Michael Jefferson (born December 28, 1982) 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 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 the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

and

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 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 ...

Montana State Montana State University (MSU) is a public land-grant research university in Bozeman, Montana. It is the state's largest university. MSU offers baccalaureate degrees in 60 fields, master's degrees in 68 fields, and doctoral degrees in 35 fiel ...

Early years

Jefferson attended Parkland High School. As a senior, he had 29 receptions for 954 yards, 11 receiving touchdowns, 10 carries for 216 yards, 2 rushing touchdowns, 2 punt returns for touchdowns, 60 tackles and 2 interceptions. He received All-city and All-district honors. He also practiced

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

and

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 ...

College career

University of Arizona

Jefferson accepted a football scholarship from the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

. As a freshman in 2003, he recorded 16 receptions for 214 yards and two touchdowns. As a sophomore, he posted 16 receptions for 249 yards and three

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

s. As a junior in 2005, he recorded only 4 receptions for 64 yards and no touchdowns.

Montana State University

In 2006, he transferred to

Montana State University Montana State University (MSU) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Bozeman, Montana. It is the state's largest university. MSU offers baccalaureate degrees in 60 fields, master's degrees in 6 ...

to take advantage of an

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

rule, which allowed a player to transfer down a division and be eligible to play the same year. In his one season at Montana State, he recorded 66 receptions for 1,023 yards and nine touchdowns. His 1,450 all-purpose yards led the

Big Sky Conference The Big Sky Conference (BSC) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I with football competing in the Football Championship Subdivision. Member institutions are located in the western United States in the eigh ...

. He set a school record with 305 all-purpose yards against

Idaho State University , mottoeng = "The truth will set you free" , established = , former_names = Academy of Idaho(1901–1915)Idaho Technical Institute(1915–1927)University of Idaho—Southern Branch(1927–1947)Idaho State ...

, including 207 receiving yards. He left with two of the school's top five receiving games.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys (first stint)

Jefferson was signed as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

by the

after the 2007 NFL Draft. He was waived on September 1 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, ...

two days later. On September 8, 2008, he was released after playing in the season opener. On September 10, he was re-signed to the

. He was promoted to the active roster the day before the season opener to serve as the team’s fourth wide receiver due to injuries at the position, but did not play. He tested positive for taking a banned supplement and was suspended 4 games. On October 29, he was released from the practice squad after being reinstated by the league.

Buffalo Bills

On November 26, 2008, he was signed by the

to their practice squad. He was released on May 21, 2009.

Dallas Cowboys (second stint)

On May 28, 2009, Jefferson was re-signed by the

. He was released September 5.

Personal life

In the early summer of 2014, Jefferson served in the United States Air Force Reserve 610th Security Forces Squadron. Jefferson is now currently serving as a patrolman under the AGR program with the 452nd Security Forces Squadron at March ARB, California.

References

External links

Arizona Wildcats bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jefferson, Mike 1982 births Living people Players of American football from Texas American football wide receivers Arizona Wildcats football players Montana State Bobcats football players Dallas Cowboys players Buffalo Bills players