Jay Ajayi facts for kids
Ajayi at the Eagles Super Bowl LII Victory Parade
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| No. 23, 36, 26, 28 | |||||||||||||
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| Position: | Running back | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born: | 15 June 1993 London, England |
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| Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight: | 223 lb (101 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school: | Liberty (Frisco, Texas) | ||||||||||||
| College: | Boise State (2011–2014) | ||||||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 2015 / Round: 5 / Pick: 149 | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
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| Player stats at PFR | |||||||||||||
Jay Ajayi (born 15 June 1993) is a former professional American football running back. He was born in London, England. He played in the National Football League (NFL) for five seasons. He played for the Miami Dolphins and Philadelphia Eagles.
Ajayi played college football at Boise State University. The Dolphins chose him in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL draft. He played three seasons with the Dolphins. In 2016, he was chosen for the Pro Bowl, which is like an All-Star game for football. Later, he was traded to the Eagles in 2017. With the Eagles, Ajayi helped his team win their first ever Super Bowl title in Super Bowl LII. He stopped playing football in 2022 due to injuries.
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Early Life and High School Football
Jay Ajayi was born in London, England, on June 15, 1993. His parents are from Nigeria. When he was seven years old, in 2000, his family moved to Maryland in the United States. Later, they moved to Texas.
In Texas, Jay went to Frisco Liberty High School. He was a star player on the high school football team. In his final year, he ran for 2,240 yards and scored 35 touchdowns. He was also good at track & field. He was part of district championship teams for different relay races.
College Football Career
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Ajayi played college football for Boise State University from 2011 to 2014. In 2011, he spent his first year as a "redshirt" freshman. This means he practiced with the team but didn't play in games.
In 2012, as a redshirt freshman, he played in 11 games. He ran for 548 yards and scored four touchdowns. One game, he ran for 118 yards and a touchdown against New Mexico.
In 2013, he started 12 of 13 games. He ran for over 100 yards in six games. He had a huge game against Nevada, running for 222 yards and three touchdowns. He finished the season with 1,425 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns.
In 2014, as a junior, he became the first Boise State player to run for over 100 yards in 10 games in one season. He had two games where he ran for over 200 yards. He finished his last college game with 134 yards and three touchdowns in the 2014 Fiesta Bowl. He ended the season with a school-record 1,823 rushing yards. He also scored 28 rushing touchdowns, which was the second-highest in the nation that year.
Jay Ajayi was named a first-team All-Mountain West Conference player for two years in a row. He decided to leave college early and enter the 2015 NFL draft. He finished his college career with 3,796 rushing yards and 50 rushing touchdowns. These numbers rank very high in Boise State's history.
College Statistics
| Season | Team | Rushing | Receiving | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | TD | ||
| 2012 | Boise State | 82 | 548 | 6.7 | 71 | 4 | 1 | 14 | 0 |
| 2013 | Boise State | 249 | 1,425 | 5.7 | 71 | 18 | 22 | 222 | 1 |
| 2014 | Boise State | 347 | 1,823 | 5.3 | 74 | 28 | 50 | 535 | 4 |
| Career | 678 | 3,796 | 5.6 | 74 | 50 | 73 | 771 | 5 | |
Professional NFL Career
Miami Dolphins (2015–2017)
The Miami Dolphins chose Jay Ajayi in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL draft. He was the 149th player picked overall. On May 7, 2015, he signed a four-year contract with the Dolphins.
In 2015, his rookie season, Ajayi got hurt before the season started. He played in nine games later that year. He ran for 187 yards and scored his first professional touchdown against the San Diego Chargers.
In 2016, Ajayi became the main running back for the Dolphins. He had an amazing season! In Week 6, he ran for 204 yards and two touchdowns against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The very next week, he ran for 214 yards and one touchdown against the Buffalo Bills. This made him only the fourth player in NFL history to run for over 200 yards in two games in a row! He was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week twice for these performances.
In Week 16, he had another 200-yard game against the Buffalo Bills, running for 206 yards. This made him only the fourth player in NFL history to have three games with over 200 rushing yards in a single season. Because of his great year, he was chosen for the 2017 Pro Bowl.
Philadelphia Eagles (2017–2019)
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On October 31, 2017, Ajayi was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles. In his first game with the Eagles, he ran for 77 yards and scored a touchdown against the Denver Broncos. He had a career-high 71-yard run against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 11.
The Eagles made it to the playoffs as the top team in their conference. Ajayi played an important role in their playoff run. In the Divisional Round, he helped the team win against the Atlanta Falcons. In the NFC Championship game, he contributed to a big win over the Minnesota Vikings.
Then came Super Bowl LII against the New England Patriots. Ajayi ran for 57 yards in the game. The Eagles won 41–33, which was their first Super Bowl win ever! Jay Ajayi was a Super Bowl champion.
In 2018, Ajayi started the season strong. In the first game, he scored two touchdowns against the Falcons. However, in Week 5, he suffered a serious knee injury (a torn ACL). This injury ended his season early. He finished the year with 184 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
Ajayi rejoined the Eagles in November 2019. He played in three games, running for 30 yards. He was released by the team in December 2019.
Retirement from Football
On January 8, 2022, Jay Ajayi announced that he was retiring from the NFL. That same night, he was honored as the Eagles' captain for their final game of the season.
NFL Career Statistics
| Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 2015 | MIA | 9 | 0 | 49 | 187 | 3.8 | 24 | 1 | 7 | 90 | 12.9 | 20 | 0 |
| 2016 | MIA | 15 | 12 | 261 | 1,272 | 4.9 | 62 | 8 | 27 | 151 | 5.6 | 15 | 0 |
| 2017 | MIA | 7 | 7 | 138 | 465 | 3.4 | 27 | 0 | 14 | 67 | 4.8 | 15 | 0 |
| PHI | 7 | 1 | 70 | 408 | 5.8 | 71 | 1 | 10 | 91 | 9.1 | 32 | 1 | |
| 2018 | PHI | 4 | 3 | 45 | 184 | 4.1 | 20 | 3 | 5 | 20 | 4.0 | 12 | 0 |
| 2019 | PHI | 3 | 0 | 10 | 30 | 3.0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 45 | 23 | 572 | 2,546 | 4.5 | 71 | 13 | 63 | 419 | 6.7 | 32 | 1 | |
Esports Career
After his NFL career, Jay Ajayi started an esports career. On January 7, 2020, he was signed by Major League Soccer's Philadelphia Union. He became their esports player for the eMLS League Series One, playing the FIFA video game.
Personal Life
Jay Ajayi cares about helping others. In 2016, he took part in the NFL's "My Cause, My Cleats" campaign. This allowed players to wear special shoes to support their favorite charities. His cause was for multiple endocrine neoplasia, a medical condition. He is also a big fan of the English soccer team Arsenal F.C.
