Ja'Len Embry
No. 12 – Madrid Bravos (ELF) | |
---|---|
Position: | Defensive back |
Personal information | |
Born: | Detroit, Michigan | March 14, 1994
Height: | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
Weight: | 195 lb (88 kg) |
Career information | |
High school: | Martin Luther King (Detroit, Michigan) |
College: | Iowa Iowa Central CC Northern Illinois |
Undrafted: | 2020 |
Career history | |
| |
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
Roster status: | Active |
Ja'Len Embry (born March 14, 1996) is an American football defensive back for the Madrid Bravos of the European League of Football (ELF). He played college football at Iowa, Iowa Central CC and Northern Illinois.
Early life and high school career
[edit]Embry began his football career at the age of ten with the Detroit Northwest Lions, and went on to play for the Oak Park Trojans and the Detroit Dolphins.[1] He attended Martin Luther King Jr. Senior High School in Detroit, where he initially played baseball and track. He did not think he could compete in football at the high school level. It was not until his junior year that he joined the Crusaders football team, along with future NFL athlete Avonte Maddox, at defensive back and wide receiver.[1] Embry was an immediate contributor on both sides of the ball for his team, which won the city championship in 2012. He was selected to the all-city team as well as the all-state second team. As a senior in 2013, he was named a first-team all-state selection as well as first-team all-metro and all-city.[2]
College career
[edit]In 2014, he committed to the University of Iowa as a three-star recruit, where he redshirted his freshman year with the Hawkeyes.[2][3] In 2015, he transferred to Iowa Central Community College.[4][5] For the Tritons, he recorded 49 tackles and one interception in ten games. For the 2016 season, Embry was recruited by Northern Illinois University.[6] After sitting out his first season with the Huskies, he appeared in every game at cornerback and on special teams in 2017. In his senior year, Embry was a regular. He recorded 60 tackles and eight pass break-ups, helping his team to the conference title.
Professional career
[edit]Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
195 lb (88 kg) |
30+7⁄8 in (0.78 m) |
9+1⁄4 in (0.23 m) |
4.68 s | 1.63 s | 2.68 s | 4.35 s | 6.97 s | 33 in (0.84 m) |
9 ft 9 in (2.97 m) |
13 reps | |
All values from Pro Day[7] |
Embry was not invited to the NFL Combine and instead participated in the Northern Illinois Pro Day.[8]
North America
[edit]In the spring of 2019, Embry received an invitation to the Houston Texans' rookie mini-camp, but was subsequently not signed to a contract.[9] In 2020, he was signed by the Aviators of The Spring League, a scouting and developmental league. He lost to the Generals in the finals with the Aviators. Embry returned to the Aviators for the 2021 season.[10]
In the 2022 USFL draft, Embry was selected as the 28th cornerback in the eleventh round by the New Orleans Breakers.[11][12] Embry struggled with injuries and was released after the first day of play on April 19.[citation needed]
Europe
[edit]In June 2022, Embry was signed by the Frankfurt Galaxy before the second week of play in the European League of Football (ELF). Embry was considered there as a slot corner. He played frequently as a safety with the Galaxy and led his team with a total of four interceptions. With a record of eight wins to four losses, Galaxy finished third in the Central Conference and missed the playoffs.
In December 2022, the Raiders Tirol announced the signing of Embry for the 2023 ELF season.[13] On April 4, 2023, the Raiders released him due to an option clause and the Montreal Alouettes announcing his signing.[14]
Canada
[edit]In early May 2023, Embry accepted an offer from the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL).[15] On June 3, he was released as part of the final roster cuts before the start of the season.[16]
Return to Europe
[edit]Almost three weeks after being released from the Alouettes, Embry was signed again by the Raiders Tirol, which meant that he was active from the fourth game week of the ELF season.[citation needed]
Professional statistics
[edit]Year | Team | GP | GS | Tackles | Interceptions | Miscellaneous | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cmb | Solo | Ast | TFL | Yds | Sck | FF | PD | Int | Yds | TDs | Blk | Saf | ||||
European League of Football ![]() | ||||||||||||||||
2022 | Frankfurt Galaxy | 11 | 11 | 44 | 34 | 10 | 2.5 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 4 | 57 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
2023 | Raiders Tirol | 9 | 8 | 31 | 22 | 9 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
ELF total | 20 | 19 | 75 | 56 | 19 | 2.5 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 5 | 57 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
Source: stats.europeanleague.football[17] |
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Michigan High School Football Coaches Hall of Fame | Jalen Embry". mhsfca.com. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
- ^ a b Marc Morehouse. "Croot Loops: CB Jalen Embry". The Gazette. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
- ^ "Caring Is Creepy 2014: New Iowa Hawkeye Defensive Back Jalen Embry". blackheartgoldpants.com. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
- ^ "Jalen Embry leaves Iowa football program". hawkcentral.com. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
- ^ "Jalen Embry leaving Iowa, will play at JUCO level". collegefootball.nbcsports.com. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
- ^ "2016 National Signing Day Recap: Northern Illinois Huskies". hustlebelt.com. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
- ^ "Jalen Embry, DS #142 CB, Northern Illinois. Pro Day Results". draftscout.com. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
- ^ Matt Verderame. "Jalen Embry is going from Detroit to the NFL's doorstep". fansided.com. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
- ^ "Texans 2019 undrafted free agent tracker". texanswire.usatoday.com. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
- ^ Anthony Miller. "The Spring League: Aviators 2021 Spring Roster Breakdown". xflnewshub.com. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
- ^ "USFL Draft 2022 Results". usflnewsroom.com. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
- ^ Bob Rose. "The New Orleans Breakers Complete the First Wave of the 2022 USFL Draft". SI.com. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
- ^ "Erfahrung für die Secondary". raiders.at (in German). Retrieved March 14, 2023.
- ^ "Ja'Len Embry – Player profile". Montrealalouettes.com. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
- ^ "Als bring back National WR Hergy Mayala". cfl.ca. May 4, 2023. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
- ^ "Cutdown Tracker: Teams make their final roster moves". cfl.ca. June 2, 2023. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
- ^ "Statistiken European League of Football". europeanleague.football. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
External links
[edit]- 1994 births
- Living people
- Players of American football from Detroit
- American football cornerbacks
- American football safeties
- Iowa Hawkeyes football players
- Houston Texans players
- Iowa Central Tritons football players
- Northern Illinois Huskies football players
- The Spring League players
- New Orleans Breakers (2022) players
- Frankfurt Galaxy (ELF) players
- Raiders Tirol players
- Montreal Alouettes players
- American expatriate players of American football
- American expatriate sportspeople in Germany
- American expatriate sportspeople in Austria
- Players of Canadian football from Michigan
- American expatriate sportspeople in Spain