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Greg Jennings

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For the musician, see Restless Heart.

Greg Jennings
refer to caption
Jennings with the Green Bay Packers in 2011
No. 85, 15
Position:Wide receiver
Personal information
Born: (1983-09-21) September 21, 1983 (age 41)
Kalamazoo, Michigan, U.S.
Height:5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight:197 lb (89 kg)
Career information
High school:Central (Kalamazoo)
College:Western Michigan (2002–2005)
NFL draft:2006 / round: 2 / pick: 52
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Receptions:571
Receiving yards:8,291
Receiving touchdowns:64
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Gregory Jennings Jr. (born September 21, 1983) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for 10 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Green Bay Packers. He played college football for the Western Michigan Broncos and was selected by Green Bay in the second round of the 2006 NFL draft. Jennings was named to two Pro Bowls during his seven seasons with the Packers and was part of the team that won a Super Bowl title in Super Bowl XLV. In his final three seasons, he was a member of the Minnesota Vikings and Miami Dolphins. He was inducted into Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame in 2022.

Early life

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Jennings was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He attended Kalamazoo Central High School where he was all conference in three sports—football, basketball, and track. Jennings played wide receiver, running back, outside linebacker and defensive back as a four-time letterman for the football team. He was listed 11th on the "Fab 50" rankings of the Detroit Free Press as a senior.[1] Jennings finished seventh in voting for Mr. Basketball of Michigan in 2000–01[2] and scored a school record 50 points in a losing effort against Benton Harbor as a senior.[1]

In track & field, Jennings was one of the state's top performers in the long jump event. He captured the state title in the long jump at the 2001 MHSAA State LP-1 Championships, with a leap of 6.67 meters.[3] He got a PR of 6.92 meters in the long jump. He was also a member of the 4 × 100m (42.20) and 4 × 200m (1:28.50) relay squads.[4]

College career

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Jennings attended Western Michigan University and played for the Broncos. He finished his career there with 238 receptions for 3,539 yards and 39 touchdowns. When Jennings was a redshirt freshman, he missed 8 games due to a broken ankle bone. In the 8 games he did play, he caught 10 passes for 138 yards. In 2003, he was second on the Broncos with 56 catches for 1,050 yards and 14 touchdowns. He finished the 2003 season with 1,734 all-purpose yards. He was named to the All-Mid American 2nd team. In 2004, he led the Broncos with 74 catches for 1,092 yards and 11 touchdowns. He tallied 1,415 all-purpose yards. He was named to the All-MAC team. In 2005, he had 98 catches, and led the nation in catches per game, with 8.91. He had 1,259 yards with 14 touchdowns, and earned the 2005 MAC Offensive Player of the Year Award. His 5,093 all-purpose yards is a WMU record, and ranks 8th in MAC history. Jennings became only the 11th player to gain over 1,000 yards in at least three seasons of a college career. He also competed on their debate team, becoming President of the American Parliamentary Debate Association his junior year.[5] Jennings graduated from WMU in 2010 after completing the 16 credits he needed through self-instructional classes.[6]

Professional career

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Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump
5 ft 11+1⁄8 in
(1.81 m) 		197 lb
(89 kg) 		31 in
(0.79 m) 		9+1⁄8 in
(0.23 m)		 4.46 s 1.56 s 2.62 s 4.16 s 6.68 s 36+1⁄2 in
(0.93 m)		 9 ft 9 in
(2.97 m)
All values from NFL Combine[7][8]

Green Bay Packers

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The Green Bay Packers drafted Jennings in the second round (52nd pick overall) of the 2006 NFL draft.[9] On July 24, 2006, he signed a contract with the Packers.[10]

Jennings was named the starting wide receiver, along with Donald Driver, which put Robert Ferguson in the slot, for his first professional regular-season game Green Bay Packers by head coach Mike McCarthy on September 2, 2006. Jennings led the NFL in receiving yardage during the 2006 preseason. He had 1 catch for 5 yards in his first game.

