Jermar Jefferson (born April 15, 2000) is an American 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 ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

for the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

of 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). 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

Oregon State Beavers The Oregon State Beavers are the sport, athletic teams that represent Oregon State University, located in Corvallis, Oregon. The Beavers compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Division I ...

and was selected by the Lions in the seventh round of the

2021 NFL draft The 2021 NFL draft was the 86th National Football League draft, the annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2021 NFL season. The draft was held in Cleveland, Ohio from April 29 to May ...

Early life

Jefferson initially attended high school at

Redondo Union High School Redondo Union High School (RUHS) is a public high school in Redondo Beach, California. Redondo Union High School is a part of the Redondo Beach Unified School District. All residents of Redondo Beach are zoned to Redondo Union. In addition, re ...

Redondo Beach, California Redondo Beach (Spanish for ) is a coastal city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, located in the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay region of the Greater Los Angeles area. It is one of three adjacent Beach Cities, beach c ...

, before transferring to

Narbonne High School Nathaniel Narbonne High School (NHS) is a school located at 24300 South Western Avenue, in the Harbor City area of Los Angeles, California. Narbonne serves grades 9 through 12 and is part of the Los Angeles Unified School District. Narbonne serv ...

Harbor City, California Harbor City is a highly diverse neighborhood in the South Bay and Harbor region of Los Angeles, California, with a population upward of 36,000 people. Originally part of the Rancho San Pedro Spanish land grant, the Harbor City was brought int ...

in his senior year. Jefferson received an offer from and committed to

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs and a variety of graduate and doctor ...

in his senior year, while also receiving an offer to play football at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

. Jefferson enrolled at OSU in 2018.

College career

Jefferson became the school's starting running back as a true freshman in 2018 and rushed for 238 yards in his second game, a 48–25 win against Southern Utah. Three weeks later, he rushed for a career-high 254 yards in a 52–24 loss to Arizona State. Through the first six games of his freshman season, Jefferson ranked third among all

Division I FBS The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As ...

players with 865 rushing yards. Jefferson ended the season with twelve touchdown runs, 1,380 rushing yards, and was named Pac-12 freshman offensive player of the year. Jefferson returned to the Beavers for his sophomore season in 2019. He rushed for 685 yards and eight touchdowns in his sophomore year. Jefferson returned to the Beavers for his junior season in 2020. He finished with 858 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns in just six games. After the season, he decided to forgo his senior year and enter the

Professional career

Detroit Lions

Jefferson was selected in the seventh round, 257th overall, by the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

in the

. He signed his four-year rookie contract with the team on May 14, 2021. On October 31, Jefferson scored his first career touchdown, an eight-yard rush in a blowout loss 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 ...

that proved to be the only points for the Lions in the 44-6 loss. He appeared in seven games and recorded 15 carries for 74 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. On August 31, 2022, Jefferson was waived by the Lions and signed to the team's

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

the next day. He signed a reserve/future contract with Detroit on January 9, 2023. On August 29, 2023, Jefferson was

waived/injured The following terms are used in American football, both conventional and indoor. Some of these terms are also in use in Canadian football; for a list of terms unique to that code, see '' Glossary of Canadian football''. 0–9 ...

by the Lions and 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 ...

. He was released on September 6, with an injury settlement. On October 24, the Lions signed Jefferson to their practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Lions on January 30, 2024. Jefferson was waived by the Lions on August 27, 2024, and subsequently re-signed to the practice squad.

Tennessee Titans

On July 23, 2025, Jefferson signed with the

References

External links

Oregon State Beavers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jefferson, Jermar Living people American football running backs Oregon State Beavers football players People from Harbor City, Los Angeles Players of American football from Los Angeles 2000 births Detroit Lions players Tennessee Titans players Narbonne High School alumni Redondo Union High School alumni