Jamie Sharper
Story Links
Oct. 18, 2001
By Trent Packer
Super Bowl XXXV: The Baltimore Ravens vs. the New York Giants. Former Virginia linebacker Jaime Sharper, a Raven, is lined up across from former longtime Cavalier teammate Tiki Barber, who plays for the Giants. The two faced each other countless times in practices at UVa, but now they find themselves on the grandest football stage of all, with a National Football League championship on the line.
“We knew the only way they could beat us was if he [Barber] had a good game,” Sharper says, recalling that January day. “He is a game-breaker. It was fun playing against him. The last time I was playing against him was in practices.”
As it turned out, though, Sharper and the Baltimore defense turned out to be the only game breakers on that day. They stuffed the Giants’ running game and demoralized their entire offense, allowing New York just 152 yards of total offense and forcing five turnovers. Sharper accounted for one of those turnovers, a second-quarter interception, and helped lead the Ravens to a 34-7 victory and their first NFL Championship.
For Sharper, the game marked the pinnacle of his professional career, and capped a remarkable turnaround that saw Baltimore rise from the depths of NFL obscurity to the top of the football world.
“I really got to feel what it means to be a player in the NFL,” Sharper says. “The first two or three years we were not very good. We didn’t win too many games. We went from that to a championship in one year. I was definitely happy, even more so because [the losing] was still in my memory.
“To play well and to get an interception, I felt unbelievably happy.”
Sharper and the Ravens are now in the midst of their title defense. As a starter at linebacker, Sharper is once again part of one of the most prolific defenses in NFL history.”We know defensive-wise how we are going to play every game,” Sharper says. “If the offense does its job and doesn’t turn the ball over, we are going to win games.
“The thing that makes us so good is that the whole front seven has been playing with each other for four years. When you play in the same scheme and with the same players for four years, you get better and better. It’s like we are in grad school. We have had a chance to mature together, unlike other teams who have so much turnover.”
Sharper’s experience with Baltimore is not unlike the time he spent at Virginia. He spent five years (he played from 1993-96 and red-shirted ’92) in then defensive coordinator Rick Lantz’s system at UVa. Sharper played with many of the same players throughout his five years in Charlottesville, and was an integral member of the 1995 team that upset second-ranked Florida State and captured a share of the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship. Sharper says that the defensive lessons he and his teammates employed en route to an ACC Championship are still fundamental to his success.
“A lot of times I think I have been blessed with good defenses, in college and the pros,” Sharper says. “It’s the same attitude. You have to go out there and stop the same things Rick Lantz taught us to stop at Virginia. A lot of the things I learned in college apply to the pros.”
Some of Sharper’s fondest memories of college revolve around the maturation that he and his Virginia teammates underwent both on the gridiron and off. Sharper recalls the ’95 season, but not simply because of the ACC championship. He prefers instead to point to the fact that ’95 represented the culmination of numerous experiences at Virginia. In fact, when asked to recall his best memory of college, Sharper points to his first year at UVa, citing the relationships he made that sustained him throughout his five years in Charlottesville.
“[The best memory is] my first year,” Sharper says. “You have a lot of friends. Getting to know them that first year was something fun. Going to school with them and building up that class to a championship (in 95).
“We grew up together and almost all of us got a degree. It was a time when we learned what it means to be a man.”
The time Sharper spent at Virginia also gave him perspective on his future NFL career. Sharper knew that making the NFL didn’t necessarily ensure a quality career. After being drafted in the second round (34th overall) in the 1997 NFL draft, Sharper understood that his longevity as a professional depended as much on his performance on the field during his first couple seasons, as it did his motivation in the offseason. Having spent five years as a Cavalier working hard to improve every season, Sharper knew that by continuing to work hard, he could carve out a niche for himself in the NFL, much as he had in the collegiate ranks.
“A lot of guys have a chance to make the NFL,” Sharper says. “Once you get to a team, if you can last past the first two or three years, you can have a long career. The main thing is getting your mind together. You can’ think you’ve made it just because you are on a team. You have to work to solidify you position. You’ve made it to the top and have to work to stay there.”
Sharper’s hard work has helped him become a stalwart in the NFL’s most dominant defense. Despite all the work, however, he has found time to get involved with the Virginia football program. Having played with current Cavalier assistant coach Mike Groh, Sharper has answered the new staff’s call for UVa football alumni to get involved in the current Cavalier program.
“I follow (Virginia) a little more now because I know Al Groh and I played with Mike [Groh],” Sharper says. “He asked the (alumni) players to get more involved. I was down there for the spring game. [Terry] Kirby, [Chris] Slade and I spoke to the team.”
Undoubtedly, Sharper and the other former Virginia players shared their knowledge of what it takes to make it in the NFL. Although he is only four years removed from Virginia, Sharper’s lessons resonate with the younger players. After all, as a starter on the defending Super Bowl Champion Baltimore Ravens, he speaks with the authority of a man who is at the pinnacle of his profession.