nathaniel Narbonne High School (NHS) is a school located at 24300 South Western Avenue, in the Harbor City area of Los Angeles, California. Narbonne serves grades 9 through 12 and is part of the Los Angeles Unified School District. Narbonne serve ...

Harbor City, California Harbor City is a highly diverse neighborhood in the Harbor region of Los Angeles, California, with a population upward of 36,000 people. Originally part of the Rancho San Pedro Spanish land grant, the Harbor City was brought into Los Angeles as ...

in his senior year. Jefferson received an offer from and committed to

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering co ...

in his senior year, while also receiving an offer to play football at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

. Jefferson enrolled at OSU in 2018.

College career

Jefferson became the school's starting running back as a true freshman in 2018 and rushed for 238 yards in his second game, a 48–25 win against Southern Utah. Three weeks later, he rushed for a career-high 254 yards in a 52–24 loss to Arizona State. Through the first six games of his freshman season, Jefferson ranked third among all Division I FBS players with 865 rushing yards. Jefferson ended the season with twelve touchdown runs, 1,380 rushing yards, and was named Pac-12 freshman offensive player of the year. Jefferson returned to the Beavers for his sophomore season in 2019. He rushed for 685 yards and eight touchdowns in his sophomore year. Jefferson returned to the Beavers for his junior season in 2020. He finished with 858 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns in just six games. After the season, he decided to forgo his senior year and enter the

Professional career

Jefferson was drafted in the seventh round, 257th overall, by the

in the 2021 NFL Draft. He signed his four-year rookie contract on May 14, 2021. On October 31, 2021, Jefferson scored his first career touchdown, an eight-yard rush in a blowout loss against the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

that proved to be the only points for the Lions in the 44-6 loss. He appeared in seven games and recorded 15 carries for 74 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns in the 2021 season. On August 31, 2022, Jefferson was waived by the Lions and signed to the

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

the next day. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 9, 2023. On August 29, 2023, Jefferson was

waived/injured The following terms are used in American football, both conventional and indoor. Some of these terms are also in use in Canadian football; for a list of terms unique to that code, see ''Glossary of Canadian football''. 0–9 ...

by the Lions and placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

. He was released on September 6, 2023, with an injury settlement. On October 24, 2023, the Lions signed Jefferson to their practice squad.https://x.com/lions/status/1716911262553239969?s=46&t=adwn3zD_FYGFt5rdVvEVzw

References

External links

Detroit Lions bioOregon State Beavers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jefferson, Jermar Living people American football running backs Oregon State Beavers football players People from Harbor City, Los Angeles Players of American football from Los Angeles 2000 births Detroit Lions players Narbonne High School alumni Redondo Union High School alumni