Jeffrey David Lageman (born July 18, 1967) is an American

sports commentator In Broadcasting of sports events, sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as a sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real time (media), real-time live commentary of a game or event, traditionally delivered in the present t ...

and 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 ...

player. He played as a

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 ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). Lageman 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

Virginia Cavaliers The Virginia Cavaliers, also known as Wahoos or Hoos, are the athletic teams representing the University of Virginia, located in Charlottesville. The Cavaliers compete at the NCAA Division I level ( FBS for football), in the Atlantic Coast C ...

and was selected by the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

in the first round of the

1989 NFL draft The 1989 NFL draft (also known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting) was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. The draft was held April 23–24, 1989, at the Marriott Marquis in Ne ...

. In 1994, he was signed by the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

; he retired after an injury in 1998. Though considered small for a defensive lineman, he distinguished himself on the field, recording a total of 47 career

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. Following his retirement from sports he went into sports broadcasting in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

Early life

Lageman was born in

Fairfax, Virginia Fairfax ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia and the county seat of Fairfax County, Virginia, in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 24,146. Fairfax is pa ...

. He attended Park View High School in nearby Sterling. He attended the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

for college, where he played both

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 ...

and

for the

Virginia Cavaliers football The Virginia Cavaliers football team represents the University of Virginia (UVA) in the sport of American football. Established in 1887, Virginia plays its home games at Scott Stadium, capacity 61,500, featured directly on its campus near the ...

team.

Professional career

Although considered undersized to play

in the NFL, a fact that was pointed out by

Mel Kiper Jr. Mel Kiper Jr. ( ; born July 25, 1960) is an American analyst covering football for ESPN. Kiper has appeared on ESPN's annual NFL draft coverage since 1984. He has been widely credited for establishing mock drafting and is regarded as one of t ...

during

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

's coverage of the

, Lageman was taken in the first round by the

. Lageman's NFL career spanned 10 seasons, the first six with the Jets, and the final four with the

. His best year came in 1991 when he made ten

quarterback sacks In gridiron football, a sack occurs when the quarterback (or another offensive player acting as a passer) is tackled behind the line of scrimmage before throwing a forward pass, when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage in the ...

. He made a career total of 47 sacks in the NFL. In 1995, Lageman was signed by the

in their inaugural year. With Lageman playing a key role, the Jaguars made the 1996 playoffs and upset the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

and 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 ...

on the road before losing to 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 AFC Championship Game. Lageman's playing career ended on the first game of the 1998 season in Chicago. Although the Jaguars won on a last second touchdown pass from

Mark Brunell Mark Allen Brunell (born September 17, 1970) is an American professional American football, football coach and former quarterback who is the quarterbacks coach for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He previously played in ...

to Jimmy Smith, they lost Lageman to a torn muscle in his arm. He never played again.

Retirement

During his time in Jacksonville, Lageman, an avid hunter and fisherman, began his broadcasting career with a radio show titled "The Outdoors Show" along with Captain Kevin Faver and Captain Kirk Waltz. After his playing career, Lageman continued his broadcasting career as a football

color analyst A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The person may also be referred to as a summariser (outside North America) ...

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

television. By 2001, "The Outdoors Show" had moved from an all-sports station (WBWL-AM) to a 50,000 watt news-talk station (

WOKV WOKV may refer to: * WOKV (AM) 690 in Jacksonville, Florida * WOKV-FM 104.5 in Jacksonville, Florida * WGRR or WOKV (1978–1981), 103.5 MHz in Hamilton, Ohio * WBOB (AM) or WOKV (1981–1991) 600 kHz in Jacksonville, Florida * WMUV or WOKV (1991� ...

) and soon after, Lageman joined the play-by-play man Brian Sexton in the booth of the Jaguars Radio Network as the color analyst. He also serves as co-host of the weekly "Jaguars This Week" radio show along with Sexton, Jaguars.com senior writer John Oehser and former Jaguars teammate

Tony Boselli Don Bosco Anthony Boselli Jr. (born April 17, 1972) is an American professional football executive and former player who is the executive vice president of football operations for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). ...

, and is a castmember of the weekly television program, Jaguars All Access. Lageman lives in Jacksonville with his wife, Tera Lageman, and their children Taylor and Dylan.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lageman, Jeff Living people 1967 births Players of American football from Fairfax, Virginia People from Sterling, Virginia Players of American football from Loudoun County, Virginia American football defensive ends American football linebackers Virginia Cavaliers football players New York Jets players Jacksonville Jaguars players Jacksonville Jaguars announcers NFL announcers