C. J. Sanders (born September 18, 1996) 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 ...
wide receiver, and a former child actor. Sanders has had acting roles in several
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood, ...
movies and television shows.
High school
Sanders attended
Brentwood Academy
Brentwood Academy is a coeducational Christian independent college preparatory school located in Brentwood, Tennessee, for grades 6–12.
History
The charter of Brentwood Academy was signed on November 20, 1969, after ten acres of land on Gr ...
in
Brentwood, Tennessee
Brentwood is a city in Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 45,373 as of the 2020 United States census.[California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...]
with his family, he transferred to
Notre Dame High School, Sherman Oaks, California for his senior year. Sanders had 35 catches for 562 yards and eight touchdowns. He also carried the ball 41 times for 437 yards for nine touchdowns. On special teams, he added four total touchdowns, including two on kickoffs and two on punts.
Considered a four-star recruit by ''
Rivals.com
Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel.
History
Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...
'', he was rated as the 37th best
wide receiver prospect of his class. He accepted a scholarship offer and committed to play
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 ...
at the
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...
.
Acting career
Sanders was an American
child actor
The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting on stage or in film, movies or television. An adult who began their acting career as a child may also be called a child actor, or a "former child actor". Closely associ ...
whose notable roles include the movie ''
Ray'', where he played a young
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...
, and the television show ''
Six Feet Under'', where he played
Anthony Charles-Fisher in a number of episodes.
He also played in the movie First Sunday as Ice Cube's son Durell, Jr.
He was nominated for several awards for his performance in ''
Ray'', including a
Black Reel Award
The Black Reel Awards, or BRAs, is an annual American awards ceremony hosted by the Foundation for the Augmentation of African-Americans in Film (FAAAF) to recognize excellence of African Americans, as well as the cinematic achievements of the Afr ...
, an
NAACP Image Award
The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. Similar to ...
, an OFTA Award, and a
Young Artist Award
The Young Artist Award (originally known as the Youth in Film Award) is an accolade presented by the Young Artist Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1978 to honor excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young ...
s. He also guest starred in a few television shows, such as ''
Judging Amy
''Judging Amy'' is an American legal drama television series that was telecast from September 19, 1999, through May 3, 2005, on CBS. This TV series starred Amy Brenneman and Tyne Daly. Its main character (Brenneman) is a judge who serves in a ...
'', ''
Cold Case
A cold case is a crime, or a suspected crime, that has not yet been fully resolved and is not the subject of a current criminal investigation, but for which new information could emerge from new witness testimony, re-examined archives, new or re ...
'', ''
Grey's Anatomy
''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27, 2005, on ABC as a mid-season replacement. The series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they develop into se ...
'' and ''
Saved''.
College career
Freshman
A standout in summer practices, Sanders was named the starting
punt returner
A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another position ...
for
Notre Dame and later took over
kick return
A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another position ...
duties as well.
Sanders emerged as a standout in his special teams role. Against
UMass, Sanders returned a punt 50 yards for a touchdown in just his fourth collegiate game. Later in the season, Sanders returned a kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown against
Stanford
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...
.
Personal
C.J.'s father is former
NFL
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 major ...
wide receiver Chris Sanders
Christopher Michael Sanders (born March 12, 1962) is an American director, screenwriter, producer, illustrator, and voice actor. His credits include ''Lilo & Stitch'' (2002) and ''How to Train Your Dragon'' (2010), both of which he co-wrote and ...
.
[Greenberg, Pierce (September 1, 2011]
BA's Sanders to face dad in football matchup
. brentwoodhomepage.com His step-father,
Corey Harris
Corey Harris (born February 21, 1969, in Denver, Colorado, United States) is an American blues and reggae musician, currently residing in Charlottesville, Virginia. Along with Keb' Mo' and Alvin Youngblood Hart, he raised the flag of acoustic ...
, is former
safety
Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk.
Meanings
There are ...
who played 12
seasons in the NFL. CJ Sanders mom Stacie McCall Harris was a point guard at the University of Michigan.
C.J. has his own
non-profit organization
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
, CJ's Gift Foundation, whose mission is to "promote self-esteem and self-worth among disadvantaged and at risk youth and their parents" and "to purposefully seek-out and reach-out to families who have been forgotten, overlooked and left out of opportunities that produce positive change and inspire hope."
References
External links
CJ’s Gift Foundation*
SMU Mustangs bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanders, C. J.
1996 births
Living people
African-American male actors
American football wide receivers
American male child actors
American male film actors
American male television actors
Male actors from Los Angeles
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players
Notre Dame High School (Sherman Oaks, California) alumni
People from Granada Hills, Los Angeles
Players of American football from Los Angeles
SMU Mustangs football players
21st-century African-American people