Early years
Jarrett attended New Brunswick High School in New Brunswick, New Jersey. He was a 2003 Parade (magazine) All-American, Super Prep All-American, Prep Star All-American, Super Prep Elite 50, Prep Star Top 100 Dream Team, Super Prep All-Northeast Offensive MVP, and Prep Star All-East. Jarrett also played in the 2004 U.S. Army All-American Bowl. He was also New Jersey's Offensive Pick of the Year as a senior wideout and defensive back. He scored 26 touchdowns as a senior (with three of those touchdowns coming in New Brunswick's 21-14 state title victory), including 5 on 15 punt returns (for a 48 yard return average). He also played basketball in high school.College career
A two-time All-American, Jarrett was USC's all-time receptions leader with 216 and the Pacific 10 Conference's all-time leader in touchdown receptions with 41.As a freshman, he helped Trojan fans get over the loss of former USC standout wide receiver, Mike Williams. He played in all 13 games and started 8 of them. He caught 55 passes for 849 yards and 13 touchdowns. He also made 5 catches for 115 yards in USC's FedEx Orange Bowl victory over Oklahoma in 2004.
As a sophomore, he made a big leap, becoming Matt Leinart's favorite target. He recorded 91 receptions for 1,274 yards including 16 touchdowns while starting all 13 games in 2005. He will be remembered by many fans for his clutch grab against Notre Dame. On fourth-and-nine with less than a minute left, Matt Leinart threw a pass down the sideline to him and Jarrett caught it, running for 61 yards to set up the winning touchdown, the famed and controversial "Bush Push" QB sneak. He also came up big in USC's Rose Bowl loss to the Texas Longhorns with 10 catches for 121 yards and a touchdown.
He was a 2005 First-team All-American as a sophomore and one of three finalists for the Biletnikoff Award. He was on the 2006 Maxwell Award watch list as the best player in college football.
His height, hands, and surprising quickness made him one of the premier receivers going into the 2006 college football season. He was expected to be, and was, a big part of the Trojan's offense, considering the departure of former Trojan running backs Reggie Bush and LenDale White. He was selected to the 2006 Playboy All-American team.
After a brief period of ineligibility due to his apparently inappropriate living situation with Matt Leinart, the NCAA reinstated him on August 9, 2006, making him eligible to play for the 2006 football season. Despite being hampered by injuries, including missing games, Jarrett was named to the rivals.com and Pac-10 Coaches 2006 All Pac-10 team First Team. He was also second team All-America at rivals.com and SI and Walter Camp foundation first team All-America. However, because of his lack of playing time, Jarrett was left off the 2006 list of Biletnikoff Award finalists, an omission noted by some sports writers.
On January 1, 2007, he was named offensive MVP of the Rose Bowl Game with a career high 203 receiving yards and two touchdowns in the 32-18 win over Michigan. Jarrett finished the 2006 season as USC's all time leading receiver with 216 catches The junior, a two-time All-American, had 70 catches for 1,015 yards and led the Trojans with 12 touchdowns in his final college season.
Projected as a 1st round pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, on January 10, 2007 Jarrett declared his intent to leave USC early to enter the NFL. At a press conference, the tearful Jarrett noted the best part of his USC career was being with his "teammates" but that he was "definitely doing it for my family, because I wasn't the most fortunate kid growing up."
Professional career
2007 NFL Draft
Dwayne was drafted in the 2nd round (45th overall) of the 2007 NFL Draft by the Carolina Panthers, he was the eighth receiver selected. Originally projected as a first-round pick, Jarrett's stock fell due to his unremarkable time in the 40-yard dash and stigma from comparisons to fellow former-Trojan receiver Mike Williams.Carolina Panthers
Jarrett often draws similarities to former Pro Bowl WR Keyshawn Johnson. Both are considered "possession" receivers and both played at USC. Although Johnson had publicly stated that he looked forward to mentoring Jarrett, it was not to be as Johnson was released three days after Jarrett was drafted, preventing the two from playing together. Coincidentally, Johnson had initially stated that Jarrett would be best served by staying at USC an extra year and entering the draft as a senior.After being inactive for 7 of the first 8 games, Jarrett was activated for week 9 against Atlanta due to the injury of 2nd string receiver Keary Colbert. He had his somewhat breakout game doubling his reception total for the year getting two catches for 28 yards and he also recorded a special-teams tackle. On the year he has 3 catches for 34 yards and one tackle
Personal
Jarrett credits his ability to growing up and playing catch with his uncle who "forced me to make one-handed catches.During his sophomore year, Jarrett shared a Los Angeles apartment with quarterback Matt Leinart.
Jarrett's cousin, Desmond Belton, currently is a wide receiver at the University of Idaho. Like Jarrett, he was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Jarrett has had some of his best college games against USC's rival, the University of Notre Dame, he credits this to how he was treated during the high school recruiting process: "They came down to recruit me, they talked to my coaches and everything. They didn't think I was intelligent enough to go to their school. That was kind of an insult to me. I've always had a little grudge against them.
DWI
Dwayne Jarrett was arrested and charged for DWI on the morning of March 11, 2008 in a Charlotte suburb of Mint Hill. A police officer witnessed Jarrett run a red light and performed a sobriety test, which Jarrett failed. He was released on $1,000 bond. Jarrett later pleaded guilty to his DWI charge. Jarrett got a 30-day suspended sentence, must pay $420 in fines, and perform 24 hours of community service and could be suspended by the league.References
External links
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Last updated on Monday June 23, 2008 at 12:34:57 PDT (GMT -0700)
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