Rashad Andre Jennings (born March 26, 1985) is an

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

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 handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. The ...

and coach for the

Fan Controlled Football Fan Controlled Football (FCF) is a professional 7-on-7 Indoor football league created in 2017 as the first sports league controlled by fans. All games are played at the Pullman Yards in Atlanta, Georgia and broadcast on Twitch, NBCLX, DAZN, Fub ...

Kingpens. He 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 club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...

in the seventh round of the

2009 NFL Draft The 2009 NFL Draft was the seventy-fourth annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 25 and 26, 2009. ...

. He also played for the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Ra ...

and the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...

. Jennings played college football at

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

and

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

High school career

Jennings began his high school career at

Jefferson Forest High School Jefferson Forest High School (JFHS) is one of the three high schools in Bedford County, Virginia. Jefferson Forest High School was first opened in 1972. The school's Principal is Brian Wilson, and the assistant principals are Jennifer Kline, Ben ...

in his hometown,

Forest, Virginia Forest is a census-designated place (CDP) in eastern Bedford County, Virginia, United States. The population was 11,709 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Lynchburg Metropolitan Statistical Area. Geography Forest is located at (37.370723 ...

. As a fifth string running back, he didn't play in a game until the last game of his junior year. As a self-described "270 lb. chubby kid with asthma and glasses", Jennings finally played after the first four running backs ahead of him on the depth chart went down with injuries and after his coach attempted to play a wide receiver at running back. On his first handoff he ran the ball in for a 30-yard touchdown. After a 40-yard rushing touchdown and scoring 2 more touchdowns on defense, Jennings was approached by a scout from the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state ...

who had come to see the starting running back. After inquiring about his grades and discovering Jennings had a 0.6 GPA, the scout said "Son, you have potential... Get your grades right!" After the encouragement, Rashad transferred to Lynchburg Christian Academy. His older brothers began coaching at the school the year before. Once enrolled both brothers used their coaching stipends to help pay the tuition since Rashad could not afford it. At LCA, he would begin to shed some weight and take to learning after having to repeat his junior year. In his junior and senior year, he was a two-time All-VISAA Division II selection while totaling 3,287 yards and 56 touchdowns, including 1,978 rushing yards and 33 touchdowns as a senior, while also lettering twice in basketball.

College career

Jennings began his college career at

in 2005, only the fourth true freshman running back to start there. However, Jennings transferred to the then Division I-FCS

, in spring 2006, to be closer to his family. Though Jennings was suspended for the first two games of the 2007 season due to an internal violation, he set a Big South Conference record with 3,633 yards, 42 touchdowns, and averaged 5.7 yards per carry. On September 26, 2020, the

Liberty Flames The Liberty Flames and Lady Flames are the athletics teams of Liberty University, in Lynchburg, Virginia, United States. They are a member of the NCAA Division I level in 20 sports. LU is a member of the ASUN Conference for most sports. Two spor ...

retired his number 23.

Professional career

Jacksonville Jaguars

After being coached by the

' staff during the 2009

Senior Bowl The Senior Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game played annually in late January or early February in Mobile, Alabama, which showcases the best NFL Draft prospects of those players who have completed their college eligibility. ...

, Jennings was drafted by Jacksonville in the seventh round (250th overall) of the

. He scored his first career touchdown in Week 9 against the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The t ...

, rushing for 28 yards. After a promising rookie season, Jennings's 2011 season was cut short by injuries after suffering a concussion in the Jaguars' first preseason game, and his knee injury two weeks later, Jennings was placed in injured reserve before the regular season began. Due to a contract holdout by starter

Maurice Jones-Drew Maurice Christopher Jones-Drew (born March 23, 1985), often called "MJD", is a former American football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons. He played college football for the UCLA Bruins and earned una ...

, Jennings was named the starting running back for the team's 2012 regular season opener against the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansio ...

. Jones-Drew returned to the starting lineup the following week Jennings resumed his role as a backup until a shoulder injury on December 24, 2012 landed him on injured reserve for the second consecutive year.

Oakland Raiders

Jennings was signed by the

on April 11, 2013. Jennings started the 2013 season backing up starter

Darren McFadden Darren McFadden (born August 27, 1987) is a former American football running back. He played college football for the Arkansas Razorbacks and was selected by the Oakland Raiders in the first round with the fourth overall pick of the 2008 NFL Dr ...

. McFadden spent much of the season on the sideline due to injuries, forcing Jennings to start eight games in his place. Jennings, a career backup, exceeded expectations as a starter and saw his best rushing game of the season in Week 11 against the Houston Texans where he rushed 22 times for 150 yards (6.8 ypc) and one touchdown on an 80-yard rush. Jennings finished the season with 733 rushing yards on 163 carries and six touchdowns.

