Jerry Azumah ( ; born September 1, 1977) 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 ...

player who was a

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 seven seasons with the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

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

New Hampshire Wildcats The New Hampshire Wildcats, or 'Cats, are the College athletics in the United States, American intercollegiate athletic teams representing the University of New Hampshire (UNH), located in Durham, New Hampshire, Durham. The Bobcat, wildcat is the ...

, and was selected by the Bears in the fifth round of the

1999 NFL draft The 1999 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 17–18, 1999, at the Theater at M ...

Early life

Azumah is the first-generation American son of Theophilus and Bertha Azumah, natives of

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

. Azumah was born in Oklahoma and grew up in

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Massachusetts, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the list of United States cities by population, 113th most populous city in the United States. Named after Worcester ...

. At an early age, he played for the Worcester Vikings Pop Warner football team. Azumah attended Saint Peter-Marian High School receiving football honors as a Central Massachusetts and Shriners All-Star. During his senior year of high school in 1994, he rushed for 1,840 yards and 31 touchdowns, while winning a Central Mass. Division 2 Super Bowl. He averaged 16.4 yards a carry for the season. Against Southbridge, he ran for 243 yards and four touchdowns on eight carries in the first half alone. Azumah won the Corsac Award for top offensive player in the legendary Thanksgiving Day game against St. John's Shrewsbury.

College career

Azumah attended the

University of New Hampshire The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Durham, New Hampshire, United States. It was founded and incorporated in 1866 as a land grant coll ...

where he was a four-year starter on offense for

Chip Kelly Charles Edward Kelly (born November 25, 1963) is an American professional American football, football coach who is the offensive coordinator for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He came to prominence as a college foo ...

as an All-American tailback. One of the most decorated running backs in NCAA history, Azumah rushed for a national career-record 6,193 yards. At that time the only player in Division 1-AA history to rush for over 1,000+ yards four times. In 1999, Azumah was the first recipient of the Jim Urquhart Student-Athlete of the Year Award. This annual award is bestowed upon UNH senior student-athletes who excel both in athletic competition and the classroom, in addition to possessing sportsmanship, great character, and passion for sports. He was

Walter Payton Award The Walter Payton Award is awarded annually to the most outstanding offensive player in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) of college football as chosen by a nationwide panel of media and college sports ...

recipient as the top offensive player in Division 1-AA football, while also earning honors as a unanimous All-American, All-Atlantic Ten Conference selection, and ECAC All-Star. Azumah declared for the 1999 NFL Draft. He was invited to play in The

Hula Bowl The Hula Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game held annually, usually in January. From inception through the 2021 playing, it was held in Hawaii; since the 2022 edition, it has been played in Orlando, Florida. The game was first s ...

(one of four showcases for seniors) and received an invitation to the NFL Scouting Combine. In 2005, Azumah was inducted into the

Athletic Council Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Azumah was selected by the

in the fifth round as the 147th pick of the

out of the

. In Azumah's first year with the Chicago Bears, he won the prestigious

Brian Piccolo Award The Brian Piccolo Award is an honor that is given to players of the Chicago Bears. The award is given to one rookie and one veteran per season who best exemplifies the courage, loyalty, teamwork, dedication and sense of humor of the late Brian P ...

. This award is given to a Chicago Bear by his teammates. Brian Piccolo played four seasons as a running back for the Chicago Bears from 1965 to 1968. Piccolo died from cancer in 1970 when he was just 26 years old. The Chicago Bears created the Brian Piccolo award to honor a teammate's courage, loyalty, teamwork and dedication. Azumah, who was a running back in college, continued to make the transition into an NFL defensive back. As his NFL experience grew, he also saw time on special teams and special situations on defense. In 2001 Azumah was given a contract extension. On January 19, 2002, during the divisional playoff game versus the Philadelphia Eagles, Azumah intercepted then quarterback

Donovan McNabb Donovan Jamal McNabb (born November 25, 1976) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the Philadelphia Eagles. He played college ...

and returned the ball 39 yards for a touchdown. That was the last touchdown scored in old

Soldier Field Soldier Field is a multi-purpose stadium on the Near South Side, Chicago, Near South Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Opened in 1924 and reconstructed in 2003, the stadium has served as the home of the Chicago Bears from the National ...

