One of Liberty’s all-time greats will receive a special honor on Saturday when the Flames welcome Middle Tennessee to Williams Stadium during Homecoming Weekend.
During the Flames’ 50th Anniversary Celebration Homecoming contest, Liberty Athletics will retire the No. 23 jersey of former All-American and NFL running back Rashad Jennings. Kickoff for the contest with the Blue Raiders is set for 3:30 p.m.
Jennings will become the fifth individual associated with the Flames’ football program to have a jersey retired, honoring his contributions and accomplishments on the gridiron.
Liberty retired a jersey in honor of Dr. Jerry Falwell in 2006, the school’s founder and former chancellor. In 2008, former head coach Sam Rutigliano and tight end Eric Green (No. 86) each had a jersey retired in their honor. During Homecoming Weekend in 2019, Liberty retired the jersey of wide receiver Kelvin Edwards (No. 83).
Although Jennings last donned a Liberty uniform in 2008, the native of Forest, Va., has continued to have an impact on his hometown school and alma mater more than a decade later, including his annual “Camp 180“, taking place every summer on Liberty University’s campus which averages an attendance rate of 500 young men and women and is sponsored through his Rashad Jennings Foundation.
During his three years with the program (2006-08), Jennings rushed for 3,633 yards and set program records for career rushing touchdowns (42), 100-yard games (22) and points scored (278).
Jennings was a consensus first-team All-American during his senior year when he rushed for 1,526 yards and 17 touchdowns in 2008. He earned his second Big South Offensive Player of the Year award during his senior year, finishing eighth in the voting for the Walter Payton Award (top FCS player in the country).
The bruising running back became the sixth player in program history to be selected in the NFL Draft when the Jacksonville Jaguars picked him in the seventh round in 2008.
He had a seven-year career in the NFL, rushing for 3,772 yards and 23 touchdowns, while playing for the Jacksonville Jaguars (2009-12), the Oakland Raiders (2013) and the New York Giants (2014-16).
Following his professional playing days, Jennings competed as a contestant on the 24th season of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars, becoming the fourth NFL player to win the Mirrorball trophy, as well as becoming a NY Times best-selling author with his autobiography “The If In Life” released in 2018 and his four-part Young Adult book series “The Coin Slot Chronicles”.
The retired jersey honor will be the second time Liberty Athletics has recognized Jennings. The standout running back was one of five inductees named to the 2018 Liberty Athletics Hall of Fame class.
For more Information: www.rashadjennings.com
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