| No. 44 | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Linebacker |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | December 2, 1977 Miami, Florida, U.S. |
| Died: | May 28, 2025 (aged 47) Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. |
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Weight: | 255 lb (116 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Carol City (Miami) |
| College: | Florida State |
| NFL draft: | 2002: undrafted |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Bradley Fanelon Jennings (December 2, 1977 – May 28, 2025) was an American college football player who was a linebacker for the Florida State Seminoles.
Biography
[edit]A native of Miami, Jennings attended Carol City High School, where he was a first-team Class 6A linebacker as a senior. Jennings led the Chiefs in tackles and had a dominating performance in the 1996 state championship win over Tampa Hillsborough.[1] He was rated as the No. 3 linebacker in Florida by the Florida Times-Union, and selected FSU over Auburn and West Virginia.
An All-Conference linebacker leading the Seminoles in tackles as a senior, Jennings was regarded as an NFL draft prospect,[2][3] until just three weeks before the 2002 NFL draft, on March 30, 2002, he was near-fatally shot twice in the right shoulder by a jittery carjacker.[4] He eventually went undrafted and never played in the NFL.[5]
Jennings settled in Jacksonville, Florida, and became an assistant football coach at Mandarin High School. In November 2009, he was charged with aggravated assault after a failed attempt to rob a Check 'n Go store in the Southside neighborhood of Jacksonville. Jennings claimed it was pre-Halloween prank.[6]
Jennings held the linebacker coaching spot at Sandalwood High School where his son Branden attends.
Jennings died on May 28, 2025, at the age of 47.[7]
References
[edit]- ^ "Carol City Captures 6A Championship". Orlando Sentinel. December 22, 1996.
- ^ "Updated Top 50 Seniors for 2002 NFL Draft - Detroit - Scout". Archived from the original on June 10, 2015. Retrieved October 10, 2013.
- ^ "CNNSI.com - Bradley Jennings - -". Archived from the original on August 8, 2007. Retrieved October 10, 2013.
- ^ "Jennings Escapes Death, Focuses On NFL". Orlando Sentinel. April 18, 2002.
- ^ "Second shot at dashed dream". St. Petersburg Times. April 22, 2004.
- ^ "Mandarin High coach, former FSU linebacker charged with aggravated assault in pre-Halloween hold-up". Florida Times-Union. November 10, 2009.
- ^ Henry, Jim (May 30, 2025). "Bradley Jennings dies: Former FSU linebacker was part of 1999 national championship team". Tallahassee Democrat. Retrieved June 4, 2025.