Jay Riemersma

Allen Jay Riemersma (born May 17, 1973) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end in the National Football League (NFL). He played college basketball for the Michigan Wolverines from 1994 to 1995. He played nine seasons in the NFL for the Buffalo Bills from 1996 to 2002 and Pittsburgh Steelers from 2003 to 2004. In 2007, he accepted a position as the regional director of the Family Research Council. He announced his candidacy for the U.S. House of Representatives in September 2009.

Playing career

Zeeland Riemersma was born in Evansville, Indiana and grew up in Zeeland, Michigan. In 1991, he graduated from Zeeland High School, where he was a star athlete in three sports. He became Zeeland's all-time leading scorer in basketball, played baseball for two seasons, and was the quarterback for the football team. He completed a total of six of eleven passes for 79 yards the 1992 and 1993 seasons.

In 1994, Riemersma suffered a rotator cuff injury, which ended his career as a quarterback. Michigan head coach Gary Moeller switched Riemersma to the tight end position, where he played in the 1994 and 1995 seasons. Interviewed in 2009, Riemersma pointed to the rotator cuff injury as "divine intervention," saying, "Some called the injury luck. I called it divine intervention. I never would have played in the NFL as a quarterback. It was an injury that parlayed into an NFL career."

During the 1994 season, Riemersma became one of quarterback Todd Collins' favorite targets, finishing as the team's third leading receiver behind Amani Toomer and Mercury Hayes. He caught 33 passes for 336 yards and two touchdowns in 1994.

NFL

Buffalo Bills Riemersma was selected by the Buffalo Bills as the 35th pick of the seventh round (244th pick overall) of the 1996 NFL draft. He spent seven seasons in Buffalo from 1996 to 2002, appearing in 90 games, 65 as a starter.

From 1999 to 2001, he missed only six games in four years, and accumulated 1,808 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns.

He had his best season in 2001. He started 15 games for the 2001 Bills and caught 53 passes for 590 yards. He underwent eight surgeries during his NFL career. The Bills officially released Riemersma in late February 2003.

Pittsburgh Steelers In March 2003, Riemersma signed a three-year contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers worth almost $4 million. In his first game for the Steelers, a 34–15 win over the Baltimore Ravens on September 7, 2003, Riemersma "beat Baltimore safety Ed Reed badly" for a 20-yard touchdown pass from Tommy Maddox. He played for Pittsburgh in 2003 and 2004 before rupturing his right Achilles tendon on a 26-yard touchdown reception against the Jacksonville Jaguars in December 2004. At the time of the injury, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported, "Jay Riemersma caught a touchdown pass in his first game with the Steelers and his last, but that's about the extent of any good fortune the tight end has had in his two seasons here."

Riemersma did not play another game in the NFL after suffering the Achilles tendon injury. In February 2005, the Steelers released Riemersma in a salary cap move required after the Steelers' 15-1 performance in 2004 triggered performance bonuses, including a $2 million bonus to Ben Roethlisberger. Riemersma spent the 2005 season coaching high school football and recovering from his injury. In January 2006, Riemersma announced that he would not attempt a comeback and that he was retiring from the NFL. His agent, said at the time that the nature and severity of the injury would make it too difficult for Riemersma to play again.

In nine NFL seasons, Riemersma played in 112 games (85 as a starter) and caught 221 passes for 2,524 yards and 23 touchdowns. After announcing his retirement from the NFL in January 2006, Riemersma returned for two more seasons as the football coach at Zeeland East. In three years as the football coach from 2005 to 2007, Riemersma compiled a record of 1-26.

Politics In November 2007, Riemersma joined Family Research Council, a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., as the director of a six-state region that includes Michigan. In September 2009, Riemersma announced that he would run for the U.S. House of Representatives as a Republican in Michigan's 2nd congressional district. The seat was held by Rep. Peter Hoekstra who was vacating it to run for Governor of Michigan. Riemersma said he would fight against abortion, taxes and big government. In February 2010, Riemersma drew attention when he announced his support for Tim Tebow's Focus on the Family Super Bowl advertisement.

Personal Jay, his wife Cara, their three children, Sophie, Trip, and Nick, and their dog Penny reside in Holland, Michigan.