Jovan Haye (born June 21, 1982) is the

defensive ends Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is p ...

coach for the

Vanderbilt Commodores The Vanderbilt Commodores are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Vanderbilt University, located in Nashville, Tennessee. Vanderbilt fields 16 varsity teams (6 men's teams and 10 women's team ...

. 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 ...

defensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

, Haye was drafted by the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

in the sixth round of the

2005 NFL Draft The 2005 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The NFL draft, draft was held April 23–24, 2005 NFL seaso ...

. 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 Vanderbilt. Haye also played for the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

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) NFC South, South divisio ...

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 h ...

and

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 ...

Early years

Haye attended high school at

Dillard High School Dillard High School is a historic public middle and high school located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The school was established in 1907 as Colored School 11 and was later named for black-education advocate James H. Dillard. It is a part of Broward ...

in Fort Lauderdale, FL. He did not start playing football until his junior year, but still earned first-team All-State honors at

offensive guard Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

as a junior and senior. Aside from his athletic achievements, he also performed well academically, graduating with a 4.5

grade point average Grading in education is the process of applying standardized measurements for varying levels of achievements in a course. Grades can be assigned as letters (usually A through F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), as a percentage, or as a numbe ...

College career

Jovan Haye played

at Vanderbilt. During his career he started 34 of 35 games and recorded 149

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 ...

, 10.5 sacks, and one

interception In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...

. After his junior season, Haye entered the

NFL Draft The National Football League Draft, also called the NFL Draft or (officially) the Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment. Each team is given a position in the drafting o ...

Professional career

Carolina Panthers

Haye was drafted by the

in the sixth round of the

. He only played two games for the Panthers and was cut on September 2, 2006.

Cleveland Browns

Haye was signed by the

on September 3, 2006. On September 12, 2006, he was released, but was signed to Browns

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, ...

on September 14, 2006.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Haye was signed by the

on October 25, 2006. In his first season with the Bucs he played in nine games and recorded 17 tackles. In 2007, he became a full-time starter for the Bucs, starting all 16 games. He finished the season with 68 tackles and six sacks. In 2008, he started 14 of 15 games, recording 33 tackles and no sacks.

Tennessee Titans

On March 2, 2009, Haye agreed to a four-year, $16 million contract with the

. He was waived on August 29, 2011.

Detroit Lions

On December 9, 2011 Haye signed with the Detroit Lions. Four days later, On December 13, 2011 he was released by the Detroit Lions.

Second stint with Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Haye re-signed with the Buccaneers on December 19, 2011.

Coaching career

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

, Haye was hired by his alma mater, Vanderbilt, to serve as a Defensive Quality Control coach. The following season, he was promoted to coaching the team's

defensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

. In

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

he was retained by

Clark Lea Clark Lea (born November 11, 1981) is an American football coach who is currently the head football coach at Vanderbilt. He previously served as the defensive coordinator at the University of Notre Dame from 2018 to 2020. Lea began his coaching ...

and moved to coach the defensive ends.

References

External links

Tampa Bay Buccaneers bioTennessee Titans bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haye, Jovan 1982 births Living people Jamaican players of American football American football defensive tackles Vanderbilt Commodores football players Carolina Panthers players Cleveland Browns players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Tennessee Titans players Detroit Lions players Jamaican emigrants to the United States Players of American football from Florida Sportspeople from Broward County, Florida Vanderbilt Commodores football coaches People from Mandeville, Jamaica