Biography

BIOGRAPHY

Leon Jacobs was born on October 3, 1995 in Enugu, Nigeria. He is a linebacker in the NFL.

Jacobs was born in Nigeria, the oldest of four children of Theresa, a nurse, and Tony, an entrepreneur. He was given an Igbo name, Somgolie Nwude. His brother, Chibueze, played college basketball at Sacramento State. His family immigrated to California around the time that Jacobs began attending school.

Jacobs played football as a freshman at Bishop Montgomery High School before quitting to focus on basketball. He did not resume playing football until he was a senior at Golden Valley High School in Santa Clarita, California.

Jacobs attended and played college football at Wisconsin. In 2015, his season was ended by a foot injury after four games. He was granted a medical hardship waiver and extra year of eligibility. Until 2016 he had played exclusively at linebacker. He played both linebacker and fullback in 2016 and returned to just the defensive side of the ball in 2017 as the Badgers needed to replace linebackers T. J. Watt and Vince Biegel.

Jacobs was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the seventh round (230th overall) of the 2018 NFL Draft.