‘Who Dat’ once played for the Green Wave | Local News | Summerville Journal Scene

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‘Who Dat’ once played for the Green Wave

Published Thursday, February 04, 2010 12:27 PM

By Roger Lee
Summerville Journal Scene ®

A Green Wave alumnus is in Miami this week preparing for the Super Bowl.

As part of the blocking unit for the NFL’s highest scoring offense, Jamar Nesbit helped the New Orleans Saints earn their first NFC Championship last month. On Sunday, the former Summerville High School and University of South Carolina standout will join the Saints as they take on the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV.

Nesbit, who wears the No. 67 jersey, is the second string left guard for the Saints’ offense. Standing 6-4 and weighting 328 pounds, he is one of the team’s most experienced linemen so pending any unforeseen problems he will likely see action in Sunday’s NFL championship.

Throughout his career, Nesbit’s versatility is one of the things that made him such a valued player.

“He was an outstanding lineman for us,” Summerville coach John McKissick said. “He played tackle for us, but once he got to USC he played center and did a good job there.”

As a pro, he has lined up at every position on the line except left tackle. For New Orleans, he started 35 consecutive games at left guard from 2006-08. Since he first joined the NFL, he has started 90 out of 153 games.

Nesbit signed with Carolina in 1999 and spent four seasons with the Panthers. He was with the Jacksonville Jaguars for the 2003-04 season before he signed with the Saints in April of 2004.

One of the more remarkable things about his career is he didn’t play any organized football until he was 15. His father, Ronald, worked for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers oversees until he moved to Summerville at the age of 14. Even then he had the frame of a lineman, but his athletic interests had been soccer and baseball.

“He came out for practice that spring and impressed us,” McKissick said. “He had really quick feet; I guess the soccer had something to do with that. He started for us that fall and now he’s a member of our hall of fame.”

After being named a high school All-American, Nesbit made an immediate impact at Carolina and was named to the 1995 SEC All-freshman Team. As a sophomore, he was one of only 11 players in the country named to CFA’s Good Works Team in recognition of their outstanding community service work. In 1998, he was named to the All-SEC second team.

Nesbit isn’t the first player out of Summerville to make noise in the NFL. Stanford Jennings returned a kickoff for a touchdown during Super Bowl XXIII and Kevin Long was the starting center for the Tennessee Titans in Super Bowl XXXIV. Stanford’s brother, Keith, was a tight end for the Chicago Bears.

Contact Roger Lee @ 873-9424 ext. 213 or rlee@journalscene.com.

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