Jairo Penaranda

Jairo Alonso Penaranda (born June 15, 1958) is a Colombian former professional American football player. Born in Barranquilla, his family moved to the U.S. when he was age two. He attended John Burroughs High School in California where he was a top running back, then played college football for the Los Angeles Valley Monarchs from 1976 to 1977. Afterwards, Penaranda walked-on to play for the UCLA Bruins and was used as a fullback in 1979 and 1980. He was selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the 12th round of the 1981 NFL draft and played for them that year, winning the team's special teams player of the year award. He later played for the Oakland Invaders and Memphis Showboats of the United States Football League (USFL) from 1983 to 1984 before concluding his career in the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1985. He was also a member of the Arizona Wranglers in the USFL and the San Francisco 49ers in the NFL. Following his playing career, Penaranda worked as a coach. He is distinguished as being the first Colombian to play in the NFL.

Early life Penaranda was born on June 15, 1958, in Barranquilla, Colombia. At age two, his family moved to Miami in the U.S. He explained the move was because "my father didn't want to work for my grandfather after he married my mom", though the family often returned to visit. He saw American football being played for the first time when he was age 12. His coach recalled him as: one of the best all-around backs in Burroughs history. He reminded me of Roger Craig, the way he ran. He'd get those knees pumping way up high and it was very difficult to tackle him. Very difficult. I remember Jairo dragging people down the football field a lot. And he never made an attempt to evade people on the field. He went after them. Wanting to stay on offense, he attended Los Angeles Valley College and played football there from 1976 to 1977. After the season, Penaranda had offers from several small schools to play fullback. He increased his size from as a junior to as a senior and was considered a top blocker for the Bruins in 1980.

During his college and later professional career, some believed that one of Penaranda's hobbies in Colombia was riding llamas, something that made its way into team media guides. This came about due to a picture of a 13-year-old Penaranda "fooling around" on a llama, with one of his college teammates seeing it and later stating on a radio broadcast that he enjoyed "broncing llamas". The Rams compiled a record of 6–10, and Penaranda's only statistic with them was a one-yard kickoff return. At the end of the season, he was honored as the team's special teams player of the year. He was released by the Rams on September 6, 1982, prior to the 1982 season. Appearing in all 18 games for the Invaders, he recorded 10 rushes for 28 yards, seven catches for 42 yards, and scored a safety. Penaranda was studying at UCLA when he later was asked to return to the Eagles in late November 1985. In 1991, he married Maria Vertopoulos, whom he had met on a flight while working with the Rams. After his football career, Penaranda worked as an agent for Farmers Insurance Group in Oregon.