Damien Mama (born June 27, 1995) 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 ...

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

. 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 ...

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

Early years

Mama attended St. John Bosco High School, where he was a two-way player at offensive tackle and defensive tackle. As a senior, he contributed to the team winning the CIF Pac-5 Division championship and the CIF state championship Open Division bowl game. He also received All-East Region, All-CIF Pac-5 Division, Max Preps All-State Division I first team, Los Angeles Times All-Area Lineman of the Year, USA Today All-USA first team, Parade All-American first team, Prep Star All-American Dream Team and Max Preps All-American honors.

College career

Mama accepted a football scholarship from

. As a true freshman, he appeared in 12 games (all but Washington State), starting the first two contests at right guard and two additional games at left guard. As a sophomore, he started 13 out of 14 games (all but UCLA) at left offensive guard. As a junior, he started all games at left offensive guard. He declared for the NFL Draft before the start of his senior season.

Professional career

Kansas City Chiefs

Mama was signed as an

undrafted 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 ...

by the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

after the

2017 NFL Draft The 2017 NFL Draft was the 82nd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It was held in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 27–29, returning to Philadelphia f ...

on May 6. He was waived on September 2, 2017, and was signed to the Chiefs' practice squad the next day.

New York Giants

On December 12, 2017, Mama was signed by the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

off the Chiefs' practice squad. He was waived by the Giants on May 7, 2018.

Dallas Cowboys

On May 21, 2018, Mama signed with 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 waived on September 1.

San Diego Fleet

On October 14, 2018, Mama signed with the

San Diego Fleet The San Diego Fleet was a professional American football franchise based in San Diego, California, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF). The league began play in February 2019, with the team playing its home game ...

of the

Alliance of American Football The Alliance of American Football (AAF) was a professional American football minor league. The AAF consisted of eight centrally owned and operated teams in the southern and western United States, seven of which were located in metropolitan are ...

(AAF) . He was a starter until the league folded in April 2019.

Los Angeles Wildcats

Mama was drafted in the 5th round in phase two in the

2020 XFL Draft The 2020 XFL Draft was the inaugural player selection process to fill the rosters of the eight teams of the 2020 reboot of the XFL. The draft was held on October 15–16, 2019, via conference call, with results released through the XFL's social m ...

by the

Los Angeles Wildcats Los Angeles Wildcats is a name shared by several American football teams from Los Angeles: *Los Angeles Wildcats (AFL) The Los Angeles Wildcats (also reported in various media as Pacific Coast Wildcats, Los Angeles Wilson Wildcats and Wilson's ...

New York Guardians

On January 21, 2020, Mama was sent to the

New York Guardians The Orlando Guardians are a professional American football team based in Orlando, Florida. The team was founded by Vince McMahon's Alpha Entertainment and is an owned-and-operated member of the XFL. The Guardians played their home games at MetLi ...

in a three-team trade. In March, amid the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, the league announced that it would be cancelling the rest of the season. He played in all 5 games at

offensive guard Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

. He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.

Tampa Bay Bandits

Mama was selected in the 23rd round of the

2022 USFL draft The 2022 USFL Draft, also known as the 2022 USFL Player Selection Meeting, was the player selection process to fill the rosters of the eight teams for the 2022 USFL season. The draft was held on February 22–23, 2022, with results released throug ...

by the

Tampa Bay Bandits The Tampa Bay Bandits were a professional American football team in the United States Football League (USFL) which was based in Tampa, Florida. The Bandits were a charter member of the USFL and was the only franchise to have the same principal o ...

. Mama and all other Tampa Bay Bandits players were all transferred to the

Memphis Showboats The Memphis Showboats were an American football franchise in the United States Football League. They entered the league in its expansion in 1984 and made the 1985 playoffs, losing in the semifinal round to the Oakland Invaders. Perhaps the mo ...

after it was announced that the Bandits were taking a hiatus and that the Showboats were joining the league.

San Antonio Brahmas

On February 15, 2023, Mama signed with the

San Antonio Brahmas The San Antonio Brahmas are a professional American football team based in San Antonio, Texas. The team is an owned-and-operated member of the XFL, owned by RedBird Capital, Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia's Alpha Acquico, LLC. History The XFL ...

of the

XFL XFL may refer to: Sports * XFL (2001), a defunct American football league that played its only season in 2001 * XFL (2020), a professional American football league Vehicles * Bell XFL Airabonita, a 1940 U.S. Navy experimental interceptor aircra ...

. He was released on March 8.

References

External links

USC Trojans bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mama, Damien 1995 births Living people American football offensive guards American sportspeople of Samoan descent Dallas Cowboys players Kansas City Chiefs players Los Angeles Wildcats (XFL) players New York Giants players New York Guardians players People from Moreno Valley, California San Antonio Brahmas players San Diego Fleet players Players of American football from Riverside County, California The Spring League players USC Trojans football players Tampa Bay Bandits (2022) players St. John Bosco High School alumni