Samuel with the Eagles in 2008
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No. 22 | |||||||||||||
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Position: | Cornerback | ||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||
Date of birth: | January 6, 1981 | ||||||||||||
Place of birth: | Ft. Lauderdale, Florida | ||||||||||||
Height: | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||||||||||||
Weight: | 185 lb (84 kg) | ||||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||||
High school: | Lauderdale Lakes (FL) Anderson | ||||||||||||
College: | Central Florida | ||||||||||||
NFL Draft: | 2003 / Round: 4 / Pick: 120 | ||||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||
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Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
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Tackles: | 433 |
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Passes defensed: | 146 |
Interceptions: | 51 |
Forced fumbles: | 7 |
Touchdowns: | 6 |
Player stats at NFL.com |
Asante T. Samuel (born January 6, 1981) is a former American football cornerback. He played college football at UCF, and was drafted by the New England Patriots in the fourth round of the 2003 NFL Draft. Samuel also played for the Philadelphia Eagles and Atlanta Falcons.
Samuel was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and attended Boyd H. Anderson High School in Lauderdale Lakes, Florida. As a junior quarterback, he threw for 1,800 yards, and rushed for 500 yards. As a senior, Samuel concentrated on defense, and earned All-State honors, and finished his senior year with 4 interceptions and 75 tackles. Samuel also handled kicking and punting duties. Ten minutes before kickoff of Samuel's final high school game, he replaced his team's injured starting quarterback. He threw two touchdown passes, intercepted two more, rushed for 80 yards, and even worked on special teams returning kicks and punts. Samuel's top receiver in high school, Todd Devoe, later played for the Baltimore Ravens and Denver Broncos, and was a friend & teammate of future NFL defensive back Benny Sapp. Samuel decreased his 40 yard dash time from 5.4 seconds during his sophomore year of high school to 4.39 seconds entering the NFL.
Samuel attended the University of Central Florida, majored in business, and played for the UCF Knights football team. He finished his college career with 127 tackles (102 solo, 25 assisted), 8 interceptions, and a school-record 38 passes deflected (the previous record was 34 deflections). Samuel also returned 63 punts for 673 yards, for an average of 10.7 yards per return.