On September 24, 2006, he caught a 75-yard touchdown pass from Brett Favre against the Detroit Lions. It was Favre's 400th touchdown pass for his career, a milestone reached only by Favre, Dan Marino, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Philip Rivers and Aaron Rodgers. This was also Jennings's first 100-plus-yard game, as he finished with 3 catches, 101 yards and 1 touchdown. Jennings was voted NFL Rookie of the Week for games played September 24–25, 2006, the only time he received this honor. Jennings was also named to the NFL All Rookie team at the end of the season.

Jennings in 2010

On September 23, 2007, Jennings caught a game-winning 57-yard TD pass from Favre with less than two minutes to play to help beat the San Diego Chargers 31–24 at Lambeau Field and improve the team's record to 3–0 in 2007. This was Jennings's first touchdown catch in 2007, as well as Favre's 420th career touchdown pass, tying him with Marino for the most TD passes in NFL history.

A week later on September 30, 2007, during a 23–16 victory over the Minnesota Vikings, Jennings caught a 16-yard pass from Favre that opened the scoring ten minutes into the first quarter, and broke the all-time touchdown pass record Favre had shared with Dan Marino.[11] On October 29, 2007, Jennings caught an 82-yard touchdown pass from Favre to defeat the Denver Broncos 19–13 in overtime, tying him for the second-longest overtime touchdown in NFL history at the time. Then the following week, he caught the game-winning touchdown pass that went for 60 yards to beat the Chiefs in Kansas City. Against the Cowboys on November 29, 2007, in a game broadcast on the NFL Network, Jennings hauled in the first ever touchdown pass by quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Jennings and running back Ryan Grant each had a touchdown during a 33–14 victory over the St. Louis Rams on December 16, 2007, making it the first time two Packers players have each scored a touchdown in the same four consecutive games.[12] Jennings collected 80 receptions for 1,292 yards and 9 touchdowns in the 2008 season.

On June 23, 2009, Jennings received a three-year extension which paid him $26.35 million and included $16 million guaranteed. It also included a $11.25 million signing bonus.[13] Jennings caught a game-winning pass on September 13, 2009, on a 3rd and two play, where the Packers ran a play action fake and rolled Aaron Rodgers out to the left, who then threw a 50-yard pass to Jennings to defeat the Chicago Bears in the season opener.[14] In the Packers 2009 Wild Card game against the Arizona Cardinals, Jennings had 8 receptions for 130 yards, scoring 1 touchdown. In the 2010–2011 season, Jennings helped the Packers go 10–6 in the regular season. He was ranked 74th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2011.[15] In Super Bowl XLV, on February 6, 2011, Jennings caught four passes for 64 yards and scored two touchdowns in the Packers' 31–25 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.[16][17][18]

Jennings played the first 13 games of the 2011 season before going down with a sprained MCL in week 13 against the Oakland Raiders. During the season, he collected 69 receptions for 949 yards, including a season-high 149 yards on 7 receptions, and a touchdown in a week 7 game at the Minnesota Vikings. He returned for the Packers' divisional round playoff game against the New York Giants and recorded 4 receptions for 40 yards in a Packers' loss.

In 2012, Jennings sat out most of the early season due to a groin injury, and was scheduled to have surgery in Philadelphia, but it was postponed due to Hurricane Sandy.[19]

Minnesota Vikings

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Jennings in 2013

On March 15, 2013, Jennings signed a 5-year, $47.5 million ($18 million guaranteed) contract with the Minnesota Vikings. Jennings got his first two touchdowns as a member of the Vikings against the Pittsburgh Steelers in a 34–27 win.[20] Jennings made his return to Lambeau Field on November 24, 2013, in a 26–26 tie between the Packers and Vikings.[21]

He was released by the Vikings on March 14, 2015.[22]

Miami Dolphins

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On April 22, 2015, Jennings signed a two-year, $8 million contract with the Miami Dolphins.[23][24]

On March 5, 2016, the Dolphins released Jennings to free up cap space.[25]

Retirement

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On July 25, 2016, Jennings retired from professional football after 10 seasons, at the age of 32.[26][27]

For his accomplishments in Green Bay, was inducted to the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame in 2022.[28]

NFL career statistics

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Regular season
Legend
Won the Super Bowl
Bold Career high
Year Team Games Receiving
GP GS Rec Yds Avg Lng TD
2006 GB 14 11 45 632 14.0 75 3
2007 GB 13 13 53 920 17.4 82 12
2008 GB 16 15 80 1,292 16.2 63 9
2009 GB 16 13 68 1,113 16.4 83 4
2010 GB 16 16 76 1,265 16.6 86 12
2011 GB 13 13 67 949 14.2 79 9
2012 GB 8 5 36 366 10.2 45 4
2013 MIN 15 15 68 804 11.8 70 4
2014 MIN 16 13 59 742 12.6 38 6
2015 MIA 16 5 19 208 10.9 31 1
Career 143 119 571 8,291 14.5 86 64
Playoffs
Year Date Team Opp. Result Receiving
Rec Yds Avg TD Pts
2007 2008-01-12 GB SEA W 42–20 6 71 11.83 2 12
2007 2008-01-20 GB NYG L 20–23 1 14 14.0 0 0
2009 2010-01-10 GB ARI L 45–51 8 130 16.25 1 6
2010 2011-01-09 GB PHI W 21–16 1 8 8.0 0 0
2010 2011-01-15 GB ATL W 48–21 8 101 12.63 0 0
2010 2011-01-23 GB CHI W 21–14 8 130 16.25 0 0
2010 2011-02-06 GB PIT W 31–25 4 64 16.0 2 12
2011 2012-01-15 GB NYG L 20–37 4 40 10.0 0 0
2012 2013-01-05 GB MIN W 24–10 4 61 15.25 0 0
2012 2013-01-12 GB SF L 31–45 6 54 9.0 1 6
Total - 10 Games 50 673 13.46 6 36

Source:Pro-Football-Reference.com

Personal life

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Jennings is a Christian.[29] Jennings is married to Nicole Jennings, also of Kalamazoo, and they have three daughters named Amya, Alea and Ayva. On October 5, 2012, they welcomed their son Aice Gregory.[30]

On May 5, 2010, Jennings made an appearance on the CBS prime time hit show Criminal Minds. He portrayed a lab technician working at a crime scene.[31] Jennings is also in discussions to appear on BET's The Game.[32] He appeared as himself on the July 6, 2011, episode of Royal Pains and the 2013 The League episode, "The Near Death Flex-perience".

The Greg Jennings Foundation was started by Jennings to attempt to benefit underprivileged children and youth organizations. The entire charity organization raises money through organizational events, donations, and fund raisers. The organization allows people, groups, and organizations from either Michigan or Wisconsin to apply for grant money. The headquarters of the foundation are in Kalamazoo, Michigan.[citation needed]

Jennings is also a part-time analyst on FS1's First Things First and Breakfast Ball, and formerly on The Carton Show.

Madden clip

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Jennings is known for a viral video of Madden NFL 10 gameplay by Demetry James, where he scores a 99-yard touchdown with Jennings having a broken leg.[33][34] The Madden series later references James' video in Madden NFL 12, in which if the user playing the game scores a 99-yard touchdown with Jennings, they earn an achievement named "Put Da Team On My Back".[35] The name of the achievement is a reference to a phrase said by James in his gameplay video.[36]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Greg Jennings Profile Archived April 26, 2012, at the Wayback Machine at Greg Jennings official website (retrieved December 7, 2010).
  2. ^ Hal Schram Mr. Basketball at Michigan High School Basketball Record Book (accessed December 7, 2010).
  3. ^ "Gregory Jennings - Stats". MileSplit Michigan. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
  4. ^ "Greg Jennings | Western Michigan | Packers WR". Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved October 19, 2014.
  5. ^ Green Bay Packers bio Archived December 4, 2012, at the Wayback Machine for Greg Jennings (accessed December 7, 2010).
  6. ^ Golston, Hilary. "Packers WR Jennings graduates, set to make TV debut on CBS show". WFRV-TV. Archived from the original on May 14, 2010. Retrieved January 6, 2011.
  7. ^ "Greg Jennings, Western Michigan, WR : 2006 NFL Draft Scout Player Profile". Nfldraftscout.com. Archived from the original on September 20, 2016. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
  8. ^ "Greg Jennings, Combine Results, WR - Western Michigan". nflcombineresults.com. Retrieved September 8, 2021.
  9. ^ "2006 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
  10. ^ "Green Bay inks Jennings, releases Cross". Packers.com. July 24, 2006. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
  11. ^ Pasquarelli, Len (September 30, 2007). "Favre audibles to a record-setting performance". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 1, 2007.
  12. ^ Goska, Eric. "Eric Goska column: Grant-Jennings scoring streak sets team record". Packersnews.com. Retrieved December 17, 2007.[permanent dead link‍]
  13. ^ Sources: Jennings close to extension ESPN, June 23, 2009
  14. ^ Game Review: Clutch In Crunch Time To Beat Bears Archived September 22, 2009, at the Wayback Machine Packers.com, September 14, 2009
  15. ^ "2011 NFL Top 100". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  16. ^ "Steelers vs. Packers - Box Score - February 6, 2011 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
  17. ^ Layden, Tim (February 14, 2011). "Green And Golden: Behind quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the contributions of a host of role players, the Packers had a 31–25 victory over Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XLV". Sports Illustrated. Time Inc. Archived from the original on February 12, 2011. Retrieved February 11, 2011.
  18. ^ "Greg Jennings sells T-shirts to raise money for his foundation". Fox 11 online. Archived from the original on January 24, 2013. Retrieved October 14, 2011.
  19. ^ "Greg Jennings' hernia surgery postponed by Sandy". National Football League. Archived from the original on November 5, 2013. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
  20. ^ "Source: Greg Jennings, Vikings agree". ESPN.com. March 15, 2013. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
  21. ^ "Green Bay Packers Rule Out Sam Shields; Minnesota Vikings Activate Greg Jennings".
  22. ^ "Greg Jennings released by Minnesota Vikings". NFL.com. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
  23. ^ Perkins, Chris (April 22, 2015). "Dolphins get their man, sign veteran WR Greg Jennings". The Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved April 22, 2015.
  24. ^ Sessler, Marc (April 22, 2015). "Miami Dolphins to sign wideout Greg Jennings". NFL.com. Retrieved April 22, 2015.
  25. ^ "Dolphins cut Greg Jennings, restructure Suh, Misi deals". NFL.com. March 5, 2016. Retrieved March 5, 2016.
  26. ^ "GREG JENNINGS RETIRES FROM FOOTBALL! | Jennings Journey". Youtube. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
  27. ^ Rosenthal, Gregg (July 25, 2016). "Greg Jennings announces his NFL retirement". NFL.com. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
  28. ^ "Tim Harris, Greg Jennings bring impressive careers to Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame". USA Today.
  29. ^ Brown, Shawn (November 10, 2014). "Football Star Knows His Place on the Field and at Home". Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  30. ^ Nicole Jennings Endowment Benefits Nursing Students Archived July 20, 2011, at the Wayback Machine WMU Foundation (retrieved February 7, 2011)
  31. ^ Packers Greg Jennings on Criminal Minds TerezOwens, May 11, 2010
  32. ^ Greg Jennings in prime time Wednesday ESPN, May 5, 2010
  33. ^ Zucker, Joseph. "Greg Jennings Reacts to Injured RB Scoring TD Like Historic Viral Madden Video". Bleacher Report. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
  34. ^ "Inside the Mind of a Demetry James, Who Put the Team on Greg Jennings' Back". Kotaku. August 13, 2011. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
  35. ^ "Viral Video Becomes Inspiration for Madden NFL 12 Achievement". Pastapadre. July 28, 2011. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
  36. ^ Demetry James (April 18, 2010). Greg Jennings (Broken Leg) scores on the saints. Retrieved October 23, 2024 – via YouTube.
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