Cameron John Colvin (born March 5, 1986) is a former

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 ...

player, having played for the De La Salle Spartans and

Oregon Ducks The Oregon Ducks are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Oregon, located in Eugene. The Ducks compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Pac-12 Conferenc ...

. He was portrayed by

Ser'Darius Blain Ser'Darius William Blain (born March 10, 1987) is a Haitian-American film and television actor. He is best known for his role as Anthony “Fridge” Johnson in the ''Jumanji'' film series, appearing in the third and fourth entries. Blain is als ...

in the 2014 film ''

When the Game Stands Tall ''When the Game Stands Tall'' is a 2014 American sports drama film directed by Thomas Carter (director), Thomas Carter. The plot concerns a record 151-game 1992–2003 high school football winning streak by De La Salle High School (Concord, Ca ...

'', about his

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

football team, the De La Salle Spartans.

Early years

He is the son of John and Veronica Colvin and has an older sister. Both of his parents died before he turned 16. His friend and fellow teammate, Terrance Kelly, was shot and murdered the day before they were to leave for the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

. Colvin played high school football at De La Salle High School in

Concord, California Concord ( ) is the largest city in Contra Costa County, California. According to an estimate completed by the United States Census Bureau, the city had a population of 129,295 in 2019 making it the eighth largest city in the San Francisco Ba ...

. During his career, he achieved numerous awards and honors, his highest being ranked as the #2 wide receiver in the nation and being a US Army All-American selection. In the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, Cameron caught two touchdowns. His senior class at De La Salle held “The Streak,” a 151-game-winning streak that is the longest in American football history.

College career

As a

high school senior Twelfth grade, 12th grade, senior year, or grade 12 is the final year of secondary school in most of North America. In other regions, it may also be referred to as class 12 or Year 13. In most countries, students are usually between the ages of 17 ...

, Colvin announced his decision to attend the

live on

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

. He saw time as a true freshman for the Ducks, making 2 TD catches against the

Washington Huskies The Washington Huskies are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Washington, located in Seattle. The school competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Pac- ...

. Colvin suffered an assortment of injuries in the first three years of his career. With the arrival of new offensive coordinator

Chip Kelly Charles Edward Kelly (born November 25, 1963) is an American football coach who is the head coach of the UCLA Bruins. He came to prominence as the head coach of the Oregon Ducks from 2009 to 2012, whom he led to four consecutive BCS bowl game a ...

during his senior year, Colvin became one of quarterback

Dennis Dixon Dennis Lee Dixon Jr. (born January 11, 1985) is a former American football quarterback. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the fifth round of the 2008 NFL Draft and played with the team through 2011. He was a member of the Baltimore Rav ...

's favorite targets and leading receivers in the nation during the early 2007 season. On October 13, 2007, in a game against

Washington State University Washington State University (Washington State, WSU, or informally Wazzu) is a public land-grant research university with its flagship, and oldest, campus in Pullman, Washington. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest land-grant unive ...

, he broke his ankle and missed the remainder of the season. He finished his college career with 74 receptions for 892 yards (0.82 km) and seven touchdowns. Cameron was a Political Science student in the University's College of Arts and Sciences and was also active on campus, becoming a member of the Gamma Pi chapter of the

Pi Kappa Alpha Pi Kappa Alpha (), commonly known as PIKE, is a college fraternity founded at the University of Virginia in 1868. The fraternity has over 225 chapters and colonies across the United States and abroad with over 15,500 undergraduate members over 30 ...

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Professional career

Colvin was signed to the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

on April 27, 2008. He missed a few OTA's and some training camp days due to school obligations, which affected his performance. He did however earn high praise from the offensive coordinator

Mike Martz Michael Martz (born May 13, 1951) is an American football coach. Best known for his coaching tenure with the St. Louis Rams of the National Football League (NFL), he served as the offensive coordinator for the Rams' Greatest Show on Turf offe ...

. “He’s physical. He uses his speed, and he goes after the ball. I’m very pleased with him. He doesn’t make many mistakes. He’s come out of the blue. We weren’t really counting on him to be a factor, but all of a sudden, he’s looking pretty good.” He played for the

Las Vegas Locomotives The Las Vegas Locomotives (called the Locos for short) were a professional American football team based in Las Vegas, Nevada that played in the United Football League. The team played their home games at Sam Boyd Stadium, home field for the Unive ...

of the United Football League in 2011.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colvin, Cameron 1986 births Living people American football wide receivers African-American players of American football Oregon Ducks football players Players of American football from California Sportspeople from the San Francisco Bay Area People from Pittsburg, California 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people