Jimmie Ward

James Ward (born July 18, 1991) is an American football safety for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL).

Ward attended Northern Illinois University from 2010 to 2013.

In 2010, Ward played in all 14 games as a true freshman and blocked a school-record three punts on the year.

He also recorded 21 tackles, a forced fumble and a pass break up, and was named the Huskies Special Teams Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year.

In 2011, he appeared in all 14 games, and started 12.

He was named a third-team All-Mid-American Conference (MAC) selection after recording a career-high 100 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, an interception, four pass breakups, a forced fumble and a blocked kick.

In 2012, he led the Huskies with 104 tackles, including a career game high 14 against Florida State in the Orange Bowl.

He also recorded three interceptions while starting 13 games, earning himself first-team All-MAC honors.

In 2013, he led the Huskies in tackles (95), interceptions (7) and pass deflections (12), while earning national recognition as a third-team All-American by the Associated Press.

He also earned first-team All-MAC honors for the second consecutive season.

Coming out of Northern Illinois, Ward was projected to be a first or second round pick by the majority of NFL draft experts and scouts.

He received an invitation to the NFL combine as a top defensive back prospect, but was unable to participate in any physical running or jumping drills after discovering a stress fracture in his foot on the eve of the combine.

He played college football at Northern Illinois, and was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the first round of the 2014 NFL draft.

Born in Racine, Wisconsin, Ward attended Davidson High School in Mobile, Alabama.

He led the Warriors in tackles as a senior with 101 tackles, 73 solo, as Davidson went 10–3 and advanced to the state quarterfinals, while earning team Defensive MVP honors.

Ward also recorded eight pass break-ups, an interception, forced two fumbles and recovered three.

He added three blocked kicks and three quarterback sacks.

As a junior, Ward made 93 tackles, broke up seven passes and intercepted five.

He also caused a pair of fumbles and blocked two kicks.

He is the cousin of former NBA player Caron Butler.

Ward was considered a two-star recruit by Rivals.com.

On March 7, 2014, he opted to participate at Northern Illinois' pro day even though he was still injured and performed all of the combine drills except for the bench press.

Scouts and team representatives from 30 NFL teams attended Northern Illinois' pro day as Ward, Jordan Lynch, and five other teammates worked out.

Ward attended five private workouts with teams, that included the Indianapolis Colts and Minnesota Vikings.

He was ranked the top strong safety prospect in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com and was ranked the third best safety prospect by NFL analyst Mike Mayock and Sports Illustrated.

The San Francisco 49ers selected Ward in the first round (30th overall) of the 2014 NFL draft.

On May 22, 2014, the 49ers signed Ward to a four-year, $7.11 million contract with $5.30 million guarantee and a signing bonus of $3.49 million.

Ward competed with Antoine Bethea and Craig Dahl throughout training camp for the starting strong safety position.

Head coach Jim Harbaugh named Antoine Bethea the starting strong safety to begin the season and named Ward the backup free safety to Eric Reid.

He was also tasked with nickel cornerback duties.

Ward made his NFL debut in the season-opener against the Dallas Cowboys and made one tackle during their 28–17 road victory.

In the next game, he collected a season-high four solo tackles in a 28–20 loss to the Chicago Bears.

The following week against the Arizona Cardinals, Ward recorded two solo tackles and a season-high two pass deflections in a 23–14 loss.

He was unable to play during a Week 7 road loss to the Denver Broncos due to a quad injury.

On November 9, 2014, he recorded two combined tackles during a 27–24 road victory over the New Orleans Saints.

He suffered a foot injury during the game and was placed on injured reserve for the remainder of his rookie season.

Ward finished his rookie year with 20 combined tackles (19 solo) and two pass deflections in eight games.

Ward returned to the 49ers and was again named the backup free safety to Eric Reid under new head coach Jim Tomsula.

Ward made his first NFL start during the season-opener against the Vikings and recorded a tackle in a 20–3 victory.

He was the third safety selected behind Calvin Pryor (18th overall, New York Jets) and HaHa Clinton-Dix (21st overall, Green Bay Packers).