Troy Steven Apke (born April 11, 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 ...

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 ...

for the

Washington Commanders The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) E ...

of 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). 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 ...

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...

and was drafted by the Washington in the fourth round of the

2018 NFL Draft The 2018 NFL Draft was the 83rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2018 NFL season. The draft was held on April 26–28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas; it was the first draft ...

Early years

Apke was born in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, Pennsylvania to former Pitt and Steelers linebacker

Steve Apke Steven James Apke (born August 3, 1965) is a former professional American football linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He was a "replacement" player whose career spanned three games during the NFL's 1987 player's strike. Steve is t ...

. His mother also ran track and field for

. He grew up in nearby Mt. Lebanon Township and attended Mt. Lebanon High School, where he participated in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

, and

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

. Apke advanced to the PIAA state track and field championships his junior and senior years. He was also the

WPIAL The Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) is an interscholastic athletic association in Western Pennsylvania. It is District 7 of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association. History The Western Pennsylvania Inte ...

Champion 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 contest ...

in 2014, recording a time of 10.81 seconds. He was a three-year starter for the football team playing wide receiver and

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

. During his junior and senior seasons Apke had 1,776 receiving yards and 20 touchdowns and on defense, 68 tackles with 3 interceptions. A 3-star recruit, Apke committed to

College career

During his freshman season at Penn State, Apke played four games on

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 ...

, totaling two tackles. In his sophomore year, he played in all 13 games, starting one. He finished the season with 26 total tackles, one forced fumble, and one pass deflection. During his junior season, Apke played in all 14 games starting one again. On October 1, he recorded a career high six tackles and one pass deflection in a win over

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. Prior to his senior season Apke was named a starter at safety by head coach James Franklin. In the season opener against

Akron Zips Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city prop ...

, Apke had four tackles and was one of eight players to be a part of three-straight seasons with a shutout on the Nittany Lions roster. Also, he was one of three who played in all three of those games. Apke graduated with a degree in Criminology. Prior to playing in the

2017 Fiesta Bowl The 2017 Fiesta Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 30, 2017, at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. The 47th Fiesta Bowl was one of the 2017–18 bowl games concluding the 2017 FBS football season. The ga ...

, he was one of twenty on the roster who graduated before the Bowl game. Apke was selected to participate in the January 2018 edition of the

NFLPA Collegiate Bowl The NFLPA Collegiate Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game for NFL draft-eligible college players, held annually in January. The event was founded in 2012 by the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA). Players predomi ...

, where he was named game MVP after a team-high seven tackles, a forced fumble and a 56-yard interception return for a touchdown.

Professional career

Apke attended the

NFL Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Footba ...

, where he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.34 seconds. In the

, he was selected by the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

in the fourth round, 109th overall. Apke made his NFL debut in the Redskins season opener against the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

, where he made a touchdown saving tackle on a punt return, but was injured on the play. He was subsequently placed on injured reserve a month later. Coming into the 2019 season Apke was expected to be a contributor on

. Through the first six weeks Apke had three tackles. In week 7 versus 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 ...

, Apke saw significant action on defense after an injury to starting safety

Montae Nicholson Montae Nicholson (born December 4, 1995) is an American football free safety for the DC Defenders of the XFL. He played college football at Michigan State and was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL Draft. ...

. Apke had an interception, the first of his career, as well as a pass deflection and 6 tackles in just under a half of action in a 0–9 loss. In 2020, Apke was named the starting

free safety Safety is a position in gridiron football on the defense. The safeties are defensive backs who line up ten to fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage. There are two variations of the position: the free safety and the strong safety. Their dut ...

after beating out Sean Davis during training camp. Due to poor performance to start the season, he lost his starting position after Week 5. He converted to

in 2021, making him the first white NFL player at the position since

Dustin Fox Dustin Erik Fox (born October 8, 1982) is a former American football cornerback. He was selected in the third round of the 2005 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings and also played for the Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills. He played college ...

in 2008. Apke re-signed with the team on March 17, 2022. He was released on August 16, 2022, but re-signed to their practice squad on August 31. He was released again on October 5, 2022, but re-signed back to the practice squad on October 21. Apke was released again on November 26, 2022. On December 30, he was re-signed to the practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 9, 2023. The Commanders placed Apke on injured reserve on August 8, 2023.

References

External links

*
Penn State bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Apke, Troy 1995 births Living people American football cornerbacks American football safeties Penn State Nittany Lions football players Players of American football from Pittsburgh Sportspeople from Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania Players of American football from Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Washington Redskins players Washington Football Team players Washington Commanders players