Edward Videl Jasper (January 18, 1973 – April 14, 2022) was an American professional football player who was a defensive tackle 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 ma ...

(NFL). He was selected by the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

in the sixth round of the

1997 NFL Draft The 1997 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 draft was held April 19–20, 1997, at the Paramount T ...

and played for the Eagles, Atlanta Falcons, and

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Ra ...

from 1997 to 2005.

Early life

Jasper was born in

Tyler, Texas Tyler is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the largest city and county seat of Smith County, Texas, Smith County. It is also the largest city in Northeast Texas. With a 2020 census population of 105,995, Tyler was the List of cities in Texa ...

, on January 18, 1973. He attended

Troup High School Troup High School is a public high school located in the city of Troup, Texas, United States and classified as a 3A school by the UIL. It is a part of the Troup Independent School District located in extreme southern Smith County. In 2015, the sc ...

, where he was a three-time All-East Texas and honored as Defensive Most Valuable Player. He was also part of the school's basketball team that won the

University Interscholastic League The University Interscholastic League (UIL) is an organization that creates rules for and administers almost all athletic, musical, and academic contests for public primary and secondary schools in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the largest organi ...

Class 2A state championship in 1992.

College career

After graduating from Troup, Jasper studied at

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

and played four seasons of college football for the Aggies. In his first year with the team in 1993, the Aggies won the

Southwest Conference The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference included schools from Oklahoma ...

(SWC) title, before losing 24–21 to Notre Dame Fighting in the

1994 Cotton Bowl Classic The 1994 Mobil Cotton Bowl Classic was the fifty-eighth edition of the college football bowl game, played January 1, 1994, at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas. The game featured the Notre Dame Fighting Irish versus the Southwest Conference ch ...

. They finished 10–0–1 the following season, but were ineligible to defend their title. The Aggies switched from the SWC to the

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its f ...

during Jasper's senior year in 1996. Although the team was 6–6 that season, he received honorable mention All-Big 12 honors. He was also conferred the Aggie Heart Award, as voted for by his teammates. He was subsequently drafted by the

in the sixth round (198th overall selection) of the

Professional career

Jasper made his NFL debut with the Eagles on September 15, 1997, at the age of 24, in a 21–20 loss against 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 divis ...

. After two seasons with the franchise, he joined the Atlanta Falcons in 1999. He had the most effective years of his career with the team, with arguably his best season coming in 2002, when he started all 16 games and helped the Falcons qualify for the playoffs that year. The franchise also qualified for the playoffs two years later, advancing to the

NFC Championship Game The NFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the National Football Conference (NFC) and one of the two semi-final playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football league in the world ...

. He went to the

in 2005, where he tallied 2 sacks and 24 tackles in 15 games played. He retired at the conclusion of the 2005 season. During his nine-season NFL career, Jasper registered 250

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 up ...

, 17 sacks, forced four

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful h ...

s, and made four fumble recoveries in 118 games played.

Personal life

Jasper's brother, Shane, served as president of the

Troup Independent School District Troup Independent School District is a public school district based in Troup, Texas (USA). The district is located in southeastern Smith County and extends into a small portion of northeastern Cherokee County. Troup ISD has three schools: * T ...

board. Jasper died on April 14, 2022, at the age of 49.Edward Jasper
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jasper, Ed 1973 births 2022 deaths American football defensive tackles Texas A&M Aggies football players Philadelphia Eagles players Atlanta Falcons players Oakland Raiders players Players of American football from Texas Sportspeople from Tyler, Texas Ed Block Courage Award recipients