Eugene Philip Amano (born March 1, 1982) 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 ...

offensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numb ...

. Playing for 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 h ...

from 2004 to 2013 as both a center and guard, he replaced eight-time

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...

selection

Kevin Mawae Kevin James Mawae (; born January 23, 1971) is an American football coach and former center who is the assistant offensive line coach for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He previously played in the NFL for 16 seaso ...

as starting center in 2010. Amano is one of three NFL players to be born in the Philippines, along with Tim Tebow and Fred Jones.

High school career

He attended

Rancho Bernardo High School Rancho Bernardo High School, or RBHS, is a public high school in the Poway Unified School District of San Diego County, California, United States. Rancho Bernardo High School was opened in 1991 as the district's third high school. Enrollment Fo ...

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

, where he was an all-conference performer as an

offensive Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

and

defensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

during his senior season and also lettered in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

and track. Late into his senior year, Amano had no scholarship offers and planned to walk-on to either the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25, ...

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) syste ...

. But when SE Missouri State called one of his high school coaches about players on his team, he sold the recruiters on Amano. The recruiters acquired a tape of Amano and immediately offered him a scholarship.

College career

He attended

Southeast Missouri State University Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO) is a public university in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. In addition to the main campus, the university has four regional campuses offering full degree programs and a secondary campus housing the Holland Col ...

. As a senior, he won the

Division I-AA The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the Football Bowl Subdivision. Sponsored by the National Collegiate Athleti ...

Dave Rimington Trophy The Dave Rimington Trophy is awarded to the player considered to be the best American football center in college football. Dave Rimington was a center who played at the University of Nebraska from 1979 to 1982. A member of the National Colleg ...

, given annually to top center in college football at each level of competition. Amano was also named first-team All-American by the

American Football Coaches Association The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) is an association of over 11,000 American football coaches and staff on all levels. According to its constitution, some of the main goals of the American Football Coaches Association are to "maint ...

, ''The NFL Draft Report'' and ''Football Gazette''.

Professional career

2004 NFL Draft

Projected to go undrafted by ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twice ...

'', who labeled him as "a solid practice-squad prospect," Amano was ranked as the No. 20 center available in the

2004 NFL Draft The 2004 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 24–25, 2004 at the Theater a ...

. He was eventually selected in the seventh round, 239th overall, by the Titans. He was the seventh of nine centers selected in this draft, and also the first offensive lineman selected from Southeast Missouri State since

Dan Peiffer Daniel William Peiffer (born March 29, 1951) is a former American football center in the National Football League for the Chicago Bears and the Washington Redskins. Peiffer played for the Florida Blazers of the World Football League in 1974. ...

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...

Tennessee Titans

For his first four NFL seasons, Amano served primarily as a reserve at both center and guard. In 2008, he replaced left guard Jacob Bell in the starting lineup, and went on to start 31 games at that position. In 2009, Amano was a member of an offensive line that blocked for the NFL's second-best rushing attack (162.0 yards per game) allowed just 16 sacks, the second fewest in the NFL. On February 17, 2010, he signed a five-year, $26.25 million contract with $10.5 million guaranteed. Amano was moved to center to replace a retiring

. Amano was released by the Titans in 2013 after missing the entire 2012 season due to a torn triceps injury.

Post-Career

After retiring from football, Eugene Amano and his brother Fred Amano purchased four existing L&L Hawaiian Barbecue franchises in their home town of San Diego and have since opened more franchises for the restaurant chain including one in Cool Springs, Tennessee, near Nashville.

Personal

Amano is married to Frances Santos. The couple splits time between

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...

, and

. Amano developed The Amano Family Foundation to benefit inner-city youth of

National City, California National City is a city located in the South Bay region of the San Diego metropolitan area, in southwestern San Diego County, California. The population was 58,582 at the 2010 census, up from 54,260 at the 2000 census. National City is t ...

References

External links

Official WebsiteTennessee Titans bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Amano, Eugene 1982 births Living people American football centers American sportspeople of Filipino descent Filipino emigrants to the United States People from Manila Players of American football from San Diego Southeast Missouri State Redhawks football players Tennessee Titans players Rancho Bernardo High School alumni