Kevin Howard Jefferson Jr. (born January 14, 1974) 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 ...

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 ...

who played two seasons with the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

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 Lehigh Engineers. He also played for the

Rhein Fire Rhein Fire may refer to either of two American football franchises: * Rhein Fire (NFL Europe) The Rhein Fire were a professional football team in the NFL Europe, formerly the World League of American Football. Established in Düsseldorf, Germany ...

NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa) was a professional American football league that functioned as the List of developmental and minor sports leagues, developmental minor league of the Nati ...

, the

Orlando Rage The Orlando Rage was an American football team based in Orlando, Florida as part of the XFL (2001), XFL, begun by Vince McMahon of the World Wrestling Entertainment, World Wrestling Federation and by NBC, a major television network in the Unite ...

of the XFL, and the

Carolina Cobras The Carolina Cobras were an expansion franchise in the Arena Football League. The team was formed prior to the 2000 season, which endured a player strike. The team was originally based in Raleigh, North Carolina, but moved to Charlotte followin ...

and

Orlando Predators The Orlando Predators were a professional arena football team based in Orlando, Florida and member of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team was most recently owned by Orlando Predators LLC, a company owned by David A. Siegel, and played it ...

of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

(AFL).

Early life and college

Kevin Howard Jefferson Jr. was born on January 14, 1974, in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. He started

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...

at the age of three, and began attending

Hempfield Area High School Hempfield Area High School is a high school for students in the Hempfield Township area of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. History On November 17, 1952, the Articles of Agreement of the Hempfield Area Joint Schools were adopted and work be ...

Greensburg, Pennsylvania Greensburg is a city in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. The population was 14,976 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located southeast of Pittsburgh, Greensburg is a part of the Greater Pittsbu ...

when he was 12. He earned all-league honors in football and track in high school. He was also a

letterman Letterman may refer to: * Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States People * David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host ** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...

in gymnastics and basketball. Jefferson majored in

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines and mechanism (engineering), mechanisms that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and engineering mathematics, mathematics principl ...

Lehigh University Lehigh University (LU), in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, United States, is a private university, private research university. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer. Lehigh University's undergraduate programs have been mixed ...

, and played

for the Lehigh Engineers from 1990 to 1993. He was a four-year letterman and four-year starter at Lehigh. At 16 years old, he was the youngest starter in school history.

Professional career

After going undrafted in the

1994 NFL draft The 1994 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 24–25, 1994, at the Marriott Ma ...

, Jefferson signed with the

on May 4. He was released on August 28, signed to the

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 ...

on August 30, and promoted to the active roster on October 4, 1994. He made his NFL debut at age 20, becoming the youngest NFL player since

Andy Livingston Andy Livingston (born October 21, 1944) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played professionally for the Chicago Bears and the New Orleans Saints. Early life Livi ...

in 1964. Overall, he played in six games for the Bengals during the 1994 season, posting five

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

tackles. He appeared in all 16 games in 1995, recording nine special teams tackle, one solo tackle on defense, and one fumble recovery. He was released on August 20, 1996. Jefferson signed with the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

on March 4, 1997. He was released on August 4, 1997. He played for the

in 1998, totaling 35 tackles, 2.5 sacks, one interception, and three pass breakups. The Fire finished the season with a 7–3 record, and won

World Bowl '98 World Bowl '98 (also referred to as World Bowl VI) was the sixth championship game of the NFL Europe League. It was held at Waldstadion in Frankfurt, Germany on Sunday, June 14, 1998. The game was between the Frankfurt Galaxy, who finished the ...

against the Frankfurt Galaxy. Jefferson was signed by 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 ...

on July 26, 1998, but later released on August 30, 1998. He signed with the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions playe ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

on March 11, 1999. He was placed on the team's suspended list after not showing up to the first day of Lions'

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events ...

on June 13, 1999. He was released on June 29, 2000. In October 2000, Jefferson was selected by the

San Francisco Demons The San Francisco Demons (originally named San Jose Demons) were a short-lived springtime American football team based in San Francisco, California. This team was part of the failed XFL begun by Vince McMahon of World Wrestling Entertainment an ...

in the 14th round, with the 107th overall pick, of the 2001 XFL draft. He was waived by the Demons in late January 2001 before the start of the season. He was claimed by the

on February 21, 2001. Jefferson played in six games for the Rage during the 2001 season, posting one tackle. Jefferson signed with the

of the

(AFL) on June 6, 2001. He played in four games for the Cobras during the 2001 season, totaling two solo tackles, two sacks, one pass breakup, two receptions for six yards, and five carries for 21 yards and two touchdowns. He was a fullback/linebacker during his time in the AFL as the league played under

ironman rules The one-platoon system, also known as "iron man football", is a platoon system, rule-driven substitution pattern in American football whereby the same players were expected to stay on the field for the entire game, playing both offense and defense ...

. Jefferson was waived on January 10, 2002. Jefferson was claimed off waivers by the

Chicago Rush The Chicago Rush were a professional arena football team based in Rosemont, Illinois. The team was founded in 2001 and played in the Arena Football League's Central Division. The Rush qualified for the playoffs in 11 of 12 AFL seasons, during w ...

on January 11, 2002. He was waived on March 18, 2002. Jefferson signed with the

of the AFL on January 17, 2005. He was waived on January 24, 2005, but later re-signed on April 6, 2005. He appeared in two games for the Predators that year.

Personal life

Jefferson's father played college football at

Millersville University Millersville University of Pennsylvania (commonly known as Millersville University, The Ville, or MU) is a public university in Millersville, Pennsylvania. It is one of the ten schools that comprise the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Educa ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jefferson, Kevin Living people 1974 births American football linebackers American football fullbacks Canadian football linebackers Lehigh Mountain Hawks football players Cincinnati Bengals players Green Bay Packers players Rhein Fire players Washington Redskins players BC Lions players San Francisco Demons players Orlando Rage players Carolina Cobras players Chicago Rush players Orlando Predators players Players of American football from Philadelphia Players of Canadian football from Philadelphia 20th-century American sportsmen