Grady Jarrett Receives Brian Dawkins Lifetime Achievement Award

CLEMSON, S.C. — Former Clemson All-American, decorated NFL veteran and philanthropist Grady Jarrett received the Brian Dawkins Lifetime Achievement Award at Clemson’s annual football banquet on Saturday afternoon.

Clemson Head Coach Dabo Swinney has annually presented the honor to a former Clemson player who has consistently demonstrated the qualities of leadership, community service and others that are consistent with excellence since graduating from the Clemson program. Recipients must be out of school at least 10 years to qualify. Dawkins, who played 16 years in the NFL and was named to nine Pro Bowls and was a finalist for many public service awards, was the first recipient in 2013.

Jarrett accepted the honor via a submitted video. He was unable to attend as he and the NFC North champion Chicago Bears prepared for their NFL Wild Card Round game against the Green Bay Packers on Saturday evening.

A native of Conyers, Ga., Jarrett blossomed from an overlooked two-star recruit at Rockdale County High School to a force on one of the most dominant defenses in Clemson history before embarking upon a superlative NFL career.

During his four-year Clemson career from 2011-14, Jarrett recorded 207 tackles, 29.5 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, 37 quarterback pressures, one pass breakup, two forced fumbles and four recovered fumbles over 48 games (37 starts). He earned first-team All-ACC honors and a third-team All-America selection in 2014, a year in which he compiled 73 tackles (10.0 for loss), 1.5 sacks, 12 quarterback pressures, two forced fumbles and one a fumble recovery over 13 games on the nation’s top-ranked total defense (260.8 yards per game).

Despite his production and his sterling on- and off-field character, Jarrett fell to the fifth round of the 2015 NFL Draft before being selected by the Atlanta Falcons with the No. 137 overall pick. He has since authored an 11-year NFL career, collecting 535 tackles (281 solo), 78 tackles for loss, 38 sacks, five forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries in 166 career regular season games with 141 starts.

Before signing with Chicago this season, Jarrett spent 10 years in Atlanta, becoming one of the franchise’s most beloved players of the era. He earned All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors in 2019 and added another Pro Bowl selection in 2020. He recorded one of the most dominant defensive performances in Super Bowl history in Super Bowl LI when he sacked Patriots quarterback Tom Brady three times, tying the Super Bowl record since the NFL adopted sacks as an official statistic in 1982.

For both his contributions on and off the field, Jarrett was twice named as the Falcons’ nominee for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award in 2019 and 2024. He has been a mainstay in the community throughout his NFL career, starting the Grady Gives Foundation, a non-profit that promotes awareness for causes such as anti-bullying and literacy awareness and empowers youth and young adults to find their purpose in life.

In 2024, Jarrett granted $70,000 in scholarships to help young students from underprivileged backgrounds advance their academic careers. He hosted “Big Men Don’t Bully” workshops to help participants recognize bullying traits, develop community-wide anti-bullying strategies and hold anti-bullying pep rallies in Atlanta schools. He also partnered with the Rally Foundation and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta in support of pediatric cancer patients. He hosted the foundation’s fashion show fundraiser, “Rally on the Runway,” for which he served as a co-host and walked the runway with pediatric cancer patients while helping the organization raise in excess of $700,000.

Jarrett’s recent initiatives have also included providing 300 homeless men in Atlanta with Thanksgiving meals, providing 1,000 turkeys to families in his home area of Rockdale County, and hosting a toy giveaway for more than 1,000 families.

Brian Dawkins Lifetime Achievement Award Recipients
2013: Brian Dawkins, 1992-95
2014: Bill Smith, 1977-81
2015: Warren Forney, 1991-95
2016: Jerry Butler, 1975-78
2017: Jeff Davis, 1978-81
2018: Mark Richardson, 1979-82
2019: Michael Allen, 1995-98
2020: Michael Dean Perry, 1984-87
2021: Carl Martin, 1979-82
2022: Dexter Davis, 1988-90
2023: Patrick Sapp, 1992-95
2024: Levon Kirkland, 1987-91
2025: Coty Sensabaugh, 2007-11
2026: Grady Jarrett, 2011-14