Stanford Jamison Jennings (born March 12, 1962) is a former

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 ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

(NFL). Jennings played seven seasons for 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 club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The club's home ...

(1984–1990), and one each for the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

(1991) and the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

(1992). He played college football at

Furman University Furman University is a private liberal arts university in Greenville, South Carolina. Founded in 1826 and named for the clergyman Richard Furman, Furman University is the oldest private institution of higher learning in South Carolina. It beca ...

. Jennings returned a kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown in

Super Bowl XXIII Super Bowl XXIII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Cincinnati Bengals and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers to decide the National Football League (NFL) ch ...

Early life

Jennings was born to Walter and Fannie Jennings, both laborers on a dairy farm. He attended

Summerville High School Summerville High School is a public high school in Summerville, South Carolina. History Until the 1960s, a brick building on Main Street, which is now Rollings Middle School of the Arts, was the only high school in the Summerville area. As Sum ...

Summerville, South Carolina Summerville is a town in the U.S. state of South Carolina situated mostly in Dorchester County, with small portions in Berkeley and Charleston counties. It is part of the Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville Metropolitan Statistical Area. ...

. In three seasons with Jennings at tailback, Summerville lost only two games—none his junior and senior seasons—and he led the Green Wave to back-to-back Class 4A state titles in 1978–79. Jennings, who split time with two other tailbacks, was not heavily recruited by college programs. His final choices were

The Citadel The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, commonly known simply as The Citadel, is a public senior military college in Charleston, South Carolina. Established in 1842, it is one of six senior military colleges in the United States. ...

and

College career

Jennings selected Furman, helping the

Paladins The Paladins, also called the Twelve Peers, are twelve legendary knights, the foremost members of Charlemagne's court in the 8th century. They first appear in the medieval (12th century) ''chanson de geste'' cycle of the Matter of France, where ...

win

Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. Southern Conference College football, football teams c ...

championships each of his four seasons. Furman went 36–9–2 during Jennings' stay, with shocking wins over

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = "Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = G ...

and

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part o ...

. Jennings starred at Furman—in four seasons, he rushed for 3,868 yards on 650 carries (a 6.0 average) and 39 touchdowns, with 76 receptions for 865 yards (an 11.4 average) and four receiving touchdowns. He was the 1981 SoCon Player of the Year

NFL career

Jennings was chosen in the third round of the

1984 NFL Draft The 1984 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 May 1–2, 1984, at the Omni Park Cen ...

by the Cincinnati Bengals. Primarily a kick returner and backup running back, he had his most productive season from scrimmage his rookie year of 1984. He played 15 games (starting four) and rushing for 379 yards on 79 attempts (a 4.8 average) and two touchdowns and caught 35 passes for 346 yards and two receiving touchdowns—all career bests. His top year as a kick returner was 1988, with career highs of 32 returns for 684 yards, including a 98-yard touchdown return (the longest of the season in the NFL) 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 ...

. He returned a 93-yard kickoff in

against the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

. Jennings finished his nine-season NFL career with 1,250 rushing yards, 116 receptions for 1,098 yards, and 2,965 yards returning kickoffs. He also scored 20 touchdowns. His 2,752 kickoff return yards with Cincinnati stood as a Bengals franchise record until surpassed by Tremain Mack in 2000.

Personal life

Jennings and his wife, Kathy, live in a northern suburb of

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...

with their children Jamie and Kelsey Amanda. He is a regional sales manager for New Balance shoes. Jennings' younger brother, Keith Jennings, played tight end in the NFL.

References

External links

career stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jennings, Stanford 1962 births Living people Players of American football from South Carolina African-American players of American football American football running backs American football return specialists Furman University alumni Furman Paladins football players Cincinnati Bengals players New Orleans Saints players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players People from Summerville, South Carolina 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople