Jeremy Kerley
Encyclopedia
Jeremy Kerley is an American football
wide receiver
and return specialist
for the New York Jets
of the National Football League
. He was drafted by the Jets in the fifth round of the 2011 NFL Draft
. He played college football
at TCU
.
, playing four sports, including football
and baseball
. He played pitcher
and centerfielder in baseball. At quarterback
, Kerley led his football team to its first state championship game as a junior.
He was recruited by the University of Texas
and Stanford University
to play baseball, and by the University of Oklahoma
to play football, but ultimately decided to play college football
for Texas Christian University
.
and return specialist
at TCU
after playing at quarterback in high school. Following the 2009 season, Kerley was named Mountain West Conference
Special Teams Player of the Year after breaking the conference record for punt return yards in a season with 563 yards. He had ten touchdown catches, one touchdown pass, and two rushing touchdowns in 2010. He ranked second in the nation in punt returns and third in the nation in kickoff returns.
He was named the Mountain West Conference Special Teams Player of the Year for the second consecutive year in 2010, as well as second-team All-Mountain West honors at wide receiver. Kerley was one of three finalists in 2010 for the Paul Hornung Award
, which honors the most versatile college football player in the nation.
.
against the New England Patriots
on October 9, 2011.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
wide receiver
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
and return specialist
Return specialist
A Return Specialist is a player on American football or Canadian football special teams who specializes in returning punts and kickoff returns. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most play other positions as well. The special teams counterpart of a return specialist is a...
for the New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
of the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
. He was drafted by the Jets in the fifth round of the 2011 NFL Draft
2011 NFL Draft
The 2011 NFL Draft was the 76th installment of the annual NFL Draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players...
. He played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
at TCU
TCU Horned Frogs football
The TCU Horned Frogs football team is the intercollegiate football team of Texas Christian University. TCU competes as a member of the Mountain West Conference in the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, but will move to the Big 12 Conference for the 2012 season. TCU began playing football...
.
Early years
Kerley attended Hutto High School in Hutto, TexasHutto, Texas
Hutto is a city in Williamson County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Austin-Round Rock metropolitan area. The population was 1,250 at the 2000 census; it had grown to 7,401 in the 2005 census estimate and had reached 17,120 by January 2008....
, playing four sports, including football
High school football
High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....
and baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
. He played pitcher
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
and centerfielder in baseball. At quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
, Kerley led his football team to its first state championship game as a junior.
He was recruited by the University of Texas
Texas Longhorns baseball
The Texas Longhorns baseball team represents The University of Texas at Austin and competes in the Big 12 Conference of NCAA Division I.The Texas Longhorns are the winningest program in college baseball history in terms of win percentage with .740 and ranks second all-time in total wins to the...
and Stanford University
Stanford Cardinal baseball
The Stanford Cardinal baseball team represents Stanford University in NCAA Division I college baseball. Along with most other Stanford athletic teams, the baseball team participates in the Pacific-10 Conference. The Cardinal play their home games on campus at the Sunken Diamond, and they are...
to play baseball, and by the University of Oklahoma
Oklahoma Sooners football
The Oklahoma Sooners football program is a college football team that represents the University of Oklahoma . The team is currently a member of the Big 12 Conference, which is a Division I Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association...
to play football, but ultimately decided to play college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
for Texas Christian University
Texas Christian University
Texas Christian University is a private, coeducational university located in Fort Worth, Texas, United States and founded in 1873. TCU is affiliated with, but not governed by, the Disciples of Christ...
.
College career
Kerley was converted to wide receiverWide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
and return specialist
Return specialist
A Return Specialist is a player on American football or Canadian football special teams who specializes in returning punts and kickoff returns. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most play other positions as well. The special teams counterpart of a return specialist is a...
at TCU
TCU Horned Frogs football
The TCU Horned Frogs football team is the intercollegiate football team of Texas Christian University. TCU competes as a member of the Mountain West Conference in the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, but will move to the Big 12 Conference for the 2012 season. TCU began playing football...
after playing at quarterback in high school. Following the 2009 season, Kerley was named Mountain West Conference
Mountain West Conference
The Mountain West Conference , popularly known as the Mountain West, is the youngest of the college athletic conferences affiliated with the NCAA’s Division I FBS . The MWC officially began operations in July 1999...
Special Teams Player of the Year after breaking the conference record for punt return yards in a season with 563 yards. He had ten touchdown catches, one touchdown pass, and two rushing touchdowns in 2010. He ranked second in the nation in punt returns and third in the nation in kickoff returns.
He was named the Mountain West Conference Special Teams Player of the Year for the second consecutive year in 2010, as well as second-team All-Mountain West honors at wide receiver. Kerley was one of three finalists in 2010 for the Paul Hornung Award
Paul Hornung Award
The Paul Hornung Award is a college football award that was created in January 2010 by the Louisville Sports Commission with the support of Paul Hornung, a native and resident of Louisville, Kentucky and member of the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame...
, which honors the most versatile college football player in the nation.
Pre-draft
Kerley was projected to be drafted in the fifth round of the 2011 NFL Draft2011 NFL Draft
The 2011 NFL Draft was the 76th installment of the annual NFL Draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players...
.
New York Jets
Kerley was selected with the 153rd pick in the fifth round of the 2011 NFL Draft by the New York Jets. He caught his first career touchdown pass from Mark SanchezMark Sanchez
Mark Travis John Sanchez is an American football quarterback for the New York Jets of the National Football League . He was drafted in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft as the fifth overall selection by the Jets and the second quarterback taken overall...
against the New England Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
on October 9, 2011.