R . Jay Soward Rodney ( R . ) Jay Soward ( born January 16 , 1978 in Rialto , California ) is a football player who currently plays for the IFL ' s Wenatchee Valley Venom as a wide receiver . College career . He burst onto the college football scene with a 4 - TD game vs . UCLA in his freshman season with USC . Despite Soward ' s superior skills , he never reached his potential in his USC career , ending his tenure with 32 touchdowns in four seasons . NFL . Soward ' s pure talent was too much for the Jacksonville Jaguars to ignore and they took him with a first - round selection ( 29th overall ) in the 2000 NFL Draft . Soward did not take the pressure of being a first - round selection very well . " I think the hardest part for me was dealing with all the pressure after getting drafted , " he recalls . " I didn ’ t play well my first year so people were on me a lot . I wish I would have went to New Orleans in the second round . I wish I hadn ’ t ever been a first round draft pick . I felt that New Orleans had a better staff to suit me at that time . I think being with those guys would have changed my future in the NFL . " After wearing out his welcome with the Jags in training camp , before playing in his first game under head coach Tom Coughlin ( who had gone so far as to send a limousine , at the team ' s expense , to pick up Soward every day for practice , just to make sure he would come ) , he was suspended several times by the NFL for violating the league ' s substance abuse policy . He has not filed for re - instatement since his last suspension . Though many media outlets attributed the suspension to marijuana , his suspension came as a result of alcohol abuse . " I can honestly say I was an alcoholic at that time in my life , " Soward recollects . " That ’ s why I ’ m not playing in the NFL , because I was an alcoholic at that time . " After entering the NFL ' s substance abuse program , Soward was critical about its effectiveness . " It was horrible counseling . I ’ ve been in every rehab centre known to man , " said Soward . " They even had the nerve to put me in rehab in Miami , the drug capital of the world . I don ’ t really think the rehabilitation process is very good for players down there . I think it is more of a disciplinary kind of rehabilitation which doesn ’ t teach anybody anything . For me , the more they took away from me the more it made me want to drink , the more it made me want to feel depressed , the more it made me want to feel bad about me . " The Canadian Football League . It was not until four years later that Soward ' s pro football career was resurrected in Canada . On May 18 , 2004 , the Toronto Argonauts signed him to a contract . As an Argonaut , his primary role in the offense was as a fly route receiver that stretched the defense and whose long receptions usually translated into touchdowns . This was reflected in his touchdown to reception ratio of 10 : 39 ( as of August 19 , 2006 ) . The only drawback to Soward ' s Argonaut tenure has been maintaining his health for a full season . In his first year with the team , Soward went on to win a Grey Cup Championship . In 2005 , Soward and the Argonauts were unable to repeat as back - to - back champions , losing the Eastern Division Championship to the Montreal Alouettes . In that game , Soward was dubiously remembered for an overzealous touchdown celebration . After scoring a touchdown , he ran into a concession stand setup behind the end zone , grabbed a bag of popcorn , and shared it with a teammate and nearby fans . Though his touchdown helped to put his team up 14 - 0 after the first quarter , the Argos got outscored 33 - 3 for the next three quarters . That led many to believe that Soward ' s timing for his celebration stunt was not only premature , but a catalyst that fired up the Alouettes . " It was a very spontaneous thing and I apologize to the people of Toronto if they feel I took away our opportunity , but I was just making an atmosphere where people can enjoy the game and see something different . " In 2006 , when asked about the popcorn incident prior to a rematch against the Alouettes , Soward stated that he felt the criticism against him was unjust and that he would do it again if the opportunity presented itself . He told Los Angeles radio station KLAC that he got the popcorn idea from seeing Keyshawn Johnson do it after scoring a touchdown when he was playing football for West Los Angeles College . During the East Division semi - final that year , Soward caught the game winning touchdown to help the Argonauts advance to the division finals which they went on to lose vs . the Alouettes in Montreal . On December 15 , 2006 , Soward was released by the Argonauts . Since then he has been making a living in repairing televisions and working in a warehouse . Indoor Football League . For the 2011 season , Soward signed to play with the Ontario Warriors .