Jarvis Green: LSU’s Menacing Defensive Lineman Turned Shrimp Tycoon
“Being able to come to LSU and be part of the football team and getting to walk across the stage with my degree put me in position to capitalize on the opportunities that have come my way. The success of our football team – winning two bowl games and the SEC title – and working hard off the field to graduate gave me the awareness and endurance to understand that learning takes time and discipline. I’m forever grateful for the opportunities I had at LSU and it’s been a big part of the success that I have been able to achieve outside of football.”
Then:
Jarvis Green, a native of Donaldsonville, Louisiana, terrorized opposing quarterbacks as a four-year letter winner for the Tigers from 1998-2001, earning All-SEC honors as a defensive end in 2001. A four-year starter on the defensive line, Jarvis was instrumental in one of the biggest turnarounds in school history. In his first two years as a starter in 1998 and 1999, LSU won a combined seven games, including only three SEC contests. However in 2000, LSU, under new coach Nick Saban, turned things around, winning eight games in 2000 followed by a 10-3 mark in 2001 when the school captured its first outright SEC title since 1986 with a 31-20 win over second-ranked Tennessee in the SEC Championship Game. Following LSU’s win over Tennessee, Jarvis led the Tigers to their first Sugar Bowl victory since 1968 when LSU posted a 47-34 win over Big 10 champion Illinois, capping one of the biggest two-year turnarounds in the history of the program. Jarvis still ranks No. 4 in LSU history in tackles for loss with 39 and No. 5 in sacks with 20. Off the field, Jarvis graduated from LSU in May of 2002 with a degree in construction management.
And then:
Following his playing career at LSU, Jarvis was selected in the fourth round of the 2002 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots. In eight years with the Patriots – playing alongside the likes of Tom Brady and LSU graduate Kevin Faulk – he was part of two Super Bowl championship teams in 2003 and 2004. Jarvis played in 121 games with the Patriots, starting 46 times. He recorded 233 tackles, 28 sacks, 24 tackles for loss, and recovered a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown in a win over Baltimore in 2004. Perhaps his biggest game in a Patriots uniform came in the 2003 AFC Championship Game when he sacked Colts quarterback Peyton Manning 2.5 times in the 16-2 victory that sent New England to the Super Bowl. In 2006, Jarvis was selected as the recipient of the New England Patriots Ron Burton Community Service Award for his philanthropic work. Still with the Patriots, Jarvis spent each offseason doing internships – his way of learning about business and setting himself up for life after football.
And now:
In 2015, Jarvis started his own business – Oceans97 – but he didn’t capitalize on his NFL fame to do so, he worked for long and hard for nearly three years at New Orleans Shrimphouse learning everything he could about the business. During his time at the Shrimphouse, Jarvis did every task imaginable – sweeping, mopping, shrimp peeling and driving a truck across the country to deliver shrimp. He truly learned the business from the ground floor so much that he called his experience “Shrimping 101”. After learning all he could about the business, Jarvis formed his own shrimp and seafood company on Feb. 15, 2015. Oceans97 produces eight flavors of shrimp pate that is sold in grocery stores nationwide as well as being featured on Amazon.com. He’s also approved as a global vendor for Whole Foods. Jarvis’ business success has led him to an appearance on CNBC where he participated in its Power Lunch Stock Draft. To learn more about Jarvis and Oceans97, go to www.ocean97.com. Since opening Oceans97 in 2015, Jarvis has also gotten involved in other business ventures, most recently partnering with a group that distributes personal protective equipment (PPE) to hospitals along the East Coast. He’s also in the process of developing a new app that will be released later this year.