University of Nevada Las Vegas

UNLV: A returning All-American who is both a preseason conference and national honors candidate as a senior this fall ... Arguably college football’s most versatile player as a starting wide receiver who has also competed at running back along with his stellar kickoff return and punt return work for the Rebels ... A speedster who was named 2024 Second Team Preseason All-America by Phil Steele and Third Team All-America by Athlon at punt returner ... Led all of college football with 1,079 combined return yards as a junior, which was 217 more than the next player on the list ... A candidate to win both the Jet Award (top college returner) and Paul Hornung Award (most versatile college player) ...  Named Preseason All-Mountain West as both a PR and KOR by Phil Steele while Athlon listed him in three different spots: First Team KOR and PR and Second Team WR/All-Purpose ... An outstanding student who was Academic All-MW, a MW Scholar-Athlete and a member of the UNLV Dean’s Honor List in both fall 2023 and spring 2024.

2024:

• Named First Team All-Mountain West as a punt returner
• The first Rebel return man to earn First Team all-league more than once, taking it this time as a punt returner
• Named Second Team All-Mountain West as a kickoff returner
• Preseason Second Team All-America (kick returner) - ESPN
• Preseason Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Year (first from UNLV since 2006)
• Paul Hornung Award Watch List (second ever from UNLV)
• Jet Award Preseason Watch List
• Polynesian College Football Player of the Year Award
• Named to East West Shrine Game Preseason Watch List
• Perhaps college football’s most versatile offensive player, lining up at WR, RB, KR and PR
• Caught two touchdowns in season-opening win at Houston

2023: A highly decorated midyear transfer from JC who burst onto to scene en route to All-America status ... Named Second Team by both USA TODAY and Action Network and Third Team by Phil Steele ... The first Rebel since QB/P Randall Cunningham in 1984 to earn all-conference at two positions (PR & KOR) in the same season ... Also Honorable Mention All-MW at receiver by College Football Network ... One of three finalists for the Jet Award, which is given to the nation’s top return specialist ... The only FBS player to rank in the top 15 in both punt (3rd at 16.0) and kickoff return (13th at 25.7) average ... His 96-yard kickoff return in the season opener vs. Bryant was the fourth-longest in UNLV history while his 59-yard punt return at New Mexico was the longest by a Rebel since 2003 ... Ranked 20th in the country with 123.6 all-purpose yards per game ... Logged 208 all-purpose yards in Rebel debut vs. Bryant highlighted by 158 kickoff return yards on three attempts ... Had a season-high 263 all-purpose yards in a win over CSU ... Remarkably, his 112 yards on just two punt returns at New Mexico were the most an entire UNLV team had in one game since 2014 ...  Also finished second on the team with 606 yards on 60 receptions ... Caught at least two passes in all but one game ... Best outing came in a win over CSU when he grabbed nine passes for 120 yards en route to making the Paul Hornung Award Honor Roll ... Caught a 48-yard touchdown in a win over Vanderbilt and a seven-yard score in a victory over Hawai’i ... Had five catches for 46 yards and two punt returns for 24 yards at eventual national champion Michigan on September 9 ... Also rushed 11 times for 46 net yards on the season, including filling in for a depleted RB corps in the Guaranteed Rate bowl vs. Kansas with six attempts for  40 yards, including a touchdown run to go with his eight catches for 95 vs. the Jayhawks.

JUNIOR COLLEGE: Spent two seasons at Modesto JC in California and totaled 2,550 all-purpose yards for the Pirates. 2023: Earned his first letter as a Rebel by appearing in all 14 games, starting all as a return man and five as a WR ...  2022: A First Team JC Athletic Bureau CCCFCA All-American, First Team All-Region honoree and the Valley Conference Most Valuable Offensive Player as a sophomore … Played a key role in MJC winning a share of the league championship and a berth to the Northern California Football Conference playoffs … Grabbed 64 passes for 914 yards and five touchdowns while rushing 26 times for 117 yards and another score. 2021: Named all-conference and All-Purpose Player of the Year as a freshman after posting 1,243 all-purpose yards.

HIGH SCHOOL: A 2021 graduate of Manteca HS… Lettered three times and led the Buffaloes to two Sac-Joaquin Section Championships during his sophomore and senior years … The 2020 Valley Oak League MVP was named First Team Sac-Joaquin Section and First Team All-State as a WR… Named 2019 Conference Offensive Player of the Year and a First Team Sac-Joaquin Section honoree … Also named first team all-league in 2018 … Finished his high school career with 5,095 all-purpose yards and scored 53 touchdowns … Set single-season and career receiving records in his three years at Manteca … As a senior, he finished with 1,139 yards and 16 touchdowns on 64 receptions to go with 631 rushing yards and seven scores.

PERSONAL: Jacob Marcus De Jesus was born in Manteca, CA… The son of Monica and Richard De Jesus … Has two older siblings, Malia and Eddie … He and fiancée Kirsten Lopez are the parents to a daughter, Amelia De Jesus, born August 2020 … De Jesus famously proposed to Lopez immediately following the end of the UNLV spring game inside Allegiant Stadium in April 2023 … Majoring in marketing.