Alshon Jeffery

Alshon Jeffery (born February 14, 1990) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the South Carolina Gamecocks, earning first-team All-American honors in 2010. Jeffery was selected by the Chicago Bears in the second round of the 2012 NFL draft. As a member of the Philadelphia Eagles, he won Super Bowl LII. South Carolina retired his number in 2023.

Jeffery attended Calhoun County High School in St. Matthews, South Carolina, where he was part of a four-time state championship winning basketball team that recorded an 84–1 record. He also played two years of football and was widely recruited, giving a verbal commitment to the University of Southern California before switching his commitment to the University of South Carolina. Jeffery's younger brother, Shamier Jeffery, committed to play football for the Gamecocks in 2011, following in the footsteps of both of Jeffery's two older brothers Charles Ben and Darren Ben; both of whom also played basketball and football for Calhoun County High School.

As a freshman, Jeffery caught five passes for 61 yards in his first five games before making seven catches for 138 yards and three touchdowns against the University of Kentucky. The performance was the second-best single-game performance in school history and Jeffery became the third Gamecock in 2009 to earn SEC Freshman of the Week, following defensive end Devin Taylor and running back Jarvis Giles. He was a consensus first-team Freshman All-SEC and first-team Freshman All-American in recognition of his successful freshman season.

In a Week 4 game against Auburn, Jeffery had a breakout performance in the 35–27 loss. He was only a few yards shy of 200 receiving yards and added two touchdowns for the Gamecocks. Another one of his best games in 2010 came against in-state rival Clemson where he had five catches for 141 yards and a touchdown. Through 14 games, Jeffery made 88 catches totaling 1,517 yards and nine touchdowns including eight games with 100 yards or more receiving, and a 108.4 yd/game average. Jeffery was named a Biletnikoff Award finalist, the award given to the season's outstanding receiver. Because of his performances, helping lead the Gamecocks to their first SEC Championship Game appearance in school history, Jeffery was selected as an All-American.

At the beginning of the 2011 season, Jeffery was named by ESPN as the best overall player in the SEC. In the season opener against ECU in which he caught five passes for 92 yards, Jeffery extended his active streak to 24 consecutive games with a reception. In the 2012 Capital One Bowl, Jeffery caught four passes for 148 yards and a touchdown but was ejected in the third quarter for fighting with Nebraska player cornerback Alfonzo Dennard. Despite this, Jeffery was named the Capital One Bowl MVP.

Jeffery was selected in second round of the 2012 NFL draft with the 45th overall pick by the Chicago Bears.

On May 2, Jeffery and the Bears agreed to a four-year contract, making him the first player in the 2012 draft class to sign, and the earliest second-rounder to sign since Dallas Cowboys receiver Kevin Williams in 1993. Jeffery made his debut against the Denver Broncos in week one of the preseason, and caught a game-high four passes for 35 yards, though the Bears lost 31–3. In the second preseason game, Jeffery was penalized for unnecessary roughness for fighting Washington Redskins cornerback DeAngelo Hall. Jeffery was later told by coaches to "play smarter".

In his regular season debut against the Indianapolis Colts, Jeffery caught a Jay Cutler pass for a 42-yard touchdown. In Chicago's Week 5 away game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Jeffery left the game after catching a touchdown thrown by Cutler. Although the injury did not appear to be significant, x-rays done on the following Monday determined Jeffery broke his right hand, which led to him missing a few games. Though the injury did not require surgery, Jeffery still had to wear a cast. Jeffery eventually practiced for the first time on November 9. Jeffery returned in Week 11 against the San Francisco 49ers, but would injure his knee, and will be sidelined for 2–4 weeks. In Week 15 against the Green Bay Packers, Jeffery was penalized three times for pass interference, nullifying a touchdown and two receptions of 36 and seven yards, as the Bears lost 21–13. Jeffery ended his rookie season catching 24 passes for 367 yards and three touchdowns.