Leon Jacobs (born October 3, 1995) is a

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

professional

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

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 ...

. 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 ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. The San Pedro native holds the record for most games played by a

Football Bowl Subdivision 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 ...

player having played in 59 NCAA contests.

Early life

Jacobs was born in Nigeria, the oldest of four children of Theresa, a nurse, and Tony, an entrepreneur. He was given an

Igbo name Igbo names are traditionally and historically constructed. In this convention there are no family names, instead one is known through their immediate male lineage. In the olden days, Igbos – men and women – were named after the four market ...

, Somgolie Nwude. His brother, Chibueze, played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

Sacramento State California State University, Sacramento (CSUS, Sacramento State, or informally Sac State) is a public university in Sacramento, California, United States. Founded in 1947 as Sacramento State College, it is part of the California State Universit ...

. His family immigrated to California around the time that Jacobs began attending school. Jacobs played football as a freshman at

Bishop Montgomery High School Bishop Montgomery High School (commonly referred to as "BMHS" or simply "Bishop" by students) is a Catholic high school serving twenty-five parishes in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. BMHS was founded in 1957, and staffed by the Sisters of St. ...

before quitting to focus on

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

. He did not resume playing football until he was a senior at Golden Valley High School in

Santa Clarita, California Santa Clarita (; Spanish for "Little St. Clare") is a city in northwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a 2020 census population of 228,673, it is the third-most populous city in Los Angeles County, the 17th-most popul ...

College career

Jacobs attended and played

. In 2015, his season was ended by a foot injury after four games. He was granted a medical hardship waiver and extra year of eligibility. Until 2016 he had played exclusively at

. He played both linebacker and

fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to: Sports * A position in various kinds of football, including: ** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position ** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...

in 2016 and returned to just the defensive side of the ball in 2017 as the Badgers needed to replace linebackers

T. J. Watt Trent Jordan Watt (born October 11, 1994) is an American professional American football, football linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Wisconsin Badgers football, Wiscon ...

and

Vince Biegel Vincent James Biegel ( ; born July 2, 1993) is an American former professional football linebacker. He played college football at Wisconsin. Early life Biegel's father, Rocky, was a linebacker for BYU from 1988–92 and a second-team All-Western ...

College statistics

Professional career

Jacksonville Jaguars

Jacobs was drafted 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 ...

in the seventh round (230th overall) of the

2018 NFL draft The 2018 NFL draft was the 83rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2018 NFL season. The draft was held on April 26–28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington southwest of Dallas; it was ...

. He played in 12 games with three starts. In Week 14, against 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 ...

, he scored a

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

when tackled Cameron Batson in the endzone. He was 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 ...

on December 14, 2018, with a quad injury. Overall, he finished his rookie season with 21 combined tackles. Jacobs entered the 2020 season as a starting linebacker for the Jaguars. In Week 3, he suffered a

torn ACL An anterior cruciate ligament injury occurs when the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is either stretched, partially torn, or completely torn. The most common injury is a complete tear. Symptoms include pain, an audible cracking sound during in ...

and was placed on injured reserve on September 28, 2020. On July 30, 2021, Jacobs was released by the Jaguars.

Michigan Panthers

On December 13, 2022, Jacobs signed with the

Michigan Panthers The Michigan Panthers were a professional American football team based in Metro Detroit. The Panthers competed in the United States Football League (USFL) as a member of the Western Conference and Central Division. The team played its home gam ...

of the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

(USFL). He was transferred to the team's inactive list on March 20, 2023. He was not part of the roster after the

2024 UFL dispersal draft The 2024 UFL dispersal draft was the player selection process to fill the rosters of the eight teams for the 2024 UFL season and disperse the rosters from the eight teams from its component conferences, the XFL and USFL, that were not retained i ...

on January 15, 2024.

References

External links

Wisconsin Badgers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jacobs, Leon 1995 births Living people Players of American football from Santa Clarita, California People from San Pedro, Los Angeles American football linebackers Wisconsin Badgers football players Jacksonville Jaguars players Michigan Panthers (2022) players