File Profile: Johnny Jolly's Dream Come True Almost Thrown Away; Receives Shot At Redemption

    

                                                                                    Mike Roemer- Associated Press





Name: Johnny Jolly

Height: 6ft 3in.

Weight: 320-325lbs.

College: Texas A&M

College Career Stats- 19 Solo Tackles. 44 Assisted Tackles (63 Total) 11.5 Tackles for Loss. 5 Sacks

2006 NFL Draft- Selected Round 6 Number 183 Overall Pick by Green Bay Packers

40 Time: 5.07

Bench Press: 370lbs. (2006 Combine)

Squat: 520lbs. (2006 Combine)

Power Clean: 324lbs. (2006 Combine)

Vertical & Jumping:  34 inches


     Johnny Jolly's journey to the NFL has been a unique one to say the least. In his second year he became a starter on the Packers Defensive Line. Unfortunately Jolly's success was hampered with off the field issues and his own personal demons of drug abuse. In July of 2008, Jolly would be arrested for large amounts of Codeine (prescription based cough syrup) with the intent of selling it to buyers to make "lean" (also known as "purple drank") which is a 2nd degree felony.

     In July of 2010 the NFL suspended Jolly "indefinitely" due to his ongoing legal battles. Though he was under contract with the Green Bay Packers through 2011, Jolly would begin to re-apply for reinstatement into the NFL in Feburary 2011. However a month later (March 2011) after re-applying, Jolly was again arrested for large amounts of Codeine with an intent to sell. (He was also caught driving with a suspended license during this ordeal) Just 7 months later, Jolly was once again arrested for possession of Codeine and tampering with evidence to hide the drug. A month later (November 2011) Jolly was sentenced to 6 years in prison, and though he was granted an early release the following May, a comeback to the NFL looked to be like a complete after thought due to his legal battles and time away from the game.

     In Feburary 2013 Jolly was officially reinstated into the NFL. It seemingly looked to be a long shot, but a strong showing in training camp and preseason, Jolly was able to overcome all the odds and cracked the Packers 53 man roster!  Many will argue (and understandably so) that Jolly should not be even given anymore opportunities as he continued to make bad decisions and more or less received a slap on the wrist for his actions by both the Judicial System and NFL. Jolly knows he is lucky to be given another chance after multiple incident's and legal troubles, and if he goes back to his bad habits, the Green Bay Packers and NFL will completely cut all ties with him. But hey, if Michael Vick was allowed to be re-instated even after being convicted of animal abuse for organized dog-fighting, then Jolly certainly deserves his shot at redemption as well.

                                                               Here is a preview of Jolly's "Outside The Lines" interview

      Jolly has gotten off to a solid start to the 2013 season. Through seven games he has registered 14 tackles and 1 sack.

     Jolly has a good vertical jump (34.0 inches) for a man his size! This will allow him to obstruct opposing Quarterbacks (QB) vision down field. If Jolly can force the QB long enough to hold onto the ball, the pocket will collapse resulting in a sack or forcing the QB to run outside the hash marks. Jolly's leaping abilities also allows him to create pass deflections. Using his sheer raw power, Jolly can create plugs up the middle that eliminate hole for the opposing offensive's rushing attack.