Jonathan Charles Wade (born March 27, 1984) is an American former

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 ...

player who was a

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

in 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) for five seasons. 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 ...

for the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state, ...

. Wade was drafted by the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994. The arr ...

in the third round of the 2007 NFL Draft, and he also played 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 ...

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

, and

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

of the NFL.

Early years

Wade was born in

Shreveport, Louisiana Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population of 393,406 in 2020, is t ...

. He attended Evangel Christian Academy in Shreveport, and played for the Evangel Eagles high school football team. His Eagles teams won three state titles and a 1999

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

during his time there. Jonathan also holds 3 records in the state of Louisiana.

College career

Wade attended the

, and played for the

Tennessee Volunteers football The Tennessee Volunteers football program (variously called "Tennessee", "Vols", "UT", or "Big Orange") represents the University of Tennessee (UT). The Vols have played football for 130 seasons, starting in 1891; their combined record of 862� ...

team from 2002 to 2006. He was a standout in both track and football. Wade played wide receiver when first coming to Tennessee but moved to cornerback after sitting out most of the 2003 with an injury

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Entertainment * ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi * Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after ...

. Wade came under fire by fans early in his career, but many NFL pundits now consider him to be a solid NFL prospect. During the 2006 Season, Wade led the Vols in pass deflections is second in interceptions. Wade also was named Second-team All- SEC by the league's coaches and the AP.

Track and field

Also a star track athlete, Wade won the gold medal over the 200 meters, with a time of 20.95 seconds, and the bronze medal over

100 meters The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contest ...

2001 World Youth Championships in Athletics The 2001 World Youth Championships in Athletics was the second edition of the World Youth Championships in Athletics. It was held in Debrecen, Hungary 12–15 July 2001. Results Boys Girls Medal table References External links results< ...

. He also won the 2001 and 2002 state titles in the

and 200 meters. He set the state records in both, 200 meters twice, with a time of 21.03 seconds as a junior and broke his own record as a senior 20.58 seconds. Broke the Louisiana indoor 55 meters record 6.22 seconds. He was also the Louisiana 2001 and 2002 Gatorade Track and Field Athlete of the Year. Wade has also received honors for track and field while he was at the

. He was named All-American in 2005 for both indoor and outdoor track. Wade also anchored Tennessee's 2003 SEC champion and NCAA outdoor runner-up

4 x 100 metres relay 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

team. His personal bests are 6.67 seconds in the

60 meters 60 metres, or 60-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field. It is a championship event for indoor championships, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At outdoor venues it is a rare distance, at least for senior ath ...

, 10.15 seconds in the

and 20.58 seconds in the 200 meters.

Personal bests

Professional career

Pre-draft

St. Louis Rams

Jonathon Wade was selected in the third round with the 84th pick overall in the 2007 NFL Draft by the

. Wade signed a three-year deal worth $1.635 million that included a signing bonus of $516,375 Over the course of his rookie season at

, Wade played 16 games and made one start as a nickleback and made 24 total tackles, 23 of those solo, with 1 interception returned for 2 yards. On special teams, he returned 1 ball and that was for 19 yards. In 2008 Wade again played 16 games with one start (starting right cornerback Fakhir Brown was injured and Wade started the final game) and ended the year with 10 tackles, one interception and three passes deflected.

Detroit Lions

Wade signed with the

on March 8, 2010. He was cut on November 9, 2010, to make room for

Dave Rayner David Michael Rayner (born October 26, 1982) is a former American football placekicker in the National Football League. He was selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the sixth round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He played college football at Michigan ...

who was signed to replace

Jason Hanson Jason Hanson (born June 17, 1970) is an American former professional football player who was a kicker who spent his entire 21-year career with the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). After playing college football with the Wash ...

Cincinnati Bengals

Wade signed with the

on November 22, 2010, to replace free safety Chris Crocker after he suffered a season-ending knee injury in the Week 11 game against the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

. He was released on September 3, 2011.

Miami Dolphins

The

signed him on November 1, 2011. He was waived on November 19. Wade was re-signed to a future contract on January 30, 2012. The Dolphins released him during the preseason on August 25, 2012.

Personal life

Jonathan Wade is retired from the NFL and has two sons. Jonathan Charles Wade Jr born July 26, 2009, and Jaydn Charles Wade born October 7, 2016.

References

External links

*
Cincinnati Bengals bio

Miami Dolphins bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wade, Jonathan 1984 births Living people Players of American football from Shreveport, Louisiana American football cornerbacks Evangel Christian Academy alumni Tennessee Volunteers football players St. Louis Rams players Detroit Lions players Cincinnati Bengals players Miami Dolphins players