Jeffrey David Charleston (born January 19, 1983) 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 ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

. He was signed by the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager 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 a contract at present ...

in 2006. 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 ...

Idaho State University Idaho State University (ISU) is a Public university, public research university in Pocatello, Idaho, United States. Founded in 1901 as the Academy of Idaho, Idaho State offers more than 250 programs at its main campus in Pocatello and locations ...

. Charleston was also a member of 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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

, and

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 ...

. Charleston was part of the Super Bowl champion Saints during the 2009–2010 season.

Early life

Charleston attended Central High School in

Independence, Oregon Independence is a city in Polk County, Oregon, Polk County, Oregon, United States, on the west bank of the Willamette River along Oregon Route 51, and east of nearby Monmouth, Oregon, Monmouth. It is part of the Salem Metropolitan Statistical Ar ...

.Aaron Fentress
"New Orleans Saints defensive end Jeff Charleston enjoying undefeated season after long trek to the NFL"
''

The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the West Coast of the United States, U.S. West Coast, founded as a weekly by Tho ...

'', December 10, 2009. He lettered three years in football and basketball and was first-team all-Oregon pick at tight end and second-team all-state at linebacker.

College career

Charleston played for three seasons at Division II

Western Oregon Western Oregon is a geographical term that is generally taken to mean the part of the U.S. state of Oregon within of the state’s coastal region, on the west side of the crest of the Cascade Range. The term is applied somewhat loosely, howeve ...

. He was a two-time All-

Great Northwest Athletic Conference The Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. It has historically operated in the northwestern United States, but a ...

pick; as a sophomore, he led the team in sacks (4.5), tackles for losses (10.5) and FR (4) and ranked 3rd on team with 69 tackles. He then decided to transfer to

for both athletic and academic reasons. He sat out the 2004 season per NCAA transfer regulations, then played one season for Idaho State. As a senior, he registered 12 sacks, and had 56 tackles, five passes defended, two FF and 19 tackles for losses. He was voted Defensive and Newcomer Player-of-the-Year in the

Big Sky Conference The Big Sky Conference is a List of NCAA conferences, collegiate athletic conference, affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I with college football, football competing in the Football Cha ...

Professional career

Indianapolis Colts

Originally signed as an undrafted free agent by Houston on May 4, 2006, he was waived on September 1, 2006. The Colts signed him on January 4, 2007. In 2007, he started three of 13 games at RDE (starting the final three games for injured DE-Robert Mathis) and totaled 42 tackles, 22 solo, one sack, four pressures, one FF and two passes batted. The Colts waived him in August 2008.

New Orleans Saints

Charleston was signed by the Saints for the 2008 season. He played in 10 games in 2008. In the 2009 season, Charleson played in 19 games, tallying 23 tackles. On January 2, 2011, Charleston recovered a fumble of Buccaneers quarterback Josh Freeman when he was hit by Charleston.

Minnesota Vikings

On June 28, 2012, Charleston was signed by the Minnesota Vikings. On August 31, as the Vikings reduced their roster down to league maximum of 53 players, he was released.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The

signed him on September 26, 2012. On October 2, 2012, he was released.

Personal life

Charleston married Reagan (née Tucker) in 2012. They appeared together on '' Southern Charm New Orleans''. In May 2018, the couple announced they were separating and they divorced later that year. In October 2019, Charleston married his girlfriend Maddie.

References

External links

Idaho State Bengals bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Charleston, Jeff Living people 1983 births Sportspeople from Oregon City, Oregon Players of American football from Clackamas County, Oregon American football defensive ends Western Oregon Wolves football players Idaho State Bengals football players Houston Texans players 21st-century American sportsmen Indianapolis Colts players New Orleans Saints players Minnesota Vikings players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players People from Independence, Oregon Idaho State University alumni