Jeff Janis

Jeffrey Ronald Janis (born June 24, 1991) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Saginaw Valley State Cardinals and was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the seventh round of the 2014 NFL draft. Janis was also a member of the Cleveland Browns.

Early life A native of Tawas City, Michigan, Janis attended Tawas Area High School. He was a member of both the football and basketball teams, and was an all-conference wide receiver who also played as a running back following an injury, and ended up leading his team in rushing.

While most NFL fans in Tawas were Detroit Lions fans, Janis' own father, Christopher, had been a passionate fan of the Green Bay Packers. His father, however, never got to see his son drafted by the team, as he died of liver cancer in August 2010 at the age of 52. Janis' loss of his father came during his sophomore year of college.

College career Janis attended Saginaw Valley State University from 2009 to 2013, where he played for the Cardinals, an NCAA Division II program. Despite having performed well in a regional high school combine, Janis had received no interest from DI programs and almost no interest from DII programs. A large part of the reason he was overlooked was his lack of size. Graduating high school at seventeen years of age, Janis was among the younger players of his incoming class, and was relatively physically underdeveloped, weighing at . A training regiment during his college career ultimately allowed him to greatly grow his physique by his senior season. By the time he entered the NFL, Janis weighed at .

For his collegiate career, Janis finished second in the history of the GLIAC with 4,305 receiving yards.

Janis was invited to play in the 2014 Senior Bowl.

Despite having strong junior and senior seasons, NFL scouts largely overlooked Janis.

Professional career

Green Bay Packers

Janis went relatively overlooked in the 2014 NFL draft, ultimately being selected in the seventh round (236th overall) by the Green Bay Packers. He was the first Saginaw Valley State Cardinal drafted since offensive guard Todd Herremans in 2005, and the first wide receiver in school history to be drafted, though his early role on the team was more on the special teams rather than taking snaps at wide receiver.

During the Packers 2014 training camp, Janis suffered a case of shingles. Nevertheless, he was able to participate in much of the camp, and made a number of impressive plays during scrimmages. He played in a pre-season exhibition game for the Packers against the St. Louis Rams in which he made a 34-yard catch and run to score a touchdown.

Janis made his NFL debut on September 28, 2014, against the Chicago Bears, but he recorded no statistics. He appeared in one more game as a rookie, which was against the Miami Dolphins.

In 2015, Janis appeared in all 16 games in the regular season as a kick returner and backup receiver. His two receptions for 79 yards against the San Diego Chargers were his only receiving statistics for the regular season. Janis had a breakout game in the NFC Divisional Round game on January 16, 2016, against the Arizona Cardinals. He caught seven passes for 145 yards and two touchdowns, including a 41-yard Hail Mary pass from Aaron Rodgers on the final play of regulation to bring the game into overtime, but the Packers lost 26–20.

On August 10, 2016, Janis fractured at least one of the bones in his right hand during a ball-security drill at Packers training camp. He remained in a backup role during the season. Janis had a receiving touchdown against the Atlanta Falcons in the narrow 33–32 loss. Overall, in the 2016 season, he recorded 11 receptions for 93 yards and a touchdown to go along with a 19-yard rushing touchdown, which occurred against the Seattle Seahawks.

In the 2017 season, Janis mainly had a special teams role. He recorded two receptions for 12 yards and three kick returns for 43 net yards.

Cleveland Browns

On March 30, 2018, Janis signed with the Cleveland Browns. He was released on August 31.

NFL career statistics Regular season Year Team GP GS Receiving Kick returns Fumbles Rec Yds Avg Lng TD Ret Yds Avg Lng TD FUM Lost 2014 GB 3 0 2 16 8.0 9 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 2015 GB 16 0 2 79 39.5 46 0 14 406 29.0 70 0 0 0 2016 GB 16 11 11 93 8.5 25 1 6 119 19.8 28 0 0 0 2017 GB 16 0 2 12 6.0 12 0 3 43 14.3 17 0 0 0Total 51 11 17 200 11.8 46 1 23 568 24.7 70 0 0 0

Postseason Year Team GP GS Receiving Kick returns Fumbles Rec Yds Avg Lng TD Ret Yds Avg Lng TD FUM Lost 2015 GB 2 0 7 145 20.7 60 2 4 99 24.8 35 0 0 0 2016 GB 3 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 3 77 25.7 33 0 0 0Total 5 0 7 145 20.7 60 2 7 176 25.1 35 0 0 0

Post-football career In April 2019, Janis bought Timmy Tire Center in East Tawas, Michigan, where he had been employed in high school and college, and renamed it Janis Tire and Auto.

Personal life Janis and his wife, Alyssa, have four children.

Janis is an avid hunter, having grown fond of both hunting and fishing during his upbringing in Michigan. Janis has partaken in both gun hunting and bowhunting as hobbies, and has expressed being more partial towards bowhunting in his adulthood, describing it as "more challenging". Among the game he is noted to hunt are deer, including taking Hundley out for his first deer hunt on Janis' own Wisconsin property. During his playing career with the Packers, Janis filmed an episode of the Outdoor Channel series Driven with Pat & Nicole that first aired in January 2016. Since retiring from football, Janis has appeared on several hunting-related podcasts.