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

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

ian former professional player of

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

who was a guard in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the Alabama Crimson Tide, and 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

in the fourth round of the 2015 NFL draft.

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. Kouandjio initially attended High Point High School in Beltsville, Maryland, where he played

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

for the Eagles program. After his sophomore year he was recruited and transferred to DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Maryland along with his younger brother

Cyrus Cyrus () is a Persian-language masculine given name. It is historically best known as the name of several List of monarchs of Iran, Persian kings, most notably including Cyrus the Great, who founded the Achaemenid Empire in 550 BC. It remains wid ...

, where he played football for the Stags program. He was a four-star recruit by Rivals.com. In February 2010, he committed to the

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

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 (first stint)

The

selected Kouandjio in the fourth round with the 112th overall pick in the 2015 NFL draft. 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 practice squad of the

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

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 selected by the New York Guardians of the XFL in the 10th round in phase two in the 2020 XFL Draft.

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 by the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

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

References

External links

Alabama Crimson Tide 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 Cameroonian players of American football