Sam Manuel (born December 1, 1973) 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 ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

. He was the final pick in the 1996 NFL Draft, earning him the title of Mr. Irrelevant. 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 ...

draftee played

for

New Mexico State University New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public land-grant research university based primarily in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest public institution of higher education in New Mexico and one of the state's ...

. Along with twin brother Sean, he is part of the first set of brothers taken by the same team in the same draft in NFL history.

College career

At New Mexico State, he made 30 tackles for 108 yards in losses, including 8.5 quarterback sacks, starting in all but one of 33 games.

Professional career

Manuel was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the 1996 NFL Draft as the 254th overall pick, earning him the title Mr. Irrelevant, a humorous award given to the last player picked in the NFL Draft. Manuel failed to make the team as it "had adequate depth at linebacker" and was released during final cuts, but was re-signed to the practice squad in October 1996. In August 1997, he was again released by the 49ers, but with no commitment by the team's manager to re-sign him to the practice squad. This prompted his twin brother Sean to quit the team the following day. In 1998, Sam Manuel played for the Scottish Claymores of the NFL Europe league. In February 2001, he was a linebacker on the roster of the San Francisco Demons, an XFL team.

Personal life

After retiring from football, Sam Manuel became a minister in northern California. As of March 2022, he and his wife Tenea are the East Bay Lead Ministers of the Bay Area Christian Church, according to the church website.

References

External links

* 1973 births Living people American football linebackers San Francisco 49ers players New Mexico State Aggies football players {{linebacker-1970s-stub