Ernie Jennings
No. 22
Position:Wide receiver
Personal information
Born: (1949-01-30) January 30, 1949 (age 74)
Atchison, Kansas, U.S.
Career information
High school:Kansas City (MO) Central
College:Air Force
NFL Draft:1971 / Round: 10 / Pick: 257
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Player stats at NFL.com

Ernie Jennings (born January 30, 1949) is a former American football wide receiver who played college football at the United States Air Force Academy and attended Kansas City Central High School in Kansas City, Missouri. He was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the tenth round of the 1971 NFL Draft.[1] Jennings had originally joined the Air Force Falcons as a defensive back.[2] He was a consensus All-American in 1970 and finished eighth in Heisman Trophy voting after catching 74 passes for 1,289 yards.[3] He also led NCAA Division I football in receiving touchdowns in 1970 with 17.[4] He is Air Force's all-time leader in receptions with 148, 2nd in receiving yards with 2,392 and leads the team in receiving touchdowns with 28.[5] Jennings was on the 2014 ballot for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame but was not chosen.[6][7] Jennings spent time in the military after college and was released by the San Francisco 49ers in August 1975.[8] He then began a career at NASA in 1976.[9]

References

  1. ^ "1971 NFL Draft". pro-football-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
  2. ^ Moss, Irv (December 25, 2007). "Jennings caught on quickly for Falcons". denverpost.com. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
  3. ^ "2014 NCAA Football Records: Consensus All-America Selections" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2014. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 26, 2018. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
  4. ^ "Ernie Jennings". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
  5. ^ "Former Air Force wideout Ernie Jennings joins elite list of College Football Hall of Fame nominees". militarytimes.com. Archived from the original on September 3, 2014. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
  6. ^ "Ernie Jennings on College Football Hall of Fame ballot". goairforcefalcons.com. March 6, 2014. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
  7. ^ Volk, Pete (May 22, 2014). "2014 College Football Hall of Fame class includes Derrick Thomas, Sterling Sharpe". sbnation.com. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
  8. ^ "Ernie Jennings Cut". The Times from San Mateo, California. August 13, 1975. p. 19. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
  9. ^ "Jennings caught on quickly for Falcons". 24 December 2007.
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