Samaje Perine ( ; born September 16, 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 wi ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Th ...

for the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The club's home ...

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 majo ...

(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 in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

, 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) ...

in the fourth round of 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 ...

. Perine currently holds the NCAA FBS record for most rushing yards in a single game, which he set as a true freshman in 2014 by rushing for 427 yards against Kansas.

Early years

Perine was born and raised in

Jackson, Alabama Jackson is a city in Clarke County, Alabama, United States. The population was 5,557 at the 2020 census. It was one of three wet settlements in an otherwise-dry county. Geography Jackson is located along the western border of Clarke County at ...

, but later moved with his family to

Pflugerville, Texas Pflugerville ( ) is a city in Travis County, Texas, United States, with a small portion in Williamson County. The population was 65,191 at the 2020 census. Pflugerville is a suburb of Austin and part of the Austin–Round Rock–San M ...

, where he attended

Hendrickson High School Hendrickson High School is a high school in the city of Pflugerville, Travis County, Texas, United States. It is operated by the Pflugerville Independent School District and is named after Pflugerville educator and civil servant Robert E. Hendric ...

as a member of their

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 ...

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 eve ...

teams. He was a three-year starter at

for the Hendrickson Hawks

team. He rushed for 1,993 yards and 16

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...

as a junior. In his final year, he rushed for 1,492 yards and 12 touchdowns. In

track & 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 eve ...

, Perine competed in sprints and jumps. At the 2011 Manor Relay, he earned first-place finishes in both the

triple jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to the long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down th ...

(46 ft, 0.5 in) and

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a ...

(20 ft, 8 in) events, while also anchoring the 4 × 100 and 4 × 200 relay squads, helping lead them to victory. He recorded a personal-best time of 11.37 seconds in the

100-meter dash 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 conteste ...

in 2011. Perine was ranked as a four-star recruit and the No. 13 running back in the nation by '' Rivals.com''. In March 2013, he committed to the

University of Oklahoma , mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State" , type = Public research university , established = , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.7billion (2021) , pr ...

to play

. He also had offers from

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = " Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

, TCU, and

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 36th-largest by ...

College career

Perine attended and played college football for the University of Oklahoma from 2014–2016.

2014 season

Perine saw immediate playing time as a freshman at Oklahoma in 2014. In his first career game, he rushed for 77 yards on 13 carries with one

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...

in a victory over Louisiana Tech. In his fourth game, he rushed 242 yards on 34 carries with four touchdowns. He rushed for 200 yards a second time, gaining 213 on 25 carries along with three touchdowns against

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

on November 15. Perine rushed for 427 yards on 34 rushes along with six touchdowns in a victory over

Kansas Kansas () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its Capital city, capital is Topeka, Kansas, Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita, Kansas, Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebras ...

, breaking the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

FBS single game rushing record set by Wisconsin's

Melvin Gordon Melvin Gordon III (born April 13, 1993) is an American football running back for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Wisconsin, and was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the first round ...

just a week earlier. He finished his freshman season with 1,713 rushing yards on 263 carries with 21 touchdowns.

2015 season

Perine started the 2015 season with 33 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown in a victory over the Akron Zips. In the next game, a 2OT win over the #23 Tennessee Volunteers at

Neyland Stadium Neyland Stadium ( ), is a sports stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States. It serves primarily as the home of the Tennessee Volunteers football team, but is also used to host large conventions and has been a site for several National Fo ...

, he had 78 rushing yards and a receiving touchdown. In the following game against Tulsa, he had 152 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown. On October 24, against Texas Tech, he had a season-high 201 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns. He followed that up with 90 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns against Kansas in the next game. On November 14, against Baylor, he had 166 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. He followed that performance up with 188 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown against TCU. In the annual rivalry game against Oklahoma State, he had 131 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. Oklahoma qualified for the College Football Playoff in the 2015 season. They faced off against Clemson in the National Semifinals. In the 37–17 loss in the Orange Bowl, he had 58 rushing yards, one rushing touchdown, two receptions, and 23 receiving yards. Overall, in the 2015 season, he finished with 1,349 rushing yards, 16 rushing touchdowns, 15 receptions, 107 receiving yards, and one receiving touchdown.

2016 season

On October 1, in a win over TCU, Perine had 214 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. On November 12, against Baylor, he had 100 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. In the following game at West Virginia, he had 160 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. On December 3, he had 239 rushing yards and a touchdown against Oklahoma State. He broke the school career rushing yard record on January 2, 2017, with 86 rushing yards and a touchdown against Auburn at the Allstate Sugar Bowl passing Billy Sims with a total of 4,122 yards. He finished the 2016 season with 1,060 rushing yards, 12 rushing touchdowns, 10 receptions, 106 receiving yards, and one receiving touchdown. After the season, Perine decided to forgo his senior year and enter the

Statistics

Professional career

Washington Redskins

The

selected Perine in the fourth round (114th overall) of the

. He was the ninth running back selected in that year's draft. On May 11, 2017, Perine signed a four-year, $3.05 million contract with the team. Perine joined a committee backfield of Chris Thompson, Robert Kelley, and

Mack Brown William Mack Brown (born August 27, 1951) is an American college football coach. He is currently in his second stint as the head football coach for the University of North Carolina, where he first coached from 1988 until departing in 1997, whe ...