New York Giants

On March 12, 2014, Jennings signed a four-year, $14 million contract including $3 million guaranteed with the

. Jennings quickly took over as starter, starting 9 games out of the 11 that he played. Jennings rushed for 639 yards on 167 carries and scored 4 rushing touchdowns. Jennings started all 16 games in 2015, and set career highs in carries, rushing yards, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns. Jennings recorded 863 yards along with three touchdowns on 195 carries, as well as 296 yards and one receiving touchdown on 29 receptions. Jennings played his best football later in the season, besting his previous season highs in both carries and yards in each of his final four games, with 79 carries for 432 yards and 2 touchdowns in that stretch. Jennings played in 13 games in 2016, rushing for 593 yards, his lowest total since 2013, and scored three touchdowns on 181 carries. He added 35 receptions for 201 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown in 2016. On February 13, 2017, Jennings was released by the Giants. On December 8, 2017, Jennings announced his retirement from the NFL.

Fan Controlled Football

In early 2022, Jennings would be a coach for the

Kingpens. On May 21, 2022, Jennings would play runningback with the

Kingpens.

NFL career statistics

''Dancing with the Stars'' and Acting

On March 1, 2017, Jennings was revealed as one of the contestants who would compete on

Season 24 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...

of ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series ''Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the form ...

'' and was paired with professional dancer

Emma Slater Emma Slater (born December 25, 1988) is an English-American professional dancer and choreographer. She is best known for her appearances on ''Dancing with the Stars''. Personal life Emma Slater was raised in Tamworth, Staffordshire, England, ...

. Jennings and Slater went on to win the competition on May 23, 2017. It was Slater's first win on the competition show and Jennings is the fourth NFL player to win the show. In November 2017, Jennings returned to 25th season in Week eight, to participate in a trio Cha-cha-cha with Drew Scott and his professional partner

. In May 2018, Jennings returned to the ballroom as guest judge for Week 2 of season 26. Jennings later returned in season 27 as a trio partner once again to DeMarcus Ware and

Lindsay Arnold Lindsay Arnold Cusick (born January 11, 1994) is an American professional Latin and ballroom dancer. She was a contestant on ''So You Think You Can Dance''. She is a professional dancer and choreographer on ''Dancing with the Stars''. Personal ...

. ¹ Score given by guest judge

Nick Carter Nick or Nicholas Carter may refer to: Athletes * Nick Carter (athlete) (1902–1997), track and field athlete from United States, who competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics * Nick Carter (baseball) (1879–1961), Major League Baseball pitcher for t ...

.
² Score given by guest judge

Mandy Moore Amanda Leigh Moore (born April 10, 1984) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She rose to fame with her debut single, "Candy", which peaked at number 41 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Her debut studio album, '' So Real'' (1999), recei ...

. In 2016, Jennings appeared in one episode of the STARZ series, Power, as a guest in the club Truth. Season 3; Episode 10 titled “In My Best Interest”. In 2017, Jennings appeared as a contestant on ''Talk Show the Game Show'' with

Guy Branum Guy Branum (born November 12, 1975) is an American comedian, writer, and actor best known as the head writer of, and a sketch performer on, '' X-Play'' on the G4 network and as a regular panelist on '' Chelsea Lately'' on the E! network. He used ...

. In 2017, Jennings also appeared in one episode of the NBC series

Great News ''Great News'' is an American sitcom television series created and written by Tracey Wigfield, and executive produced by Wigfield alongside Tina Fey, Robert Carlock, and David Miner for 3 Arts Entertainment, Little Stranger and Universal Televi ...

as Portia’s fiancé, Carvell. In January 2019, Rashad appeared as the guest co-host with Nev Schulman in the MTV show ''

Catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive, ...

''. In January 2020, Jennings appeared as a contestant on ''Guy's Grocery Games - Game Day Super Teams'' with

Guy Fieri Guy Ramsay Fieri (, ; '' né'' Ferry; born January 22, 1968) is an American restaurateur, author, and an Emmy Award winning television presenter. He co-owns three restaurants in California, licenses his name to restaurants in New York City, Las ...

References

External links

New York Giants bioOakland Raiders bioJacksonville Jaguars bioLiberty Flames bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jennings, Rashad 1985 births Living people African-American Christians American football running backs Dancing with the Stars (American TV series) winners Jacksonville Jaguars players Liberty Flames football players New York Giants players Oakland Raiders players People from Forest, Virginia Pittsburgh Panthers football players Players of American football from Virginia Sportspeople from Lynchburg, Virginia