Christopher Drew Akins (born November 29, 1976) 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 wi ...

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are two slightly dif ...

in 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) for 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 divi ...

, Green Bay Packers,

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...

, New England Patriots and

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...

. He played college football at the

University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) is a public historically black university in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Founded in 1873, it is the second oldest public college or university in the state of Arkansas. UAPB is part of the University o ...

Early years

Akins attended Hall High School, where he

lettered Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...

in football and Track and field athletics track. As a senior, he received Arkansas player of the year, All-Conference, All-State, and All-American honors, after recording 117 total tackles (85 solo), 17 passes defensed and 4 interceptions. In Track and field athletics track, he was a two-time All-State selection and set school records in the

100 meters The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contes ...

(10.33 seconds) and the 200 meters.he also has a few siblings Lorenzo Akins Terri Akins, and some grandchildren like Kylan Akins and Lorenzo Akins and Jalyn Akins.

College career

Akins accepted a football scholarship from the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

. As a sophomore, he started 6 games at free safety. He decided to transfer after two years to the

. As a junior, because of the one-time transfer rule, he was allowed to play immediately, posting 52 tackles, 11 passes defensed and 6 interceptions. As a senior, he posted 66 tackles (4 for loss), 12 passes defensed, 3 fumble recoveries and 5 interceptions, including 2 returned for

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...

s. He had a 100-yard interception return for a

in the fourth quarter of the 27-18 win against Alcorn State University. He received All-Southwestern Athletic Conference, second-team Division I-AA All-American and Black College All-American honors. He finished his college career with 156 tackles (83 solo), 25 passed defensed, 12 interceptions and 6 fumble recoveries. In his two years at Arkansas-Pine-Bluff, he tallied 118 tackles, 23 passes defensed, 11 interceptions, 5 fumble recoveries and 9 tackles for loss.

Professional career

Green Bay Packers

Akins was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the seventh round (212th overall) of the 1999 NFL Draft. He was cut at the end of training camp and signed to the team's practice squad on September 14.

Dallas Cowboys

On October 27,

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

, he was signed by the

from the Green Bay Packers practice squad. Although he only played in nine games, he finished with 15

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

tackles (second on the team). In

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

, he was allocated to the

Rhein Fire Rhein may refer to: Places * Rhine, a major river in Europe (german: Rhein, link=no) * Rhein, a village in the municipality of Morsbach in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany * Rhein (Ostpreussen), a former name of the town Ryn in Poland Ships * SM ...

of NFL Europe, where he helped his team win World Bowl VIII, while registering 47 tackles (fifth on the team), one interception, 7

tackles (second on the team) and a blocked field goal. He made the Cowboys regular season roster but was released on October 31.

Green Bay Packers

The Green Bay Packers claimed him off waivers on November 1,

. During the 2001 season, Akins angered head coach

Mike Sherman Michael Francis Sherman (born December 19, 1954) is an American gridiron football coach and former player who most recently was the head coach of the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was the head coach of the Green B ...

with mental lapses on the field and his attitude off of it. He was cut on December 6, at the time he was tied for third on the team in

tackles (7).

Cleveland Browns

On October 12, 2001, he was claimed off waivers by the

. The next year, he ranked second on the team with 25

tackles while playing in 15 games.

New England Patriots

Akins signed with the New England Patriots as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

on March 12, 2003. He continued his career as a

player, contributing to the team's win in Super Bowl XXXVIII.

Miami Dolphins

On March 5, 2004, he signed with the

as an

unrestricted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is ...

. He spent the season on the team's injured reserve after tearing the medial collateral and anterior cruciate ligaments in his right knee, during a workout against the Houston Texans. He was released on September 5, 2005.

Personal life

Akins second cousin is former NFL

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Lik ...

Jackie Harris Jackie Bernard Harris (born January 4, 1968) is a former American football tight end in the National Football League for the Green Bay Packers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tennessee Oilers / Titans and Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at w ...

References

External links

New England Patriots bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Akins, Chris 1976 births Living people Players of American football from Little Rock, Arkansas American football safeties Arkansas Razorbacks football players Arkansas–Pine Bluff Golden Lions football players Green Bay Packers players Dallas Cowboys players Rhein Fire players Cleveland Browns players New England Patriots players Miami Dolphins players Hall High School (Arkansas) alumni