Jay Ajayi
| No. 23 Miami Dolphins | |||||||||||||||
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| Position: | Running back | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Date of birth: | June 15, 1993 | ||||||||||||||
| Place of birth: | London, England | ||||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight: | 229 lb (104 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school: | Frisco (TX) Liberty | ||||||||||||||
| College: | Boise State | ||||||||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 2015 / Round: 5 / Pick: 149 | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
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| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of Week 11, 2016 | |||||||||||||||
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Jay Ajayi (born June 15, 1993) is an American football running back for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Boise State, and was drafted by the Dolphins in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL Draft.
Early years
Ajayi was born in London to Nigerian parents, and moved to Maryland in the United States when he was seven years old in 2000.[1][2] He eventually moved to Texas, where he attended Frisco Liberty High School. As a senior, he rushed for 2,240 yards and had 35 touchdowns.[3] He also earned one varsity letter in track & field as a member of the 4x400-meter (3:21.75), 4 × 200 m (1:29.44) and 4 × 100 m (42.86) district championship teams.[4]
Considered a three-star recruit by Rivals.com, he was ranked as the 41st best running back prospect of his class.[5]
College career
Ajayi was redshirted as a true freshman at Boise State University in 2011. In October 2011, he was arrested for stealing sweatpants from Walmart and was later sentenced to five days in jail.[6] As a redshirt freshman in 2012, he played in 11 games. He carried the ball 82 times for 548 yards and four touchdowns. As a sophomore in 2013, Ajayi started 12-of-13 games. He carried the ball 249 times for 1,425 yards and 18 touchdowns.[7] As a junior in 2014, he finished ranked fourth in the nation with 1,823 rushing yards and second nationally only to Wisconsin's Melvin Gordon with 28 rushing touchdowns. He was named a first-team All-Mountain West Conference selection for the second consecutive season and earned third-team All-American honours by the Associated Press.[8] He ended his season with a 134-yard, three touchdown performance in the Broncos' 38-30 defeat of the Arizona Wildcats in the 2014 Fiesta Bowl.[9]
On December 21, 2014, Ajayi announced that he would forgo his senior season and enter the 2015 NFL Draft.[10] He finished his college career with 3,796 rushing yards and 50 rushing touchdowns.
- Career statistics
| Rushing | Receiving | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | 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 career
| Ht | Wt | 40-yd dash | 10-yd split | 20-yd split | 20-ss | 3-cone | Vert | Broad | BP | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 0 in | 0 lb | 4.57 s | 1.59 s | 2.66 s | 4.10 s | 7.10 s | 39 in | 10 ft 1 in | 19 reps | ||||||||||
| All values from NFL Combine and Boise State Pro Day[11] | |||||||||||||||||||
Ajayi was drafted in the fifth round (149th overall) by the Miami Dolphins.[12] On May 7, 2015, the Dolphins signed Ajayi to a four-year, $2.50 million rookie contract. It also includes a signing bonus of $220,813.[13]
On September 6, 2015, Ajayi was placed on injured reserve/designated to return due to broken ribs he suffered in the Dolphin's last exhibition game.[14] On November 8, 2015, he made his NFL debut against the Buffalo Bills and rushed five times for 41 yards (8.2 avg.). He scored his first professional touchdown against the San Diego Chargers in a Week 15 game. He finished his rookie season with 49 carries for 187 yards (3.8 average) and one touchdown. He also recorded seven receptions for 90 yards.[15]
After the Dolphins lost starting running back Lamar Miller via free agency, Ajayi was appointed the de facto starter going into the season.[16] However, Ajayi was declared the backup after free agent running back Arian Foster supplanted him as the starter during training camp. After growing disgruntled, Head coach Adam Gase deactivated him for the season opener and Ajayi was left in Miami as the team traveled to Seattle. He was activated the following week and had 5 carries for 14-yards against the Patriots after Foster was sidelined in the second half due to a groin injury.[17]
On October 23, 2016, Ajayi became only the fourth player in NFL history along with OJ Simpson (twice), Earl Campbell and former Miami Dolphin Ricky Williams to rush for over two hundred yards in two consecutive games. Ajayi followed up a Week 6 204-yard and two touchdown performance against the Pittsburgh Steelers with a 214-yard and one touchdown effort against the Buffalo Bills in Week 7.[18][19] Ajayi was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week two weeks in a row for his 200+ rushing yards in back to back games in Weeks 6 and 7.
- Career statistics
| General | Rushing | Receiving | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | G | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Fum | Lost | Rec | Yds | TD |
| 2015 | Miami Dolphins | 9 | 0 | 49 | 187 | 3.8 | 24 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 90 | 0 |
| 2016 | Miami Dolphins | 9 | 6 | 143 | 802 | 5.6 | 62T | 6 | 2 | 1 | 15 | 76 | 0 |
| Career | 18 | 6 | 192 | 989 | 5.2 | 62 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 22 | 166 | 0 | |
References
- ↑ "Boise State commit, Frisco Liberty's Jay Ajayi is 'the real deal'". dallasnews.com.
- ↑ "Boise, Meridian, Nampa, Caldwell news by Idaho Statesman". idahostatesman.com.
- ↑ "broncosports.com Jay Ajayi Bio - Boise State Official Athletic Site Boise State Official Athletic Site - Football". broncosports.com.
- ↑ "Jay Ajayi". trackingfootball.com.
- ↑ "Jay Ajayi". yahoo.com.
- ↑ "TURNING POINT: Ajayi overcomes obstacles to find success at BSU". Idaho Press-Tribune. August 17, 2014.
- ↑ "Boise, Meridian, Nampa, Caldwell news by Idaho Statesman". idahostatesman.com.
- ↑ BOISE STATE ATHLETICS (December 16, 2014). "Ajayi named Associated Press third-team All-American". Idaho Press-Tribune.
- ↑ "Jay Ajayi, trick plays help Boise State win thrilling Fiesta Bowl". NFL.com.
- ↑ "Boise State Broncos RB Jay Ajayi to enter draft". ESPN.com.
- ↑ "*Jay Ajayi - Boise State, RB : 2015 NFL Draft Scout Player Profile". nfldraftscout.com.
- ↑ "2015 NFL Draft Tracker – NFL.com". NFL.com.
- ↑ "Jay Ajayi". Spotrac.com. Retrieved 2015-11-18.
- ↑ Kelly, Omar. "Dolphins must take Ajayi off IR this week". Retrieved October 28, 2016.
- ↑ "Jay Ajayi". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
- ↑ Marc Sessler. "Dolphins list Jay Ajayi starter over Arian Foster". Retrieved October 28, 2016.
- ↑ Adam Beasley. "Jay Ajayi left in Miami for opener against Seahawks". Retrieved October 28, 2016.
- ↑ Walker, James (October 20, 2016). "Dolphins RB Jay Ajayi wants to avoid becoming a 'one-hit wonder'". ESPN. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
- ↑ Walker, James (October 23, 2016). "Dolphins have an unexpected star emerging in Jay Ajayi". ESPN. Retrieved October 24, 2016.