Christopher Drew Akins (born November 29, 1976) is a former

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 wit ...

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are two slightly di ...

in 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 ma ...

(NFL) for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the th ...

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

and

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 pl ...

. He played college football at the

University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) is a public historically black university in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Founded in 1873, it is the second oldest public college or university in the state of Arkansas. UAPB is part of the University o ...

Early years

Akins attended Hall High School, where he lettered in football and

Track and field athletics track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the sho ...

. As a senior, he received Arkansas player of the year, All-Conference, All-State, and All-American honors, after recording 117 total tackles (85 solo), 17 passes defensed and 4 interceptions. In

, he was a two-time All-State selection and set school records in the

100 meters 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 contest ...

(10.33 seconds) and the

200 meters The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

.he also has a few siblings Lorenzo Akins Terri Akins, and some grandchildren like Kylan Akins and Lorenzo Akins and Jalyn Akins.

College career

Akins accepted a football scholarship from the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

. As a sophomore, he started 6 games at

free safety Safety is a position in gridiron football on the defense. The safeties are defensive backs who line up ten to fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage. There are two variations of the position: the free safety and the strong safety. Their dutie ...

. He decided to transfer after two years to the

. As a junior, because of the one-time transfer rule, he was allowed to play immediately, posting 52 tackles, 11 passes defensed and 6 interceptions. As a senior, he posted 66 tackles (4 for loss), 12 passes defensed, 3 fumble recoveries and 5 interceptions, including 2 returned for

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 Americ ...

s. He had a 100-yard interception return for a

in the fourth quarter of the 27-18 win against

Alcorn State University Alcorn State University (Alcorn State, ASU or Alcorn) is a public historically black land-grant university adjacent to Lorman, Mississippi. It was founded in 1871 and was the first black land grant college established in the United States. ...

. He received All-Southwestern Athletic Conference, second-team Division I-AA All-American and Black College All-American honors. He finished his college career with 156 tackles (83 solo), 25 passed defensed, 12 interceptions and 6 fumble recoveries. In his two years at Arkansas-Pine-Bluff, he tallied 118 tackles, 23 passes defensed, 11 interceptions, 5 fumble recoveries and 9 tackles for loss.

Professional career

Green Bay Packers

Akins was selected by the

in the seventh round (212th overall) of the

1999 NFL Draft The 1999 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 17–18, 1999, at the Theater a ...

. He was cut at the end of training camp and signed to the team's practice squad on September 14.

Dallas Cowboys

On October 27,

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school s ...

, he was signed by the

from the

practice squad. Although he only played in nine games, he finished with 15

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

tackles (second on the team). In

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

, he was allocated to the Rhein Fire of

NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...

, where he helped his team win World Bowl VIII, while registering 47 tackles (fifth on the team), one interception, 7

tackles (second on the team) and a blocked field goal. He made the Cowboys regular season roster but was released on October 31.

Green Bay Packers

The

claimed him off waivers on November 1,

. During the 2001 season, Akins angered head coach Mike Sherman with mental lapses on the field and his attitude off of it. He was cut on December 6, at the time he was tied for third on the team in

tackles (7).

Cleveland Browns

On October 12,

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanistan ...

, he was claimed off waivers by the

. The next year, he ranked second on the team with 25

tackles while playing in 15 games.

New England Patriots

Akins signed with the

as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

on March 12,

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, disintegrated during reentry into Atmosphere of Earth, Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an 2002– ...

. He continued his career as a

player, contributing to the team's win in

Super Bowl XXXVIII Super Bowl XXXVIII was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Carolina Panthers and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) c ...

Miami Dolphins

On March 5,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, he signed with the

as an

unrestricted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

. He spent the season on the team's

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

after tearing the medial collateral and anterior cruciate ligaments in his right knee, during a workout against the Houston Texans. He was released on September 5,

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris (dwarf planet), Er ...

Personal life

Akins second cousin is former

NFL 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 maj ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense (sports), offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide ...

Jackie Harris.

References

External links

New England Patriots bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Akins, Chris 1976 births Living people Players of American football from Little Rock, Arkansas American football safeties Arkansas Razorbacks football players Arkansas–Pine Bluff Golden Lions football players Green Bay Packers players Dallas Cowboys players Rhein Fire players Cleveland Browns players New England Patriots players Miami Dolphins players Hall High School (Arkansas) alumni