Garth Jax
| No. 53 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Houston, Texas, U.S. | ||
| Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||
| Weight: | 250 lb (113 kg) | ||
| Career information | |||
| High school: | Strake Jesuit College Preparatory (Houston, Texas) | ||
| College: | Florida State | ||
| NFL draft: | 1986 / Round: 11 / Pick: 296 | ||
| Career history | |||
| Career NFL statistics | |||
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| Player stats at NFL.com · PFR | |||
James Garth Jax (born September 16, 1963) is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League (NFL), who played for the Dallas Cowboys and Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals. He played college football at Florida State University.
Early years
Jax has two brothers and two sisters; Clayton Jax, the oldest, Brady Jax, Hilary, and Bronwyn. Jax grew up in Houston where he attended Strake Jesuit College Preparatory and helped his team win the 4-A state title in three of his four years. He received All-state honors at linebacker as a senior. He accepted a football scholarship from Florida State University.
He became a starter at
As a junior, he made 13 tackles during a 38-26 loss against the University of South Carolina, before suffering serious kidney and spleen injuries, to the extent that some doctors doubted if he could play football again.[1] He missed the last 3 games of the season.
In his final college year, he made a team-high 13 tackles in the season opener against Tulane University. Despite a broken right thumb and a bruised left shoulder, as a starter he led the team with 6 quarterback sacks and ranked fifth with 63 tackles.[2]
Professional career
Dallas Cowboys
Jax was selected in the eleventh round of the
In
Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals
After spending three seasons with the Cowboys, he signed with the
On November 22,
Jax may be best known amongst Cardinals fans for tackling a drunk fan who ran onto the field at
Personal life
After his retirement from football, he served as the
In 2000, he was named football coach at Valley Lutheran High School. He also was the vice president of public relations at Cayenne Entertainment.
His stepfather Phil Abraira, at one time had the Florida State University records for average yards per punt return in a season (20.1) and longest punt return (92 yards). His son, Griffin, was a standout pitcher at the United States Air Force Academy and was drafted in the 3rd round of the 2016 Major League Baseball draft by the Minnesota Twins.[8]
References
- ^ "Overcoming Injury Makes Jax Happy Just To Be Playing". Retrieved April 30, 2023.
- ^ "FSU's Defense Earns Respect". Retrieved April 30, 2023.
- ^ "1986 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2023-10-03.
- ^ "Monday's Moves". Retrieved April 30, 2023.
- ^ "FSU Special Teams Are The Elite". South Florida Sun Sentinel. September 1, 1988.
- ^ "Transactions". Retrieved April 30, 2023.
- ^ "Transactions". Retrieved April 30, 2023.
- ^ Dorsey, David (July 3, 2018). "Oh say can he pitch: Griffin Jax of Air Force Academy rises as Minnesota Twins prospect". The News-Press. Retrieved July 14, 2023.