Arie Manuel Kouandjio (born April 23, 1992) is a former

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

ian professional

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 ...

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

, and was drafted 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 of the

2015 NFL Draft The 2015 NFL Draft was the 80th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. It took place in Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre and in Grant Park, from April 30 to May 2. The previous ...

Early life

Georgette and Jean-Claude Kouandjio, Arie's mother and father, immigrated to the United States from

in 1998 when he was six years old.Sabin, Rainer
As fellow NFL players sit for anthem, former Alabama OL proud to become an American
Alabama Media Group, September 13, 2016. Kouandjio initially attended

High Point High School High Point High School (HPHS) is a Public school (government funded), public high school located in Beltsville, Maryland, Beltsville, an unincorporated area, unincorporated section of Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The school, ...

Beltsville, Maryland Beltsville is a census-designated place (CDP) in northern Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The community was named for Truman Belt, a local landowner. The 2020 census counted 20,133 residents. Beltsville includes the unincorporated ...

, where he played

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 ...

for the Eagles program. After his sophomore year he was recruited and transferred to

DeMatha Catholic High School DeMatha Catholic High School is a four-year Catholic high school for boys located in Hyattsville, Maryland, United States. Named after John of Matha, DeMatha is under the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington and is a member of the Washington Ca ...

Hyattsville, Maryland Hyattsville is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, and also a close, urban suburb of Washington, D.C. The population was 21,187 at the 2020 United States Census. History Before Europeans reached the area, the upper An ...

along with his younger brother

Cyrus Cyrus (Persian: کوروش) is a male given name. It is the given name of a number of Persian kings. Most notably it refers to Cyrus the Great ( BC). Cyrus is also the name of Cyrus I of Anshan ( BC), King of Persia and the grandfather of Cyrus t ...

, where he played football for the Stags program. He was a four-star recruit by

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

. In February 2010, he committed to the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...

to play

College career

Kouandjio was

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

as a true freshman in 2010. As a redshirt freshman in 2011, he played in two games before a knee injury ended his season. As a sophomore in 2012, Kouandjio played in 11 of 14 games as a backup. He became a starter for the first time as junior in 2013, starting all 13 games. Kouandjio returned as a starter his senior year in 2014. He started all 14 games and was named a second-team All-American.

Professional career

Washington Redskins

The

drafted Kouandjio in the fourth round with the 112th overall pick in the

. He signed a four-year contract on May 11, 2015. On September 2, 2017, Kouandjio was waived by the Redskins.

Baltimore Ravens

On September 19, 2017, Kouandjio was signed to the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

' practice squad.

Washington Redskins (second stint)

On October 28, 2017, Kouandjio was signed by the Redskins off the Ravens' practice squad. He played in eight games in 2017, starting six at right guard. On May 15, 2018, it was announced that Kouandjio would undergo quad surgery for a partial tear. The next week, following the surgery, it was reported that Kouandjio would miss the entire 2018 season.

New York Guardians

Kouandjio was drafted in the 10th 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

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 ...

Personal life

Kouandjio's younger brother,

, who played at Alabama as an offensive tackle and was selected in second round of the

2014 NFL Draft The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New Y ...

by the

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

. Kouandjio became a US citizen on September 13, 2016.

References

External links

Alabama Crimson Tide bioWashington Redskins bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kouandjio, Arie 1992 births Living people Alabama Crimson Tide football players American football offensive guards American people of Cameroonian descent Baltimore Ravens players New York Guardians players Players of American football from Maryland Sportspeople from the Washington metropolitan area Washington Redskins players DeMatha Catholic High School alumni