Jason Tucker
American gridiron football player and coach (born 1976)
Tucker with the Lions in 2022
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BC Lions | |
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Position: | Wide receivers coach |
Personal information | |
Born: |
(
1976-06-24
)
June 24, 1976
(age
47)
San Francisco, California , U.S. |
Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
Weight: | 180 lb (82 kg) |
Career information | |
High school: | Robinson (TX) |
College: | Texas Christian |
NFL Draft: | 1998 / Round: 6 / Pick: 167 |
Career history | |
As a player: | |
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* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
As a coach: | |
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Career highlights and awards | |
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Career NFL statistics | |
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Player stats at NFL.com · CFL.ca | |
Jason Tucker (born June 24, 1976) is the wide receivers coach for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He is formerly a gridiron football wide receiver where he played for the Edmonton Eskimos of the CFL and the Dallas Cowboys in the National Football League . He played college football at Texas Christian University .
High school career
Tucker attended Robinson High School , where he practiced football , basketball and track . He played on the freshman football team but made the varsity basketball and track team as a freshman.
In football, he was a two-way player as a wide receiver and defensive back . As a senior in 1993, he scored 2 touchdowns in the span of 30 seconds against the Troy Trojans. He was a two-time All-state selection, finishing with 81 receptions for 1,771 yards and 25 touchdowns .
In track, his best event was the long jump , in which he was a state finalist his junior and senior years. He competed in the 4 × 400 metres relay at the state finals in his senior year.
College career
Tucker accepted a football scholarship from Texas Christian University . As a freshman, he was a backup wide receiver , tallying 8 receptions for 72 yards. As a sophomore, he was named a starter and played in 9 games, ranking second on the team with 31 receptions for 433 yards and one touchdown .
As a junior, he registered 39 receptions (tied for second on the team), 692 yards (led the team), a 17.7-yard average and 4 receiving touchdowns (led the team).
Better stats were expected for his senior year; however, he did not play after being suspended for unspecified off-field violations. [1] He finished his college career with 78 receptions for 1,197 yards, a 15.3-yard average, and 5 touchdowns .
Professional career
Cincinnati Bengals
Tucker was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the sixth round (167th overall) of the 1998 NFL Draft . [2] Despite missing the entire 1997 college season, Tucker continued to train on his own, as evidenced by his clocking a 4.48 second, 40 yard dash, and finishing in the top five in agility drills at the NFL Combine .
He played in the preseason opener against the New York Giants , catching one pass for six yards. After pulling his left hamstring in training camp, and reaching an injury settlement, he was placed on waivers on August 19. [3]
Green Bay Packers
On October 28, 1998 , he was signed to the Green Bay Packers ' practice squad . [4] He was released on December 16.
Dallas Cowboys
On January 7, 1999 , he was signed as a free agent by the Dallas Cowboys . He was allocated to the Rhein Fire of NFL Europe , where he ranked second on the team behind Dialleo Burks , with 26 receptions for 454 yards and 3 touchdowns . He returned to the Cowboys and made the roster as the team's sixth wide receiver , one more than the usual number.
His first catch was a six-yarder, in week five against the Philadelphia Eagles , after Michael Irvin suffered his career-ending injury. By November he had moved up to third-string, after Wane McGarity suffered a dislocated shoulder. On December 5 against the New England Patriots , he was named a starter to replace Ernie Mills who had pulled a muscle while warming up.
Mills was supposed to return for the December 21st game against New Orleans Saints , but instead, Tucker got his fourth straight start and had his best game, becoming part of Cowboys lore. Playing at both wide receiver and kickoff returner , he produced one of the standout performances in team history, with a franchise record 331 combined net yards. His 203 kickoff return yards (six kicks for 22, 32, 34, 50, 35 and 30 yards) also set a franchise record, even though he had an apparent 97-yard return for a touchdown called back for a holding penalty. He also added 128 receiving yards and a touchdown on 7 catches.
The next week against the New York Giants , the Cowboys clinched a playoff spot behind 122 receiving yards from Tucker, including a 90-yard touchdown , a 79-yard opening kickoff return (plus a facemask penalty) and his 205 kickoff return yards (which broke his franchise record). [5] His production earned him the NFC special teams player of the month for December.