. After the two starters combined for 34 yards in Week 1, Perine debuted September 17 against the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC Wes ...

with 21 rushes for 67 yards. Despite being granted the majority of the team's rushes, he had fewer yards than either Thompson (78) or Kelley (77). In Week 3 against the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Ra ...

, he again led the team in carries with 19 but for only 49 yards, and was moved back into a supporting role. Perine collected just 59 rushing yards total in Weeks 4–9, though he did pick up his first career touchdown on a three-yard reception from

Kirk Cousins Kirk Daniel Cousins (born August 19, 1988) is an American football quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Michigan State and was drafted by the team then known as the Washington ...

against

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

in Week 6. After nine rushes for 35 yards and a 25-yard reception in Week 9, Perine moved back to starting following injuries to both Thompson and Kelley. He had success in Week 10 with 23 rushes for 117 yards, as well as his first career rushing touchdown against the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

, marking the first 100-yard rushing game for the Redskins of the season. He followed this up the following week with 24 rushes for 100 yards against 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 divisio ...

, marking first Redskin with consecutive yard games of over 100 yards since Alfred Morris in 2013. Overall, he finished his rookie season with 603 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown to go along with 22 receptions for 182 yards and a receiving touchdown. In a backfield where new arrival

Adrian Peterson Adrian Lewis Peterson (born March 21, 1985) is an American football running back who is a free agent. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest running backs in football history. He played college football at Oklahoma, where he set the ...

recorded most of the carries, Perine had eight carries for 32 yards in five games in the 2018 season. Perine was waived prior to the 2019 regular season on August 31.

Cincinnati Bengals

On September 1, 2019, Perine was claimed off waivers by the

. He was waived on October 17, 2019, but re-signed to the team's

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

the following day.

Miami Dolphins

On December 24, 2019, Perine was signed by the

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

off the Bengals practice squad. He was waived on April 26, 2020.

Cincinnati Bengals (second stint)

On April 28, 2020, Perine was claimed off waivers by the

. In Week 8 of the 2020 season, against the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their hom ...

, he scored his first touchdown since Week 11 of the 2017 season. In Week 16, against the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their home games at NR ...

, he had 13 carries for 95 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns in the 37–31 victory. Perine finished the season with 63 rushes for 301 yards and three touchdowns, averaging 4.8 yards per carry. He re-signed on a two-year contract with the Bengals on March 24, 2021. In the 2021 season, Perine had a backup role to former Oklahoma teammate

Joe Mixon Joseph Tyler Mixon (born July 24, 1996) is an American football running back for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Oklahoma, where he was a first-team All-Big 12, and was selected by t ...

. He finished with 55 carries for 246 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown to go along with 27 receptions for 196 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown. In the

AFC Championship The AFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the American Football Conference (AFC) and one of the two semi-final playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football league in the world. ...

against 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 t ...

, he had a 41-yard touchdown reception from

Joe Burrow Joseph Lee Burrow (born December 10, 1996) is an American football quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). Following a stint with Ohio State, Burrow played college football at LSU, where he won the Heisma ...

in the second quarter. The Bengals were down 21–3 at the time of the touchdown and it helped begin a comeback victory.

NFL career statistics

Personal life

During his time in high school and Oklahoma, Perine was noted for his acts of great physical strength, such as helping lift a car to help a fellow student who did not have a car jack change a flat tire. Jerry Schmidt, strength coach of the Sooners, stated that he could often out

bench press The bench press, or chest press, is a weight training exercise in which the trainee presses a weight upwards while lying on a weight training bench. Although the bench press is a full-body exercise, the muscles primarily used are the pectorali ...

most of the team's lineman, with his max being 440 lbs. Schmidt also noted that nobody else on the team was able to top Perine's max squat (540 lbs),

power clean The clean and jerk is a composite of two weightlifting movements, most often performed with a barbell: the clean and the jerk. During the ''clean'', the lifter moves the barbell from the floor to a racked position across the deltoids, without res ...

(380 lbs), or incline bench (315 lbs) numbers. Perine's cousin,

La'Mical Perine La'Mical Perine (born January 30, 1998) is an American football running back for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Florida and was drafted by the New York Jets in the fourth round of ...

, played running back for the

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni and its sports fans are often collectively referred to as th ...

and was drafted by the

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

in 2020.

References

External links

Cincinnati Bengals bioOklahoma Sooners bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perine, Samaje 1995 births Living people People from Pflugerville, Texas Players of American football from Alabama Players of American football from Texas American football running backs Oklahoma Sooners football players Washington Redskins players Cincinnati Bengals players Miami Dolphins players African-American players of American football People from Jackson, Alabama 21st-century African-American sportspeople