Prince Amukamara

Prince Amukamara

refer to caption

Amukamara at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival
No. 21 Jacksonville Jaguars
Position: Cornerback
Personal information
Date of birth: (1989-06-06) June 6, 1989
Place of birth: Leominster, Massachusetts
Height: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight: 207 lb (94 kg)
Career information
High school: Glendale (AZ) Apollo
College: Nebraska
NFL Draft: 2011 / Round: 1 / Pick: 19
Career history
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 8, 2016
Total tackles: 280
Quarterback sacks: 0.0
Forced fumbles: 3
Pass deflections: 47
Interceptions: 7
Player stats at NFL.com

Prince Kelechi Amukamara (born June 6, 1989) is an American football cornerback for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Nebraska, and earned unanimous All-American honors. He was drafted by the New York Giants in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft, and was a member of the Giants' Super Bowl championship team as a rookie against his hometown team, the New England Patriots.[3]

Early years

Amukamara was born in Leominster, Massachusetts, to parents Romanus and Christy Amukamara, both natives of Nigeria. He soon moved to New Jersey before moving to Glendale, Arizona, when he was five years old.[4] He has five sisters, named Princess, Promise, Peace, Precious, and Passionate.[5] Prince is of Royal Igbo Nigerian descent,[6][7] and his grandfather was the chief of Awo-Omamma in the Imo State of Nigeria.[8] He currently is next in line to be the chief.[5] His mother competed for Nigeria at the 1984 Summer Olympics in track and field.[8] His father is a teacher.[4] Prince is a Christian, refrains from alcohol, and has stated that he stayed chaste before marriage.[9]

Prince attended Apollo High School in Glendale, Arizona, where he excelled in multiple sports. Most notably, Amukamara was a track & field standout in several events, and was one of the Hawks' most explosive weapons on the football field. Through six games in the 2006 season, he had rushed for 1,129 yards and 270 receiving yards on offense and two interceptions on defense. He also had scored 18 offensive touchdowns and three defensive touchdowns.[4] He finished the season with 2,106 rushing yards and 24 touchdowns as a running back and 95 tackles and two interceptions as a defensive back. The Arizona Republic named him the "Big School Player of the Year" in Arizona.[10] Amukamara was also named to the Arizona All-State team by Scout.com.[11]

Regarded as a three-star recruit by Rivals.com, Amukamara was listed as the 11th best prospect from Arizona.[12] On December 29, 2006, Amukamara committed to play college football at Nebraska. He also received scholarship offers from Colorado, Fresno State, Nevada, Oregon State, UNLV, and UTEP.[13] During his senior year of high school, when asked what he thought about the recruiting process, he responded, "I'm not worried about the recruiting now. I will look at it closer after the season."[4]

Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight 40‡ Commit date
Prince Amukamara
ATH		 Glendale, Arizona Apollo (AZ) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 4.5 Dec 29, 2006 
Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

College career

Amukamara attended the University of Nebraska, and played for the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team from 2007 to 2010. After arriving at Nebraska, Amukamara contemplated playing basketball on top of football, but dropped those plans after fall football practices began.[14] As a freshman in 2007, Amukamara was described as being a newcomer "with a lot of personality" by senior linebacker Corey McKeon.[15] He made his debut for Nebraska on September 22 against Ball State, playing on special teams.[16] Amukamara finished the year with four tackles in eight games, splitting time in the secondary and on special teams.[17]

Entering his sophomore season, there was speculation as to whether he would play at running back or cornerback,[18] before being named the back-up cornerback after training camp.[19] He ended up starting the games against Western Michigan, New Mexico State, and Virginia Tech, as he played in all 13 of Nebraska's games. He finished the year with 34 tackles, with his season-high of eight coming against Western Michigan.[17]

As a junior, Amukamara became a starter at cornerback for Nebraska.[20] Against Louisiana-Lafayette, Amukamara suffered an injury during the game, but did not miss any games.[21] Amukamara finished the 2009 season with five interceptions, tied for the most on the team, 11 pass-breakups, 64 tackles, and two sacks.[17] He was named to the first-team All-Big 12 after the season.[22]

Amukamara tallied 59 tackles and one sack, but no interceptions as a senior.[23] However, he only allowed 18 completed passes in his direction on 52 attempts during the season, and was praised for his "lock-down ability" against wide receivers during the season.[17] Following the season, he was recognized as a unanimous first-team All-American,[24] and the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year.[17][25][26][27] Amukamara was also a Jim Thorpe Award finalist, a Chuck Bednarik Award semifinalist, and a Ronnie Lott Trophy quarterfinalist.[17]

While at Nebraska, Amukamara majored in political science and received his degree in sociology in December 2010.[17]

Professional career

Pre-draft

Prior to his senior season at Nebraska, a National Football League (NFL) scouting service gave Amukamara a 7.3 rating, which was tied for the highest among 1,400 college seniors that were graded.[28] In Sports Illustrated, he was described as being "physical, possessing solid football speed and top ball skills."[29] They later gave a him a "first round grade" after other NFL scouts had named him one of the best two seniors in all of college football.[30]

Pre-draft measurables
Ht WtArm lengthHand size 40-yd dash 10-yd split 20-yd split 20-ss 3-cone Vert Broad BP
6 ft 0 in 206 lb30 1/2 in8 1/2 in 4.43 s 6.97 s 38.0 in 10 ft 8 in 15 reps

