Asante Travis Samuel Jr. (born October 3, 1999) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

for the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...

and was drafted by the Chargers in the second round of the

2021 NFL Draft The 2021 NFL Draft was the 86th National Football League Draft, the annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2021 NFL season. The draft was held in Cleveland from April 29 to May 1, 2021 ...

. He is the son of former NFL cornerback

Asante Samuel Asante T. Samuel Sr. (born January 6, 1981) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL). He was born in Accra, Ghana and raised in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He played college fo ...

Early life

Samuel was born on October 3, 1999, in

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth ...

to Asante Samuel Sr. and Candice Doe. Samuel credits his grandmother, Christine Samuel, for helping raise him and being an important person in his life. When he was 14, his mother was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Following surgery, his mother recovered from the brain tumor.

High school career

Samuel played high school football at

St. Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known ...

. He was a four-star recruit coming out of high school and committed to

to play

College career

As a sophomore in 2019, Samuel was named to the third-team All-ACC team after recording 48 tackles, one interception, and 14 pass breakups. As a junior in 2020, he was named to the first-team All-ACC team.

Professional career

Samuel was selected by the

in the second round (47th overall) of the

. On May 12, 2021, Samuel signed with the Chargers on a deal worth just over $7 million.

2021 season

Samuel recorded his first career interception in week 2 against the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

. He was

Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week is an award given to the best performing rookie players in the National Football League (NFL). It was first awarded in 2002 and is sponsored by Pepsi. Winners are chosen among five finalists every week during the season ...

in back-to-back weeks, weeks 2 and 3. As a rookie, he appeared in and started 12 games. He finished with 43 total tackles (33 solo), two interceptions, and 11 passes defended.

2022 season

Samuel recorded his first interception of the 2022 season in week 1 against the

Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West divis ...

. In the 2022 season, Samuel appeared in all 17 games and started 15. He finished with 57 total tackles (48 solo), two interceptions, and 11 passes defended. In the Wild Card Round of the playoffs, Samuel recorded three interceptions in the first half in the team’s 31-30 loss to the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

References

External links

Los Angeles Chargers bioFlorida State Seminoles bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Samuel, Asante Jr. 1999 births Living people Players of American football from Fort Lauderdale, Florida Samuel, Asante Jr. American football cornerbacks Florida State Seminoles football players Los Angeles Chargers players