Reggie Stephens (born February 21, 1975) is an American former professional

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 ...

player who was a

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

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) and in the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

(AFL). 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

Rutgers Scarlet Knights The Rutgers Scarlet Knights are the athletic teams that represent Rutgers University's New Brunswick campus. In sports, Rutgers is famously known for being the "Birthplace of College Football", hosting the first ever intercollegiate football ...

Early life

Stephens was born in

Shreveport, Louisiana Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the List of municipalities in Louisiana, third-most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge. The bulk of Shreveport is in Caddo Parish, Lo ...

. At age 15, he moved to

Santa Cruz, California Santa Cruz (Spanish language, Spanish for "Holy Cross") is the largest city and the county seat of Santa Cruz County, California, Santa Cruz County, in Northern California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city population ...

, where he attended Santa Cruz High School and played

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

with

Brendon Ayanbadejo Oladele Brendon Ayanbadejo (; born September 6, 1976) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker and special teamer who played in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL) for thirteen s ...

. Stephens also competed in the boy's 100- and 200-meter dash, long jump, and 400-meter relay at Santa Cruz High. Stephens is now listed in the Santa Cruz High School Athletics Hall of Fame and Scott’s Valley High for his achievements in these sports and coaching

College career

After graduating from Santa Cruz High, Stephens played junior college football at

Cabrillo College Cabrillo College is a public community college in Aptos, California. It is named after the conquistador Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo and opened in 1959. Cabrillo College has an enrollment of about 9,700 students per term. Facilities Classes are of ...

Aptos, California Aptos (Ohlone for "The People") is an unincorporated town in Santa Cruz County, California, United States. The town is made up of several small villages, which together form Aptos: Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley, Aptos Village, Cabrillo, Seacliff, ...

. He was then accepted to

Rutgers University–New Brunswick Rutgers University–New Brunswick is one of three regional campuses of Rutgers University, a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. It is located in New Brunswick and Piscataway. It is the oldest campu ...

, where he played

for the

. In his senior year, Stephens won the Homer Hazel Trophy, as MVP of the

1998 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team The 1998 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team represented Rutgers University in the 1998 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their third season under head coach Terry Shea, the Scarlet Knights compiled a 5–6 record, were outscored by oppone ...

, and was named First Team All-Big East by ''

The Football News ''The Football News'', founded in 1939, was a weekly tabloid newspaper covering collegiate and professional football. The publication was designated by the NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organizati ...

''. He played in the

East–West Shrine Bowl The East–West Shrine Bowl is a postseason college football all-star game that has been played annually since 1925; through January 2019, it was known as the East–West Shrine Game. The game is sponsored by the fraternal group Shriners Inter ...

in January 1999 at

Stanford Stadium Stanford Stadium is an outdoor college football stadium located on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford, California, United States. It is the home of the Stanford Cardinal and hosts the university's commencement exercises. Opened in 19 ...

Professional career

Stephens played for the NFL's

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

between 1999 and 2003. During his second season, in 2000, he recorded three

interception In Ball game, ball-playing Competitive sport, competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for ...

s and was a standout

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 ...

player, helping the Giants reach

Super Bowl XXXV Super Bowl XXXV was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 2000 Baltimore Ravens season, Baltimore Ravens and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 2000 New York Giants season, New York Giant ...

References

External links

*
Arena Football League page
https://reggiestephens.org/ https://www.reggiestephens.media/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Stephens, Reggie 1975 births Living people American football cornerbacks Cabrillo Seahawks football players Nashville Kats players New York Giants players Rutgers Scarlet Knights football players Santa Cruz High School alumni Players of American football from Santa Cruz, California 20th-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen