Stanford Samuels Jr (born July 27, 1980) is a former professional

Canadian football Canadian football () is a team sport, sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's sco ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

and current recruiting coordinator for Louisville Cardinals football. He was originally 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

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

in 2004. 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 ...

for

Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...

. Samuels also played for the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...

, Winnipeg Blue Bombers, and

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the Canadian F ...

Professional career

Indianapolis Colts

Samuels went undrafted in the

2004 NFL draft The 2004 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 24–25, 2004 at the Theater at ...

and signed with the

. He was cut by the Colts after training camp when they were cutting their roster down to the

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 ...

mandated 53-man roster.

First stint with Blue Bombers

Days before the start of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

training camp he joined the team. Samuels debuted for Winnipeg in week one against the Saskatchewan Roughriders. His starting debut came in week eight against the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...

. He played in 17 of the 18 games, missing the last game against

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

due to injury. He finished third on the team in tackles with 62 and then was second on the team with two

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful ...

recoveries. In 2006, Samuels started 12 games for Winnipeg while missing seven games including a playoff game due to injury. However, he still finished second on the team with five pass knockdowns and three

interceptions In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...

. He also had 28 tackles and one tackle for a loss. The teams' only blocked punt of the season came when Samuels blocked a punt attempt of the

Damon Duval.

Edmonton Eskimos

Following the 2006 season, Samuels signed 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 ...

with the

. With Edmonton he started 14 games and was fourth one team with 51 tackles and four pass knockdowns. He also recorded one tackle for a loss and one interception. Samuels was released by Edmonton following their 2008 training camp.

Second stint with Blue Bombers

Samuels re-signed with the Blue Bombers on July 20, 2008. He led Winnipeg in fumble recoveries and finished second on the team in interceptions. He was released on February 6, 2009.

Montreal Alouettes

Samuels signed with the

on February 24, 2009. On July 20, 2010, Samuels was released by the Alouettes.

Coaching career

Samuels began his coaching career in

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

at his alma mater as a defensive assistant under

Willie Taggart Willie Author Taggart (born August 27, 1976) is an American football college coach. He has held the head coach position at five NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision programs: Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football, Western Kentucky (2009 to ...

. In

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

he went with Taggart to Florida Atlantic and became the team’s cornerbacks coach.

Personal

Throughout his CFL career, Samuels has lashed out against management, having called former Blue Bombers

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

Brendan Taman Brendan Taman is the Director of Pro Personnel for the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He has also served as the general manager for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Saskatchewan Roughriders. He is a Grey Cup champion having ...

a "snake" and then getting into a heated argument with former Eskimos

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

Danny Maciocia Danny Maciocia (born May 26, 1967) is the head coach and general manager of the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was previously head coach of the Université de Montréal Carabins football team. He is also the former g ...

, following the release of Ron Warner. He was born in

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

and attended

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...

. While there, he majored in social sciences and was a teammate of

Michael Boulware Michael Boulware (born September 17, 1981) is a former American football safety in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the second round of the 2004 NFL Draft and also played for the Houston Texans. He p ...

and

Darnell Dockett Darnell Maurice Dockett (born May 27, 1981) is a former American football defensive end who had a ten-season career playing for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Cardinals in the third round of th ...

. He also has a son named Stanford Samuels III and another named Semaj Samuels.

References

External links

Florida State Seminoles bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Samuels, Stanford 1980 births Living people Sports coaches from Miami African-American coaches of American football American football cornerbacks Players of American football from Miami Players of Canadian football from Miami Canadian football defensive backs Florida Atlantic Owls football coaches Florida State Seminoles football coaches Florida State Seminoles football players Indianapolis Colts players Edmonton Elks players Winnipeg Blue Bombers players Montreal Alouettes players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople