Jihad Ward

BIOGRAPHY

Jihad Ward was born on May 11th, 1994 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania . He is a defensive end in the NFL. 

Ward attended Edward W. Bok Technical High School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He didn't play football until his sophomore year. He began as a wide receiver and safety, before being converted into a stand up defensive end as a junior. He received second-team All-City (2010) and first-team All-City (2011) honors. He also played basketball.

Ward attended Globe Institute of Technology for two years. In 2013, he played in 7 games, making 26 tackles (3 for loss) and 2 sacks. In 2014, he transferred to the University of Illinois. He was named a starter at defensive end in the fourth game of the season. He posted 51 tackles, 3 sacks, 4 fumble recoveries (led the conference), 2 forced fumbles and one pass defensed.

As a senior, he started all 12 games, playing both at defensive end and defensive tackle. He registered 53 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 2 passes defensed, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. Against the University of Iowa, he had a career-high 11 tackles, including nine solo. In his last two years, he had 104 tackles, 4.5 sacks, 5 fumble recoveries, 3 forced fumbles and 3 passes defensed.

Ward was selected by the Oakland Raiders in the second round (44th overall) of the 2016 NFL Draft. On September 3, 2018, the Indianapolis Colts signed Ward to their practice squad. The team promoted him to the active roster on September 13, 2018. He signed a 1-year deal for 2021 with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

On March 21, 2022, Ward signed with the New York Giants on a one-year contract.