Jamarca Sanford
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Jamarca Deshaun Sanford (born August 27, 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 ...
safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...
. He was selected by the
Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...
in the seventh round of the
2009 NFL draft The 2009 NFL draft was the 74th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 25 and 26, 2009. The draft c ...
as the 231st pick. 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 ...
for the
Ole Miss Rebels The Ole Miss Rebels are the 18 men's and women's College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that are funded by and represent the University of Mississippi, located in Oxford, Mississippi, Oxford. The first was the Ole ...
at the
University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (Epithet, byname Ole Miss) is a Public university, public research university in University, near Oxford, Mississippi, United States, with a University of Mississippi Medical Center, medical center in Jackson, Miss ...
.


Early life

The son of James and Shirley Taylor, Sanford's talent in football was recognized at
South Panola High School The South Panola School District is a public school district based in Batesville, Mississippi, US. In addition to Batesville, the district also serves the village of Pope, the town of Courtland, and the Panola County portion of Crowder as ...
, where he earned a career record of 320
tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position) A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent ...
and 25
quarterback sack In gridiron football, a sack occurs when the quarterback (or another offensive player acting as a passer) is tackle (football move), tackled behind the line of scrimmage before throwing a forward pass, when the quarterback is tackled behind the l ...
s. In 2003, his senior year, he was ranked 9th in the ''
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'' national ranking for seniors. That year, he had 98 tackles, seven QB sacks, four forced
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 three
interception In Ball game, ball-playing Competitive sport, 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 ...
s.Jamarca Sanford bio
, University of Mississippi, retrieved April 26, 2009.
South Panola that year went to the 5A Mississippi state championship undefeated and took the game, with Sanford voted "Most Valuable Player". Sanford received a number of other recognitions for his high school playing. ''
The Clarion-Ledger ''The Clarion Ledger'' is an American daily newspaper in Jackson, Mississippi. It is the second-oldest company in the state of Mississippi, and is one of the few newspapers in the nation that continues to circulate statewide. It is an operating ...
'' named him Top 40, All-State and All-Region. He also received All-State honors, Class 5A first-team, as an outside linebacker from the Mississippi Association of Coaches and All-Region team by PrepStar. He made the roster of the Mississippi-Alabama All-Star Classic in
Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. After a successful vote to annex areas west of the city limits in July 2023, Mobil ...
, in 2004. He was also included on a number of superlative player lists; the Max Emfinger Super South Top 200 ranked him at 7 among strong safeties in 2003,
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listed him 19th in the state, and ''
The Sun Herald The ''Sun Herald'' is a U.S. newspaper based in Biloxi, Mississippi, that serves readers along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The paper's current executive editor and general manager is Blake Kaplan, and its headquarters is in the city of Gulfpor ...
'' placed him among its Top 30 Prep Recruits.


College career

In 2004, Sanford attended the
University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (Epithet, byname Ole Miss) is a Public university, public research university in University, near Oxford, Mississippi, United States, with a University of Mississippi Medical Center, medical center in Jackson, Miss ...
, where his cousins Toward Sanford, Eddie Strong and Kevin Thomas played, but though he was signed to the team he was
redshirted 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 ...
until 2005. That year, after briefly trying several positions, Sanford topped the
depth chart In sports, a depth chart, primarily in the United States, is used to show the placements of the starting players and the secondary players. Generally a starting player will be listed first or on top while a back-up will be listed below. Depth chart ...
as a strong safety,
starting Start can refer to multiple topics: * Takeoff, the phase of flight where an aircraft transitions from moving along the ground to flying through the air * Starting lineup in sports * Starts use in sport race * Standing start, and rolling start, i ...
10 out of 11 games in that position. Sanford turned in a strong performance in the 2005 season, for which he lettered. With 58 tackles in the season, including 40 solos, Sanford ranked fourth for tackles on his team, but first among SEC freshmen and 12th among all league defensive backs at 5.3 stops per game. He also had two fumble recoveries, which tied him 6th in the conference, one interception and one pass-break up. As with high school, Sanford's playing drew attention. CollegeFootballNews.com named him First-team Preseason Redshirt Freshman All-America, while SEC Coaches and ''
Sporting News ''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...
'' gave him First-team Freshman All-SEC honors. ''
Sporting News ''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...
'' also named him Third-team Freshman All-America. In 2006, Sanford started four games as a
linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...
with another seven as strong safety. Earning his second letter for this season, he was again fourth on his team for tackles, with 64. He also was credited with 1.5 QB sacks. Sanford took his third letter in 2007, when as a strong safety he started 10 games.
Athlon AMD Athlon is the brand name applied to a series of x86, x86-compatible microprocessors designed and manufactured by AMD, Advanced Micro Devices. The original Athlon (now called Athlon Classic) was the first seventh-generation x86 processor a ...
named him Preseason Third-team All-SEC that year. That year, he had 83 tackles to his credit, averaging 8.3 per game, placing him third on his team and sixth in the SEC. He was fourth on his team for tackles for losses with 5.5 and pass break-ups with 4. He also forced two fumbles and blocked a punt. In his senior year of 2008, for which he earned his fourth letter, Sanford continued as a strong safety, starting all 13 games and standing as team
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
. He was given the 2008 Chucky Mullins Courage Award and wore the number "38" in honor of that Ole Miss defensive back, who had been rendered
quadriplegic Tetraplegia, also known as quadriplegia, is defined as the dysfunction or loss of Motor control, motor and/or Sense, sensory function in the Cervical vertebrae, cervical area of the spinal cord. A loss of motor function can present as either weak ...
during a game against Vanderbilt in 1989 before dying of a
pulmonary embolism Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a blockage of an pulmonary artery, artery in the lungs by a substance that has moved from elsewhere in the body through the bloodstream (embolism). Symptoms of a PE may include dyspnea, shortness of breath, chest pain ...
related to his injury in 1991. He made 82 tackles that year, ranking second, but coming in first in solo stops at 56. Two forced fumbles tied him at first on the team. His honors for the season included the Birmingham Alumni Club's 2008 Leadership Award and being named to Phil Steel's Midseason All-SEC third-team.


Professional career


Minnesota Vikings

Sanford follows in the footsteps of another one of his cousins,
Dwayne Rudd Dwayne Dupree Rudd (born February 3, 1976) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected in the first round of the 1997 NFL draft. During his career he played fo ...
. In the
2009 NFL draft The 2009 NFL draft was the 74th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 25 and 26, 2009. The draft c ...
, Sanford was selected as the 231st overall pick in the seventh round by the
Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...
. It was in the 1997 NFL draft that cousin Rudd was the 20th pick by Minnesota in the 1st round. Another cousin, Eddie Strong, went undrafted in the
2003 NFL draft The 2003 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League (NFL) teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936 NF ...
but signed as a free agent rookie with 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...
in May 2003. He was released by New York 3 months later in August. In 2011, Sanford was named the starting strong safety after the original starter
Madieu Williams Madieu Mohammed Williams (born October 18, 1981) is a West African former professional American football safety who played in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Maryland and was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals i ...
was released. The 2 years before he was a special teams Safety getting on average 15 tackles a year. Sanford started 15 games for the Vikings and recorded a career-high 75 tackles. On March 14, 2013, Sanford re-signed with the Vikings on a two-year, $5 million contract. The Vikings placed Sanford on injured reserve on August 30, 2014, due to multiple injuries. On September 8, he was released with an injury settlement.


Washington Redskins

On September 29, 2014, Sanford signed with the
Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...
. He was released on October 26, 2014.


New Orleans Saints

Sanford signed with 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 ...
on November 11, 2014.


NFL career statistics


Regular season


Playoffs


References


External links


Minnesota Vikings bio


{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanford, Jamarca Living people 1985 births Players of American football from Mississippi Sportspeople from Batesville, Mississippi American football safeties Ole Miss Rebels football players Minnesota Vikings players Washington Redskins players New Orleans Saints players