Jacob Francis Tamme ( ; born March 15, 1985) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

and was selected by the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

in the fourth round of the

2008 NFL draft The 2008 NFL draft was the 73rd NFL draft, annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York (state), New York ...

. Tamme also played for the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

and

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

Early life

Tamme graduated from Boyle County High School in

Danville, Kentucky Danville is a list of Kentucky cities, home rule-class city and the county seat of Boyle County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 17,236 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Danville is the principal city of the Danville Micr ...

, where he was a multi-sport star in

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

, and

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 (appro ...

. He was a four-year

letterman Letterman may refer to: * Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States People * David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host ** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...

and three-year starter at

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

and

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

for Boyle County, who won four consecutive state championships, two in Class AA and two in Class AAA, and had a 58–2 record over those seasons. He was a first-team all-state selection as a senior by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

and Louisville's ''

The Courier-Journal The ''Courier Journal'', also known as the ''Louisville Courier Journal'' (and informally ''The C-J'' or ''The Courier''), and called ''The Courier-Journal'' between November 8, 1868, and October 29, 2017, is a daily newspaper published in ...

'' when he caught 46 passes for 797 yards, a 17.3-yard average, and 13 touchdowns. In addition, he was a finalist for the Kentucky "Mr. Football" Award, given to the top performer in high school football. His career totals include 97 receptions for 1,866 yards, a 19.2-yard average, and 32 touchdowns. On

defense Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense industr ...

, he intercepted 23 passes, including two returns for touchdowns. As a

kick returner A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another positio ...

, he took 25 punts for 395 yards, a 15.8-yard average, and two touchdowns.

College career

As a

redshirt freshman Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

, he played in all 11 games for the

Kentucky Wildcats The Kentucky Wildcats are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky (UK), a founding member of the Southeastern Conference. The Kentucky Wildcats is the student body of the University of Kentucky. 30, ...

. He started three games at wide receiver before moving to his more natural position of tight end for the season-ending game at

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

, where he had two touchdowns. For the season, he had 16 catches for 161 yards. He was also named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll for excellent work in the classroom. As a redshirt sophomore, he played in all 11 games, starting 10. He was second on the team in pass receptions with 29 catches for 253 yards and one touchdown. On

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

, he blocked punts against

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

and

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. He also earned a slot on the SEC Academic Honor Roll for the second straight year. As a redshirt junior, he was voted to the All-SEC first-team by the SEC coaches and the Associated Press. He led SEC tight ends in receptions with 32, netting 386 receiving yards and two touchdowns. He made the SEC Academic Honor Roll for the third year in a row. As a redshirt senior, he had 56 receptions for 619 yards and six touchdowns. For the second year in a row, he earned first-team All-SEC honors from both the Associated Press (unanimous decision) and coaches polls. Tamme finished his career as Kentucky's all-time top pass-catching tight end and second in the history of all SEC tight ends with 133 catches for 1,417 yards.

Accolades

As one of the top scholar-athletes in the country, Tamme completed his degree in integrated strategic communications in only three years and earned his

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

just before entering the NFL. Known for his contributions back to the community, in 2006, he was named to the National Good Works Team by the

American Football Coaches Association The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) is an association of over 11,000 American football coaches and staff on all levels. According to its constitution, some of the main goals of the American Football Coaches Association are to "mainta ...

, the

SEC Community Service Team Each year, the Southeastern Conference (SEC), a college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the Southern part of the United States, chooses Community Service Teams of players of various sports from among its membe ...

by the SEC Office, and to the Frank G. Ham Society of Character by UK Athletics. In 2007, he was one of 15 finalists for the prestigious

Draddy Trophy The William V. Campbell Trophy, formerly the Vincent dePaul Draddy Trophy, is awarded by the National Football Foundation to the top college football player with the best combination of academics, leadership, and on-field performance. It is ofte ...

