Jason Avant
Encyclopedia
Jason Raye Avant is an American football
wide receiver
for the Philadelphia Eagles
of the National Football League
(NFL). He was drafted by the Eagles in the fourth round of the 2006 NFL Draft
. He played college football
at Michigan
.
in Chicago, Illinois, graduating in 2002. He spent his freshman year of high school in Decatur, IL
at MacArthur High School. While in high school, Avant played both on defense
, as a free safety, and offense
, as a wide receiver
. He set school records for receptions (148), receiving yards (2,150), touchdowns (37), and interceptions
(18). After his senior season, he was named a High School All-America
n at free safety. He played in the 2002 U.S. Army All-American Bowl
.
, Avant played as a wide receiver
and on special teams. He played sparingly as a freshman, but as a sophomore emerged as the Wolverines
' number-two receiver, behind Braylon Edwards
. During his sophomore season in 2003, Avant caught 47 passes for 772 yards. As a junior he was the team's second leading receiver. In his senior year, Avant led the team in receptions (82), receiving yards (1,007), and receiving touchdowns (eight).
In his final two seasons, Avant was named as a candidate for the Fred Biletnikoff Award
, given to the nation's top receiver. After his senior season, he was named an honorable mention All-American and was given the Bo Schembechler
Award as Michigan's most valuable player.
in the fourth round of the 2006 NFL Draft
by the Philadelphia Eagles
. The Eagles traded a sixth round draft pick and tackle Artis Hicks
to the Minnesota Vikings
for the pick used to take Avant. In a post-draft interview, Eagles head coach
Andy Reid
said Avant "has great hands, toughness, leadership; he's very intelligent and a good route runner." Scouting reports projected him as a consistent possession receiver who lacked the speed to be a deep threat.
As a part of the Eagles crowded receiving corps, Avant saw limited playing time with the offense in his rookie
season. He had his best performance—four receptions for forty yards and one touchdown—in the final game of the season, while the Eagles rested their starters for the playoffs.
After 2009 season, in which he set new career-highs in all three categories with 41 receptions for 587 yards and 3 touchdowns, Avant was named to the USA Today All-Joe Team
for his stellar play in the slot position. 32 of Avant's 37 catches on third down resulted in a first down.
He was re-signed to a five-year contract on March 8, 2010. He was named the Eagles' Ed Block Courage Award
recipient for 2010.
player. During Chris Berman's "Fastest Three Minutes" he referred to him as Jason "You Can't Always Get What" Avant. Avant and his wife, Stacy, live in Clementon, New Jersey
. He is the son of Jerry Avant and Claudette Patrick. His brother, Edwon Simmons, was a baseball player, who was drafted by Baltimore Orioles
and was a safety at San Diego State. He is now a talent scout for a sports agency in Chicago.
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...
for the Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National 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...
(NFL). He was drafted by the Eagles in the fourth round of the 2006 NFL Draft
2006 NFL Draft
The 2006 National Football League Draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with additional coverage offered by ESPNU and, for the first time, by...
. 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 Michigan
Michigan Wolverines football
The Michigan Wolverines football program represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the most all-time wins and the highest winning percentage in college football history...
.
Early years
Avant attended Carver Military AcademyCarver Military Academy
George Washington Carver Military Academy High School, formely known as George Washington Carver Area High School, is a public high school in Chicago, Illinois. It was founded in 1947 as a mainstream high school, and began the transition into becoming a military academy in 2000...
in Chicago, Illinois, graduating in 2002. He spent his freshman year of high school in Decatur, IL
Decatur, Illinois
Decatur is the largest city and the county seat of Macon County in the U.S. state of Illinois. The city, sometimes called "the Soybean Capital of the World", was founded in 1823 and is located along the Sangamon River and Lake Decatur in Central Illinois. In 2000 the city population was 81,500,...
at MacArthur High School. While in high school, Avant played both on defense
Defense (sport)
In many team sports, defense or defence is the action of preventing an opponent from scoring. The term may also refer to the tactics involved in defense, or a sub-team whose primary responsibility is defense...
, as a free safety, and offense
Offense (sports)
In sports, offense or offence , also known as attack, is the action of attacking or engaging an opposing team with the objective of scoring points or goals...
, as a 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...
. He set school records for receptions (148), receiving yards (2,150), touchdowns (37), and interceptions
Interception (football)
An interception, intercept or pick is a move in many forms of football, including Canadian and American football, as well as rugby league, rugby union, Australian rules football and Gaelic football, which involves a pass, either by foot or hand, being caught by an opposition player, who usually...
(18). After his senior season, he was named a High School All-America
All-America
An All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
n at free safety. He played in the 2002 U.S. Army All-American Bowl
U.S. Army All-American Bowl
The U.S. Army All-American Bowl is a high school football all-star game held in early January in San Antonio, Texas. Currently played in the Alamodome, the game brings 90 of the nation's top high school football players in an East versus West matchup. In addition to the Bowl game, there is the U.S...
.
College career
At the University of MichiganUniversity of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
, Avant played as a 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 on special teams. He played sparingly as a freshman, but as a sophomore emerged as the Wolverines
Michigan Wolverines football
The Michigan Wolverines football program represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the most all-time wins and the highest winning percentage in college football history...
' number-two receiver, behind Braylon Edwards
Braylon Edwards
-Cleveland Browns:-2005:Edwards began his rookie season as Cleveland's third wide receiver – he would have started higher, but a hold-out caused him to miss the beginning of training camp. Early in the season Edwards revealed that he had a staph infection, and missed a few weeks as a result of it....
. During his sophomore season in 2003, Avant caught 47 passes for 772 yards. As a junior he was the team's second leading receiver. In his senior year, Avant led the team in receptions (82), receiving yards (1,007), and receiving touchdowns (eight).
In his final two seasons, Avant was named as a candidate for the Fred Biletnikoff Award
Fred Biletnikoff Award
The Fred Biletnikoff Award has been presented since 1994 to America's top college football receiver by the TQC Foundation, Inc. , an independent not-for-profit organization which created the award in 1994 and has sponsored it since...
, given to the nation's top receiver. After his senior season, he was named an honorable mention All-American and was given the Bo Schembechler
Bo Schembechler
Glenn Edward "Bo" Schembechler, Jr. was an American football player, coach, and athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Miami University from 1963 to 1968 and at the University of Michigan from 1969 to 1989, compiling a career record of 234–65–8...
Award as Michigan's most valuable player.
Philadelphia Eagles
Avant was draftedNFL Draft
The National Football League Draft is an annual event in which the National Football League teams select eligible college football players and it is their most common source of player recruitment. The basic design of the draft is each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order...
in the fourth round of the 2006 NFL Draft
2006 NFL Draft
The 2006 National Football League Draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with additional coverage offered by ESPNU and, for the first time, by...
by the Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
. The Eagles traded a sixth round draft pick and tackle Artis Hicks
Artis Hicks
Artis Hicks is an American football guard for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League. He was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent in 2002...
to the Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
for the pick used to take Avant. In a post-draft interview, Eagles head coach
Head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...
Andy Reid
Andy Reid
Andrew Walter "Andy" Reid is the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles of the NFL, a post he has held since 1999. Since 2001, he has also been the team's executive vice president of football operations...
said Avant "has great hands, toughness, leadership; he's very intelligent and a good route runner." Scouting reports projected him as a consistent possession receiver who lacked the speed to be a deep threat.
As a part of the Eagles crowded receiving corps, Avant saw limited playing time with the offense in his rookie
Rookie
Rookie is a term for a person who is in his or her first year of play of their sport or has little or no professional experience. The term also has the more general meaning of anyone new to a profession, training or activity Rookie is a term for a person who is in his or her first year of play of...
season. He had his best performance—four receptions for forty yards and one touchdown—in the final game of the season, while the Eagles rested their starters for the playoffs.
After 2009 season, in which he set new career-highs in all three categories with 41 receptions for 587 yards and 3 touchdowns, Avant was named to the USA Today All-Joe Team
USA Today All-Joe Team
The USA Today All-Joe team is an annual selection of National Football League players and coaches deemed hard workers and over-achievers that may be overlooked by the biased media...
for his stellar play in the slot position. 32 of Avant's 37 catches on third down resulted in a first down.
He was re-signed to a five-year contract on March 8, 2010. He was named the Eagles' Ed Block Courage Award
Ed Block Courage Award
The Ed Block Courage Award is an annual award presented to selected players in the National Football League , who are voted by their teammates as role models of inspiration, sportsmanship, and courage. Named in memory of Ed Block, a well-liked humanitarian and trainer for the Baltimore Colts, the...
recipient for 2010.
Personal
Avant is an avid ScrabbleScrabble
Scrabble is a word game in which two to four players score points by forming words from individual lettered tiles on a game board marked with a 15-by-15 grid. The words are formed across and down in crossword fashion and must appear in a standard dictionary. Official reference works provide a list...
player. During Chris Berman's "Fastest Three Minutes" he referred to him as Jason "You Can't Always Get What" Avant. Avant and his wife, Stacy, live in Clementon, New Jersey
Clementon, New Jersey
Clementon is a Borough in Camden County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 5,000.Around 1800, Jonathon Haines built a glass factory in what is now present day Clementon, situated on a large hill across the street from the modern day Clementon...
. He is the son of Jerry Avant and Claudette Patrick. His brother, Edwon Simmons, was a baseball player, who was drafted by Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
and was a safety at San Diego State. He is now a talent scout for a sports agency in Chicago.