New York Giants

On April 28, 2011, Amukamara was selected 19th by the New York Giants in the 2011 NFL Draft.[31] A day after signing with the Giants, he was sidelined indefinitely with a broken left foot on the metatarsal bone.[32]

In the first series of his career with the Giants, Amukamara recorded an interception on a Vince Young pass against the Philadelphia Eagles. He won his first Super Bowl, winning Super Bowl XLVI with the Giants, defeating the New England Patriots 21-17. He tore his bicep on November 3, 2014, ending his season.[33]

Jacksonville Jaguars

Amukamara signed a one-year contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars on March 11, 2016.[34]

NFL stats

Year Team GP COMB TOTAL AST SACK FF FR FR YDS INT IR YDS AVG IR LNG TD PD
2011 NYG 7 14 12 2 0.0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 3
2012 NYG 13 53 45 8 0.0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 7
2013 NYG 16 85 76 9 0.0 2 0 0 1 -4 -4 -4 0 14
2014 NYG 8 45 37 8 0.0 0 0 0 3 66 22 38 0 11
Career 44 197 170 27 0.0 2 0 0 6 62 10 38 0 35

[35]

Personal life

Amukamara married Pilar Davis in 2014.[36]

Amukamara is a Christian. Amukamara has spoken about his faith saying, "... the feeling of winning the Super Bowl went away pretty quickly. I don’t think about it much unless people remind me. ... But to be a Christian, that’s a daily thing and that’s what I think about the most.[9]

References

  1. ↑ "2009 All-Big 12 Football Awards Announced". Big 12 Sports.
  2. ↑ "2010 All-Big 12 Football Awards Announced". Big 12 Sports.
  3. ↑ 2011 NFL Draft Results: Prince Amukamara Picked By New York Giants
  4. 1 2 3 4 Apollo's TD machine, The Arizona Republic, October 13, 2006.
  5. 1 2 Giants' Prince receives royal welcome, ESPN, April 30, 2011.
  6. ↑ UW's Jermaine Kearse matches up with Nebraska's Prince Amukamara Seattle Times, September 15, 2010
  7. ↑ Amukamara embraces defensive side, ESPN.com, March 18, 2011.
  8. 1 2 Prince Amukamara's sisters made royal treatment nothing new for Giants' prized NFL Draft pick, Newark Star-Ledger, April 29, 2011.
  9. 1 2 "A conversation with New York Giants defensive back Prince Amukamara".
  10. ↑ Prince has earned his crown, The Arizona Republic, December 24, 2006.
  11. ↑ 24-7's 4A1 All State Team, Scout.com, December 16, 2006.
  12. ↑ "Arizona top 20 2007". Rivals.com. January 26, 2007.
  13. ↑ Prince Amukamara, Rivals.com.
  14. ↑ Freshmen getting acclimated to college football, Lincoln Journal Star, August 9, 2007.
  15. ↑ McKeon wants defense with an attitude, Lincoln Journal Star, August 6, 2007.
  16. ↑ Senior tight end is king of the hill Saturday, Lincoln Journal Star, September 22, 2007.
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Prince Amukamara, University of Nebraska.
  18. ↑ Today's the Day, Scout.com, March 26, 2008.
  19. ↑ Fisher, Compton figure in LB mix, Columbus Telegram, August 27, 2008.
  20. ↑ Guard Williams sits out again, Omaha World-Herald, September 2, 2009.
  21. ↑ Huskers tap into defensive back depth, Omaha World-Herald, September 27, 2009.
  22. ↑ Four Huskers make first-team All-Big 12, Lincoln Journal Star, December 1, 2009.
  23. ↑ Prince Amukamara, ESPN.
  24. ↑ 2011 NCAA Football Records Book, Award Winners, National Collegiate Athletic Association, Indianapolis, Indiana, p. 12 (2011). Retrieved June 30, 2012.
  25. ↑ Texas' Sam Acho and Texas AandM's Von Miller highlight All-Big 12 first team defense, Dallas Morning News, November 30, 2010.
  26. ↑ Henery makes All-Big 12, Omaha Herald-World, December 2, 2010.
  27. ↑ Prince hauls in another award, Omaha World-Herald, December 8, 2010.
  28. ↑ NFL eyes are on Prince Amukamara, Omaha World-Herald, July 6, 2010.
  29. ↑ Defensive prospects, Sports Illustrated, September 2, 2010.
  30. ↑ Game of the Week: Storied rivalry renewed in Big 12 title game, Sports Illustrated, December 2, 2010.
  31. ↑ Prince Amukamara set to become a Giant, ESPN, April 29, 2011.
  32. ↑ Giants Amukamara hurts foot, out indefinitely, AP, August 6, 2011
  33. ↑ Hurcomb, Michael (November 4, 2014). "Giants Coach Confirms Prince Amukamara is Done for Season". Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  34. ↑ DiRocco, Mike (March 11, 2016). "Jaguars sign CB Prince Amukamara to one-year deal". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
  35. ↑ "Prince Amukamara Stats". ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
  36. ↑ 'They call me the black Tim Tebow': Giants star reveals he's still a virgin and has never had a drink
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