Brandon Jacobs (born July 6, 1982 in Napoleonville, Louisiana) is an American football running back for the New York Giants of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Giants in the fourth round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He played college football at Southern Illinois.

Early years

Brandon Jacobs was a standout running back at Assumption High School. He led the team to the Class 4A state semi-finals as a senior, earning USA Today All-American, Orlando Sentinel All-Southern, Prep Star All-Region and Most Valuable Offensive Player of the Class 4A all-state team recognition. He was also a Louisiana High School Coaches Association Football All-Star. Brandon rushed for 233 yards on 26 carries and scored a touchdown in the Tri-Paris All-Star Game. As a senior, he gained 3,022 yards and 38 touchdowns, averaging 8.6 yards per carry. He rushed for 1,783 yards and 18 touchdowns and caught three passes for 50 yards and a score during his junior campaign. During his last two prep seasons, he also returned eight kicks for touchdowns. Jacobs also lettered in basketball while in high school.

College career

Jacobs enrolled at Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College in 2001 and rushed for 927 yards and thirteen touchdowns on 130 carries (7.1 avg) in ten regular season games, adding 422 yards and four scores in playoff action en route to being named to the All-Jayhawk Conference team. In 2002, he led the conference in rushing with 1638 yards and 17 touchdowns on 243 carries (6.7 avg), adding another 258 yards and three scores on 24 carries in the playoffs.

Jacobs enrolled at Auburn University for the 2003 season. He was part of a shuttling system at halfback, sharing time with Ronnie Brown and Carnell Williams. He finished the year ranked second on the team with 72 carries for 446 yards (6.2 avg) and three touchdowns. Facing the prospect of being moved to linebacker the following year or stuck behind Brown and Williams on the depth chart, Jacobs chose to transfer out of Auburn.

Jacobs decided to transfer to Southern Illinois University prior to the 2004 season. Even though he still had to split time with Terry Jackson and Arkee Whitlock, he totaled 992 yards with sixteen touchdowns on 150 carries (6.6 avg), adding 83 yards on eight receptions (10.4 avg) and 140 yards on six kickoff returns (23.3 avg).

In his three collegiate stops, Brandon performed in 42 games. He gained a total of 4003 yards with 52 touchdowns on 595 carries (6.7 avg), caught twelve passes for 136 yards (11.3 avg) and returned six kickoffs for 140 yards (23.3 avg).

2005 NFL draft

Though Jacobs was relatively unknown following his collegiate career, he impressed scouts at the 2005 East-West Shrine Game, running for 102 yards and 2 touchdowns on just 11 carries. Jacobs further impressed at the 2005 NFL combine when he ran a 4.51 in the 40-yard dash. While this time was slower than that put up by most top running backs, it was impressive for a player with his size (6-foot-4 and 267 pounds). Jacobs was eventually chosen in the 4th round (110th pick overall) of the draft by the Giants.

Professional career

Going into the 2006 season Jacobs stated that he studied film of famed power running back Eddie George in an effort to refine his running style. Eddie George, like Jacobs, was a large, power running back, though it should be noted that Brandon Jacobs is at least 30 pounds heavier than George at his peak^. In the 2006 season, Jacobs carried the ball 96 times for 423 yards and nine touchdowns, averaging 4.4 yards per carry. He added 11 receptions for 149 yards.

With the retirement of Tiki Barber, Jacobs took over the starting running back spot for the Giants in the 2007 season. He injured his knee in the first game of the season against the Dallas Cowboys, but returned four weeks later against the New York Jets to rush for 100 yards and a touchdown. Jacobs would miss two more games later in the season with a hamstring injury, but finish the regular season with rushing totals of 1,011 yards and four touchdowns on 201 carries. He also added 23 receptions for 174 yards and two touchdowns. In the playoffs, Jacobs started every game during the Giants’ run to Super Bowl XLII, which they would win over the previously undefeated New England Patriots. On January 13, 2008, Jacobs scored the winning touchdown against the #1 seeded Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Divisional Playoffs.

Jacobs underwent wrist surgery during the 2008 offseason. He returned to play all of the preseason, but missed two games in the regular season due to recurring difficulty with his knee. He finished the 2008 regular season with 219 carries for 1089 yards and 15 touchdowns, similar yardage to 2007, but many more touchdowns. In 2008, he and Derrick Ward became the 5th pair of teammates to rush for 1000 yards in a single season.

He is the “Earth” in the running back corps of the Giants nicknamed “Earth, Wind, & Fire” with Derrick Ward (Wind) and Ahmad Bradshaw (Fire). He also is nick-named Juggernaut because of his ability to break multiple tackles. Similarly, he has been dubbed “The Creator” by the satirical sports website Ramon Hernandez Put Down The Gun, and is considered complimentary to Justin Tuck, who is known as “The Destroyer.”

On February 13, 2009 the Giants placed the Franchise Tag on Jacobs. He signed a 4-year $25 million dollar contract with the Giants a week later.

Information from Wiki