Jerry attended South Panola High School in Batesville, Mississippi, where he was a two-way lineman and his career totals included 205 tackles, with 13 quarterback sacks.

He helped lead South Panola High School and coach Ricky Woods to a 44-1 record, including state championships in 2003 and 2004, while being runners-up in 2002.

[1] After a prep school year at Hargrave Military Academy, Jerry started all 12 contests at right guard for the Ole Miss Rebels in 2006.

Jerry was moved to right tackle and started all 13 games at the position in 2008, and earned second-team All-SEC honors from the SEC Coaches and Phil Steele.

[7] In February 2014, the NFL released the "Wells Report" finding that Jerry, along with Dolphins teammates Richie Incognito and Mike Pouncey, had bullied and harassed lineman Jonathan Martin, another unnamed player, and an assistant trainer during the 2012-13 seasons.