Jester Weah (born February 7, 1995) 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 ...

wide receiver. 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 ...

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

and was signed by the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

as an undrafted free agent in 2018.

High school career

James Madison Memorial High School Vel Phillips Memorial High School is a public high school in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was established in 1966 and is part of the Madison Metropolitan School District. The school is named after Vel Phillips, an American attorney, pol ...

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

, Weah played for the

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

, basketball, and track teams. Weah did not play organized football until his sophomore season. Across his junior and senior seasons, Weah caught 71 passes for 1,436 yards and 13 touchdowns. After his senior season, Weah was named to the all-state teams by the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association and the Associated Press.

Rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant o ...

and

Scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...

both ranked Weah as the No. 2 wide receiver in Wisconsin.

Recruiting

Weah was a consensus three-star prospect, and received offers from nine schools, including

Colorado State Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a public land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University System. Colorado State University is classified among "R1: ...

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, and Pitt. Weah committed to Pitt in January 2013, signed his letter of intent during the signing period in February, and enrolled in June.

College career

Weah attended

, where he played wide receiver for the football program for four years, beginning in 2013. Weah redshirted the 2013 season as a true freshman. Weah saw action in 17 games across the

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

and 2015 seasons, but mostly in a special teams capacity, as he failed to record any catches. Weah broke out in the 2016 season, when he played in 13 games, starting in seven. Weah was the team's best receiver statistically, as he led Pittsburgh in receptions (36), receiving yards (870), and touchdowns (10). Weah led the ACC and was second nationally in yards per catch, with 24.2. In his senior season, Weah started in every game but one, catching 41 passes for 698 yards and four touchdowns as Pitt utilized three different quarterbacks. Weah graduated from Pittsburgh with a degree in communications.

College statistics

Professional career

Houston Texans

Weah signed with the

as an undrafted free agent following the

2018 NFL Draft The 2018 NFL Draft was the 83rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2018 NFL season. The draft was held on April 26–28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas; it was the first draft ...

. On August 31, 2018, Weah was released by the Texans as part of final roster cuts, but was subsequently signed to the team’s practice squad. On October 2, 2018 Weah was moved to injury reserve. On January 7, 2019, Weah was signed to a futures contract by the Texans. On August 30, 2019, Weah was released as part of the final roster cuts.

Washington Redskins

On October 10, 2019, Weah was signed to the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

practice squad. On December 27, Weah was promoted to the active roster after the team moved two members of the secondary to injured reserve. On September 5, 2020, Weah was waived by Washington.

Chicago Bears

On January 15, 2021, Weah signed a reserve/futures contract with the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

. He was waived on August 16, 2021.

Saskatchewan Roughriders

Weah signed with 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 1 ...

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 ...

(CFL) on December 21, 2021. In two preseason games he caught three passes for 25 yards and one touchdown. He was released by the Riders on June 9, 2022, as part of the team's final roster cuts. Weah re-signed with the team on July 23, 2022, midway through the 2022 season. On May 26, 2023, Weah retired from professional football.

Personal life

Weah is the nephew of

George Weah George Tawlon Manneh Oppong Ousman Weah (; born 1 October 1966) is a Liberian politician and former professional footballer who is the incumbent president of Liberia, in office since 2018. Prior to his election to the presidency, Weah served a ...

, who is the current

president of Liberia The president of the Republic of Liberia is the head of state and government of Liberia. The president serves as the leader of the executive branch and as commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Liberia. Prior to the independence of Liberia ...

and the only African player to ever win the

Ballon d'Or The Ballon d'Or (; ) is an annual football award presented by French news magazine ''France Football'' since 1956. Between 2010 and 2015, in an agreement with FIFA, the award was temporarily merged with the FIFA World Player of the Year (fo ...

, which he was awarded in 1995 as a member of

A.C. Milan Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 seasons ...

. Weah is also the cousin of

Tim Weah Timothy Tarpeh Weah (born February 22, 2000) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a winger for Ligue 1 club Lille and the United States national team. Weah is the son of former professional soccer player, Ballon d'Or winner, ...

, who plays

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

for

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...

and the

United States men's national soccer team The United States men's national soccer team (USMNT) represents the United States in men's international soccer competitions. The team is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and is a member of FIFA and CONCACAF. The U.S. team ha ...

, as well as George Weah Jr., who most recently played midfielder for French clubs

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As Fr ...

and

Tours Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 ...

References

External links

Pittsburgh Panthers bio

Washington Football Team bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weah, Jester 1995 births Living people Players of American football from Madison, Wisconsin American people of Liberian descent American football wide receivers Pittsburgh Panthers football players Houston Texans players Washington Redskins players Washington Football Team players Chicago Bears players Saskatchewan Roughriders players