Michael Jennings (born September 7, 1979) 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.

High school years

Jennings attended Nathan Bedford Forest High School in Jacksonville, Florida and was a student, and earned three

letters Letter, letters, or literature may refer to: Characters typeface * Letter (alphabet), a character representing one or more of the sounds used in speech; any of the symbols of an alphabet. * Letterform, the graphic form of a letter of the alphabe ...

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 ...

and one in

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

as a senior sprinter.

College years

Jennings never played

in college. He was a track and field athlete at

Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...

, earning 3 letters as a Seminole and winning the

ACC ACC most often refers to: * Atlantic Coast Conference, an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic conference located in the US *American College of Cardiology, A US-based nonprofit medical association that bestows credentials upon cardiovascular spec ...

Championship as a member of the 4 × 400 relay team.

Professional career

Michael Jennings entered 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 ...

by signing with 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 ...

in 2002, but was cut before the season. Jennings was then selected in the 4th round of the 2003 NFL Europe Free Agent Draft by the Scottish Claymores. In 2004, he signed with the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

and the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

before being cut by both. He finally made the

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

roster in 2005, after which he allocated to

NFL Europa NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...

and played for the

Berlin Thunder The Berlin Thunder were a professional American football team in NFL Europe. History The Thunder came into existence as an expansion team, after the London/England Monarchs franchise shut down operations, prior to the 1999 season. Home games ...

. He played in his first NFL game in the 2006 season. He was a starter in the 2nd preseason game of 2007 against the

. In the game, he made a diving catch and in doing so he ruptured his

achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcaneus (h ...

leaving him out for the season. The Giants put Jennings 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 ...

due to his career-threatening injury. The following year, he once again tried out for the Giants but was released after the final cuts.

References

External links

1979 births Living people Players of American football from Jacksonville, Florida American football wide receivers Florida State University alumni San Francisco 49ers players Scottish Claymores players New England Patriots players Baltimore Ravens players Berlin Thunder players New York Giants players Indianapolis Colts players {{widereceiver-1970s-stub