Prince Amukamara
Prince Amukamara
Main page
927870

Prince Amukamara

logo
Community Hub0 subscribers
What are your thoughts?
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Prince Amukamara

Prince Kelechi Amukamara (born June 6, 1989) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback for nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Nebraska Cornhuskers, and earned unanimous All-American honors. He was selected by the New York Giants in the first round of the 2011 NFL draft, and was a member of the Giants' Super Bowl XLVI championship team as a rookie against his hometown team, the New England Patriots. Amukamara was also a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Chicago Bears, Las Vegas Raiders, Arizona Cardinals and New Orleans Saints.

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. He has five sisters, named Princess, Promise, Peace, Precious, and Passionate. Prince is of Igbo Nigerian descent. His mother was an elite sprinter in Nigeria who was selected for the 1984 Nigerian Olympic team, but did not actually race there. His father is a teacher.

Amukamara attended Apollo High School in Glendale, Arizona, where he excelled in multiple sports.[citation needed] 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 recorded two interceptions on defense. He also had scored 18 offensive touchdowns and three defensive touchdowns. 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. Amukamara was also named to the Arizona All-State team by Scout.com.

Regarded as a three-star recruit by Rivals.com, Amukamara was listed as the 11th best prospect from Arizona. 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. 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."

Amukamara attended the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, and played for the Cornhuskers 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. As a freshman in 2007, Amukamara was described as being a newcomer "with a lot of personality" by senior linebacker Corey McKeon. He made his debut for Nebraska on September 22 against Ball State, playing on special teams. Amukamara finished the year with four tackles in eight games, splitting time in the secondary and on special teams.

Entering his sophomore season, there was speculation as to whether he would play at running back or cornerback, before being named the back-up cornerback after training camp. 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.

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

Amukamara tallied 59 tackles and one sack, but no interceptions as a senior. 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. Following the season, he was recognized as a unanimous All-American, and the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. Amukamara was also a Jim Thorpe Award finalist, a Chuck Bednarik Award semifinalist, and a Ronnie Lott Trophy quarterfinalist.

See all
User Avatar
No comments yet.