. His best season came in 2003 when he led the league in kickoff returns with a twenty-nine-yard average and two touchdowns. In 2004, Azumah was selected to represent the NFC in the

NFL Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed throughou ...

as a kick returner. In that game Azumah broke the record for return yards with 228. He also recovered a fumble. For Azumah's career, he appeared in 105 games with 48 starts. He had 384 tackles, 10 interceptions, 29 pass defense, 6.5 sacks, 6 forced fumbles and one recovery. Azumah retired in March 2006. Notable UNH teammates of Jerry Azumah are Jason Ball (San Diego Chargers),

Dan Kreider Daniel S. Kreider (born March 11, 1977) is an American former professional football player who was a fullback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of New Hampshire. He was signed by the Pittsburgh ...

(Pittsburgh Steelers, St. Louis Rams, Arizona Cardinals) Randal Williams (Dallas Cowboys, Oakland Raiders) and Ryan Day (Ohio State Head Football Coach).

Post NFL career

Azumah has been seen on the Chicago Bears post game coverage and commentary on WFLD-TV, Fox Chicago and appeared weekly on Fox Chicago's Good Day Chicago. Azumah started his television broadcasting career on

Comcast SportsNet NBC Sports Regional Networks is the collective name for a group of regional sports networks in the United States that are primarily owned and operated by the NBCUniversal division of the cable television company Comcast. The networks were origina ...

Chicago in 2006 as a post game analyst and feature reporter. Azumah also worked for

ESPN 1000 WMVP (1000 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Chicago, Illinois, carrying a sports radio format. Owned by Good Karma Brands, the station serves the Chicago metropolitan area as the market affiliate of ESPN Radio, the flagship sta ...

radio in Chicago in 2010. Currently, Azumah can be heard on his new podcast titled "To the Points With Jerry Azumah." Azumah breaks down prime time NFL matchups and discusses his weekly betting strategy. The podcast is available for free on all streaming platforms.

Philanthropic activity

Azumah became a board member of the University of New Hampshire Foundation in 2001. The Foundation builds private support for the University of New Hampshire. In the summer of 2003, Azumah donated a six-figure gift to the Foundation which was directed to the university's athletic department. The Jerry Azumah Performance Center was a direct result of Azumah's gift. At age 25, Azumah became the youngest UNH alumnus to give a gift over $100,000. In 2004 Azumah started the Azumah Student Assistance Program (ASAP). ASAP is a charitable

501(c)(3) organization A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, Trust (business), trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of ...

and provides scholarships for disadvantaged students that attend private, secondary education. The program helps students in both Massachusetts and Illinois. As a retired member of the Chicago Bears Football Club, Azumah joined the Board of Directors of Bears Care in 2006, the philanthropic arm of the Chicago Bears. Currently, Azumah is serving as the president of Bears Care, which was founded in 1989 and supports youth athletics, education, medical research and treatment programs for breast and ovarian cancer. In 2022, Azumah joined the Metropolitan Family Services Board of Directors. MFS's mission is to provide and mobilize the services needed to strengthen families and communities. In 2023, Azumah joined the board of Gilda's Club, which is a community organization for people with cancer, as well as their families and friends. Azumah was named a recipient of the prestigious 2024 NCAA Silver Anniversary Award. He was one of six former student-athletes honored for outstanding collegiate and professional achievements. The honor took place at the 2024 NCAA National Convention in Phoenix, Arizona.

Personal life

Azumah has two children (Santiago and Valentino) with his wife Bianca. , the Azumah family resides in Chicago, IL.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Azumah, Jerry 1977 births Living people American football cornerbacks American football return specialists American sports announcers Chicago Bears players New Hampshire Wildcats football players National Conference Pro Bowl players Walter Payton Award winners Players of American football from Oklahoma City American sportspeople of Ghanaian descent Brian Piccolo Award winners