, which is presented to the top scholar athlete in the country. He gave the acceptance speech on behalf of the 15 finalists at the award ceremony in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Also in 2007, he was named the SEC Scholar Athlete of the Year and elected to the first-team Academic

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

squad by the College Sports Information Directors of America. He was the 2007 recipient of the

Bobby Bowden Robert Cleckler Bowden (; November 8, 1929 – August 8, 2021) was an American college football coach. Bowden coached the Florida State Seminoles of Florida State University (FSU) from 1976 to 2009 and is considered one of the greatest college ...

Award, a national honor presented by the

Fellowship of Christian Athletes The Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) is an international nonprofit Christian sports ministry based in Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas City. History FCA was founded in 1954 by Eastern Oklahoma State College, Eastern Oklahoma A&M basketball c ...

. Tamme was inducted in 2018 to the University of Kentucky Athletics Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Indianapolis Colts

The

selected Tamme in the fourth round (127th overall) of the

. Tamme was the ninth tight end drafted in 2008. He and the Colts agreed to a 4-year contract with undisclosed terms on July 23, 2008.

2008 season

As a rookie in 2008, Tamme appeared in 12 games and had three receptions for 12 receiving yards.

2009 season

In 2009, Tamme appeared in all 16 games and started one. He totaled three receptions for 35 receiving yards. He played in

Super Bowl XLIV Super Bowl XLIV was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champions New Orleans Saints and the American Football Conference (AFC) champions Indianapolis Colts to decide the National Football League (NFL) c ...

but lost to the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

31–17.

2010 season

After Week 7 of the 2010 season,

Dallas Clark Dallas Dean Clark (born June 12, 1979) is an American former professional football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unq ...

was placed 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 ...

after an injury to the wrist and Tamme took over as the starting tight end. In Week 9, against 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

, he had 11 receptions for 108 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown in the 26–24 loss. Tamme finished the season with a career-high 67 receptions for 631 yards and four touchdowns.

2011 season

Tamme's numbers declined in 2011 with the absence of

Peyton Manning Peyton Williams Manning (born March 24, 1976) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons. Nicknamed "the Sheriff", he spent 14 seasons with the In ...

. He finished the year with 19 receptions for 177 receiving yards and a touchdown.

Denver Broncos

Tamme signed for three years and $9 million with the

on March 23, 2012. His contract included $3.5 million in guaranteed money.

2012 season

Tamme improved much in the 2012 year as

signed for the Broncos. Tamme finished the 2012 year with 52 receptions for 555 receiving yards and two touchdowns.

2013 season

Tamme was part of a Broncos offense that was franchise-setting, becoming the first time an NFL team scored over 600 points in 16 regular season games that year. For the 2013 year, Tamme produced 184 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Tamme scored a receiving touchdown in the

AFC Championship The AFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the American Football Conference (AFC) and one of the two semifinal playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football league in the wo ...

victory over the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

. In the Super Bowl, Tamme had two catches for nine yards, but lost 43–8 to the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

2014 season

Tamme played in 15 games and had 14 receptions for 109 yards and two touchdowns.

Atlanta Falcons

2015 season

Tamme signed with the

on March 19, 2015. In Week 8, against the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

, he had ten receptions for 103 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown. He finished the season with 59 catches for a career-high 657 yards and one touchdown.

2016 season

Tamme was placed 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 ...

on November 21, 2016, after undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery. He finished the 2016 season with 22 receptions for 210 receiving yards and three touchdowns in eight games.

Retirement

On November 23, 2017, Tamme announced his retirement from the NFL.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Personal life

Tamme is a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

. He has spoken about his faith saying, "My faith is important because it's the core of why I believe we exist as humans. Faith allows us to spend an eternity with God and it fuels my every day actions. I've seen how having faith in God can change lives and it certainly has changed mine."

References

External links

Kentucky Wildcats bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tamme, Jacob 1985 births Living people People from Danville, Kentucky Christians from Kentucky Players of American football from Lexington, Kentucky Boyle County High School alumni American football tight ends Kentucky Wildcats football players Indianapolis Colts players Denver Broncos players Atlanta Falcons players