- Jimmy Kennedy (American football)
Infobox NFLactive
name=Jimmy Kennedy
|width=200
caption=
currentteam=Jacksonville Jaguars
currentnumber=73
currentpositionplain=Defensive tackle
birthdate=birth date and age|1979|11|15
birthplace=Yonkers, New York
heightft=6
heightin=4
weight=320
debutyear=2003
debutteam=St. Louis Rams
college=Penn State
draftyear=2003
draftround=1
draftpick=12
pastteams=
*St. Louis Rams (2003-2006)
*Denver Broncos (2007)*
*Chicago Bears (2007)
*Jacksonville Jaguars (2008-present):*Offseason and/or practice squad member only
status=Active
highlights=
* First TeamAll-America n (2002)
* 2x All-Big Ten (2001, 2002)
* Big TenDefensive Lineman of the Year (2002)
*Lombardi Award finalist (2002)
nfl=KEN437436Jimmy Wayne Kennedy (born
November 15 ,1979 inYonkers, New York ) is anAmerican football defensive tackle for theJacksonville Jaguars of theNational Football League . He was originally drafted by theSt. Louis Rams 12th overall in the2003 NFL Draft . He playedcollege football at Penn State. Kennedy has also been a member of theDenver Broncos andChicago Bears .Early years
Kennedy attended Roosevelt High School in Yonkers, where he was a three-year starter on both offense and defense. Under Coach Tony DeMatteo, Kennedy earned
All-America n, All-city, All-conference, All-state, and team MVP honors. He also won a local High School Heisman trophy sponsored by theDowntown Athletic Club . In Kennedy's junior season, Roosevelt High was 12-0 and won the state championship. In his three years as a starter the team was 30-3. After his senior season of 1998 Kennedy played in the Governor's Bowl, in which the best prep players ofNew York played the best high school players inNew Jersey .College career
A four-year starter at
Penn State University , Kennedy was named the 2002 Big Ten Defensive Lineman-of-the-Year and was a two-time first-team All-Big Ten selection. A semi-finalist for theLombardi Award , Kennedy finished his career with 213 tackles, 14 sacks, and 39 tackles-for-loss. Kennedy also playedbasketball for theNittany Lions for one year. He earned aBachelor of Science in rehabilitation services in 2002.In his freshman season Kennedy played in 12 games, starting 6, and recorded 33 tackles and batted away 4 passes. In 2000, as a sophomore, Kennedy started all 11 games for Penn State and recorded 42 tackles and 6 sacks. As a junior, in 2001, he made 51 tackles and logged 1.5 sacks and was voted All-Big Ten for the first time.
As a senior in 2002 Kennedy was named a First-team All-America by "
The Sporting News ", andWalter Camp Football Foundation , "The NFL Draft Report", and third-team honors from theAssociated Press . He recorded 87 tackles, 5.5 sacks and batted away 3 passes in 2002.Measurables
*Penn State 2003 Pro Day
*Height:6'4" Weight: 323 lbs.
*40 yard times: 5.20, 5.22 and 5.25
*Vertical jump :30"
*Long jump: 8'3"
*Short shuttle: 4.72
*3 cone drill : 8.06
*225 poundbench press : 23 repsProfessional career
The 6'4", 320 lb. defensive tackle was the first round pick (#12 overall) of the St. Louis Rams in the 2003 NFL Draft. On July 30, 2003, Kennedy signed a 5-year $9 million contract that included a $5 million
signing bonus . [ [http://www.footballsfuture.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=1142736 Footballs Future.com] ] With two defensive tackles,Ryan Pickett andDamione Lewis , taken in 2001, Kennedy played 13 games but did not make a start his rookie season, and made only 1 tackle, 1 assist, and 1 pass batted.The following year, Kennedy played in the final 9 games of the season, starting 5 of them. During this time, he posted 16 tackles and one
pass defensed . Kennedy started both postseason games where he registered nine tackles and one sack. On January 8, 2005 he recorded two tackles and one sack. He tracked downMatt Hasselbeck for a six-yard loss in the last minute of the fourth quarter of the Rams’ 27-20 win.By 2005, Kennedy had earned a spot as the Rams'
nose tackle , played in 15 games and started the first 9 games of the season. With a chance to finally play, Kennedy made a respectable 33 tackles, 3 sacks, and 1 forcedfumble . On September 18, 2005, he posted four tackles with two sacks ofKurt Warner along with first career forced fumble.In 2006 Kennedy started all 16 games at nose tackle for the Rams for the first time in his career and recorded 39 tackles, one sack, one pass defensed, one forced fumble and two fumble recoveries
Kennedy was traded to the
Denver Broncos onJune 8 ,2007 , for a 6th round pick in the2008 NFL Draft . On September 1, 2007, the Broncos released him. OnDecember 11 ,2007 theChicago Bears signed the former St. Louis defensive tackle and played in the final 3 games of the season making 3 tackles. On March 4, 2008 the Bears declined to match a one-year $655,000 offer sheet by theJacksonville Jaguars . [ [http://www.rotoworld.com/Content/playerpages/player_main.aspx?sport=Nfl&id=396 Rotoworld.com] ]External links
* [http://www.jaguars.com/Team/Player.aspx?id=2786 Jacksonville Jaguars bio]
References
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