Jamarca Sanford Jamarca Deshaun Sanford ( born August 27 , 1985 in Batesville , Mississippi ) is an American football safety for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League . He was drafted by the Vikings in the seventh round of the 2009 NFL Draft as the 231st pick . He formerly played college football as a safety for the Ole Miss Rebels at the University of Mississippi . Early years . The son of James and Shirley Taylor , Sanford ' s talent in football was recognized at South Panola High School , where he earned a career record of 320 tackles and 25 quarterback sack s . In 2003 , his senior year , he was ranked 9th in the " USA Today " national ranking for seniors . That year , he had 98 tackles , seven QB sacks , four forced fumble s and three interceptions . South Panola that year went to the 5A Mississippi state championship undefeated and took the game , with Sanford voted " Most Valuable Player " . Sanford received a number of other recognitions for his high school playing . " The Clarion - Ledger " named him Top 40 , All - State and All - Region . He also received All - State honors , Class 5A first team , as an outside linebacker from the Mississippi Association of Coaches and All - Region team by PrepStar . He made the roster of the Mississippi - Alabama All - Star Classic in Mobile , Alabama in 2004 . He was also included on a number of superlative player lists ; the Max Emfinger Super South Top 200 ranked him at 7 among strong safeties in 2003 , Rivals . com listed him 19th in the state , and " The Sun Herald " placed him among its Top 30 Prep Recruits . College career . In 2004 , Sanford attended the University of Mississippi , where his cousins Toward Sanford , Eddie Strong and Kevin Thomas played , but though he was signed to the team he was redshirted until 2005 . That year , after briefly trying several positions , Sanford topped the depth chart as a strong safety , starting 10 out of 11 games in that position . Sanford turned in a strong performance in the 2005 season , for which he lettered . With 58 tackles in the season , including 40 solos , Sanford ranked fourth for tackles on his team , but first among SEC freshmen and 12th among all league defensive backs at 5 . 3 stops per game . He also had two fumble recoveries , which tied him 6th in the conference , one interception and one pass - break up . As with high school , Sanford ' s playing drew attention . CollegeFootballNews . com named him First Team Preseason Redshirt Freshman All - America , while SEC Coaches and " Sporting News " gave him First Team Freshman All - SEC honors . " Sporting News " also named him Third Team Freshman All - America . In 2006 , Sanford started four games as a linebacker with another seven as strong safety . Earning his second letter for this season , he was again fourth on his team for tackles , with 64 . He also was credited with 1 . 5 QB sacks . Sanford took his third letter in 2007 , when as a strong safety he started 10 games . Athlon named him Preseason Third Team All - SEC that year . That year , he had 83 tackles to his credit , averaging 8 . 3 per game , placing him third on his team and sixth in the SEC . He was fourth on his team for tackles for losses with 5 . 5 and pass break - ups with 4 . He also forced two fumbles and blocked a punt . In his senior year of 2008 , for which he earned his fourth letter , Sanford continued as a strong safety , starting all 13 games and standing as team captain . He was given the 2008 Chucky Mullins Courage Award and wore the number " 38 " in honor of that Ole Miss defensive back , who had been rendered quadriplegic during a game against Vanderbilt in 1989 before dying of a pulmonary embolism related to his injury in 1991 . He made 82 tackles that year , ranking second , but coming in first in solo stops at 56 . Two forced fumbles tied him at first on the team . His honors for the season included the Birmingham Alumni Club ' s 2008 Leadership Award and being named to Phil Steel ' s Midseason All - SEC third team . Professional career . Minnesota Vikings . Sanford follows in the footsteps of another one of his cousins , Dwayne Rudd . In the 2009 NFL Draft , Sanford was selected as the 231st overall pick in the 7th round by the Minnesota Vikings . It was in the 1997 NFL Draft that cousin Rudd was the 20th pick by Minnesota in the 1st round . Another cousin , Eddie Strong , went undrafted in the 2003 NFL Draft but signed as a free agent rookie with the New York Giants in May 2003 . He was released by New York 3 months later in August . In 2011 , Sanford was named the starting Strong Safety after the original starter Madieu Williams was released . The 2 years before he was a special teams Safety getting on average 15 tackles a year . Sanford started 15 games for the Vikings and recorded a career - high 75 tackles . On March 14 , 2013 , Sanford re - signed with the Vikings on a two - year , $ 5 million dollar contract .