He finished the season with 23 receptions for 439 yards, 2 touchdowns , 10 special teams tackles (tied for sixth on the team) and a 27.9-yard kickoff average, which ranked second in the NFL and fifth in team history.
In 2000 , he underwent off-season surgery on both of his big toes, with the rehabilitation process extending into training camp . He also was limited with a groin injury. He set the team record with 51 kickoff returns in a single-season and his 1,099 kickoff return yards ranked second All-time. As a wide receiver he took a step back, posting 13 receptions for 126 yards and no touchdowns . On August 28, 2001 , he was released to make room for wide receiver Darrin Chiaverini . [6]
Edmonton Eskimos
In 2002 , he was signed by the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League 's. In his first year as a Canadian Football League player, Tucker was the team's second-leading receiver behind Terry Vaughn , with 51 catches for 911 yards and 8 touchdowns .
In 2003 , Tucker tallied 41 receptions (fourth on the team) for 744 yards (third on the team) and 9 touchdowns .. He was named the most valuable player of the 91st Grey Cup , with a 132-yard performance in the championship game.
In 2004 , he broke the 1,000 yards receiving mark for the first time in his career, racking up 1,632 yards for the fourth-highest total in franchise history, while also making 67 receptions (second on the team) and 11 touchdowns .
In 2005 , he was second on the team behind Derrell Mitchell with 89 receptions for 1,411 yards and 11 touchdowns , contributing to the team winning the 93rd Grey Cup . In 2006 , he recorded 75 receptions (second on the team), 1,321 yards (led the team) and 12 touchdowns .
On July 25, 2008 , Tucker was involved in a helmet-to-helmet hit with Hamilton Tiger-Cats defender Jykine Bradley that fractured his C6-C7 vertebrae. [7] Although his spinal cord was not damaged, the injury would end his career. [8]
Coaching career
On January 28, 2009 , Tucker announced his retirement as a football player and that he would join the Edmonton Eskimos coaching staff as their wide receivers coach. [9]
On January 3, 2012 , he joined the Saskatchewan Roughriders ' coaching staff as their receivers coach. [10] [11] In 2015 , he was named the Tennessee Titans ' wide receiver assistant coach. In December 2017 , Tucker was hired to the Montreal Alouettes coaching staff as the receivers coach. [12] After two years with the Alouettes, Tucker was announced as the receivers coach for the BC Lions on January 6, 2020. [13]
Personal life
Tucker is married, and has four daughters.
References
- ↑ "SMU Awaits Flanigan's CFL Decision" . Retrieved February 19, 2018 .
- ↑ "1998 NFL Draft Listing" . Pro-Football-Reference.com . Retrieved 2023-03-29 .
- ↑ "Transactions" . Retrieved February 19, 2018 .
- ↑ "Transactions" . Retrieved February 19, 2018 .
- ↑ "It's Not Over Yet, Jones Tells Cowboys" . Retrieved February 19, 2018 .
- ↑ "Transactions" . Retrieved February 19, 2018 .
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↑
"TUCKER: SERENITY IN THE FACE OF NEAR DISASTER"
. cfl.ca/. October 6, 2008. Archived from the original on October 26, 2017
. Retrieved
February 19,
2018
.
{{ cite web }}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown ( link ) - ↑ Stock, Curtis (October 6, 2008). "Tucker looks at positive side after neck-breaking hit" . The Edmonton Journal. Archived from the original on 2012-11-05 . Retrieved February 19, 2018 .
- ↑ "Tucker retires to join Eskimos coaching staff" . CBC News . January 29, 2009 . Retrieved February 19, 2018 .
- ↑ "Tucker retires to join Eskimos coaching staff" . CBC News . January 29, 2009 . Retrieved February 19, 2018 .
- ↑ Riders Name Offensive Coaching Staff
- ↑ "Tucker retires to join Eskimos coaching staff" . CBC News . January 29, 2009 . Retrieved February 19, 2018 .
- ↑ "BC Lions announce 2020 coaching staff" . Canadian Football League . Retrieved January 6, 2020 .
Cincinnati Bengals
1998 NFL draft
selections
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