Reggie Stephens (born February 21, 1975 in

Shreveport, LA Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population of 393,406 in 2020, is ...

) 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 with ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

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 ...

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 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

. Also, a rapper, music producer, and founder of the Reggie Stephens Foundation.

Early life

Stephens was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, and at age 15 moved to Santa Cruz, California. Stephens attended and played

High school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

Santa Cruz High School Santa Cruz High School is a comprehensive public school in Santa Cruz, California which originally opened in 1897 and now serves an enrollment of about 1,040 students in grades nine through twelve. It is part of the Santa Cruz City School Distr ...

with

Brendan Ayanbadejo Oladele Brendon Ayanbadejo (; born September 6, 1976) is a former American football linebacker and special teamer who played in Canadian Football League (CFL) and the National Football League (NFL) for thirteen seasons. He played college footba ...

. 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 for his achievements in these sports.

College career

Stephens graduated from Santa Cruz High, and went on to play football at Cabrillo Junior College in Aptos, California. Stephens then got accepted to Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Stephens won the Homer Hazel MVP Award, in 1998 his senior year at Rutgers University. Reggie was also 1st Team All-Big East Sporting News, and played in the East-West Shrine Game in 1998 at Stanford Stadium.

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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

between 1999 and 2003 in his 2nd year he recored 3 interceptions and was a standout special teams player, which helped the giants reach Super Bowl XXXV where the Baltimore Ravens defeated the New York Giants 34-7, January 28, 2001 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.

Coaching

Stephens coaches High School Varsity Football for the Scott's Valley Falcons. He specializes in coaching Wide Receivers, Cornerbacks, and Defensive Backs alongside head coach Louie Walters. Reggie has coached the Falcons to win the SCCAL four years in a row, 2006-2009.

Reggie Stephens Foundation

Stephens created a non-profit organization, named the Reggie Stephens Foundation, dedicated to helping the youth of Santa Cruz and the Central Coast of California, based on his own childhood experiences. The RSF (Reggie Stephens Foundation) mission statement says "a strong work ethic, hard work, good grades, good sportsmanship, and a positive attitude can get you far in life." RSF seeks volunteering and funding, to help kids get involved in sports, arts and crafts, and entertainment. Louie Walters, head coach of the Scott's Valley Falcons, is on the board of directors for the RSF. The RSF also hosts an annual golf tournament at Spring Hills Golf Course.

Music Career

Stephens is also a talented vocalist/rapper, songwriter, producer, and founder of the Reggie Stephens Foundation. Given his talents, Reggie gained notoriety for being the first to legally sample a Bon Jovi song on a hip-hop track, "Bad Name," - from his debut solo album, "Ghetto Passport." In addition to Bon Jovi, Reggie has worked with music industry veterans such as Bill Summers, The Headhunters, Forward Back, One Drop Scott, Anita Dixon, Omar Sosa, David Huff, Donald Harrison, Efya, Dave Pensado, Dylan Dresdow, Ariel Chaboz, Jason Joshua, Taj from SWV, Dj Montay, Billy Cook, Rankin Scroo, Cozmo, The Legion, Prohoezak, Nipsey Hussle, Greg Landau, Grammy Award Winners Los Cojolites, Lemo Live, Chris Rene, Lil Buck, Sonivore Studio, DJ Unk, E-40, Bun-B, John Greenham, Greg Landau, Donald Harrison, Glasses Malone, and Cruzmatik with business partner Jason Williams. Currently, he is collaborating with Grammy-nominated Mexican folk artists
Los Cojolites
and producer

Greg Landau Greg Landau is an American, San Francisco-based record and video producer, and an instructor of music and Latin American Studies focused on the social movements that produced revolutionary music and art. He has produced eight Grammy nominated recor ...

, on a new Afro-Mexican Futurist project that pushes the Son Jarocho genre in new directions.

Personal life

Stephens now lives in Santa Cruz, California. He has two kids.

External links

https://www.footballdb.com/players/reggie-stephens-stephre01
Arena Football League page
* http://www.reggiestephens.org * https://www.reggiestephens.media https://playerstrust.com/spotlights/reggie-stephens https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/2020/10/14/scpd-santa-cruz-warriors-meet-to-discuss-race-policing-and-social-justice {{DEFAULTSORT:Stephens, Reggie 1975 births Living people Players of American football from Dallas African-American players of American football American football cornerbacks Rutgers Scarlet Knights football players New York Giants players Nashville Kats players Cabrillo Seahawks football players Santa Cruz High School alumni 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople