The Jacksonville Sports Hall of Fame is a newly created gallery at the Community First Igloo that will recognize the achievements of athletes who are from or have competed in sports at any level in the region. Inductees will have displayed excellence in athletics throughout their career and have also made significant impacts to the communities of Northeast Florida.
Hayward became the third inductee into the Jacksonville Sports Hall of Fam. A life-sized bobblehead figure of Hayward was unveiled and will remain on display at the Community First Igloo for all to see. All future inductees will be honored with their own life-sized bobblehead. Hayward joins previous members Tim Tebow and Myles Jack who were also recent inductees into the Jacksonville Hall of Fame.
During his career, Reggie Hayward became a feared pass rusher on the gridiron. He grew up in Dolton, Illinois, just South of Chicago and became a standout star in high school in football, basketball and track. He took his talents to Iowa State University where he was a three-year starter. He emerged as a dangerous threat to opposing offenses and was a three-time All-Big 12 Conference selection and was named the defensive MVP of two bowl games. In addition, he was the recipient of Iowa State’s Arthur Floyd Scott Award, which is given to outstanding performances by a defensive lineman. He graduated as Iowa State’s All-Time sack leader with 16.5.
After college, Reggie was drafted by the Denver Broncos in 2001 and went on to lead the Broncos with 10.5 sacks in 2004. After playing four seasons with the Broncos, he signed with the Jaguars and came to Jacksonville which he now calls home. During his first season with the Jaguars, he totaled 33 tackles (27 sold), 8.5 sacks along with six pass deflections. During his nine-year NFL career, he amassed 174 tackles, with 39.5 sacks and eight forced fumbles.
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