Samuel Acheampong (born January 12, 1996) is a Canadian professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

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 ...

for the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League (CFL).

University career

Acheampong attended Wilfrid Laurier University from 2015 to 2019 and played for the Golden Hawks, while being named a First Team OUA All-Star in his final year.

Professional career

Toronto Argonauts

Acheampong was selected 20th overall by the Toronto Argonauts in the second round of the

2020 CFL Draft The 2020 CFL Draft took place on April 30, 2020 at 8:00 pm ET and was broadcast on TSN and RDS.. 73 players were chosen from among eligible players from Canadian Universities across the country, as well as Canadian players playing in the NCA ...

. After the cancellation of the

2020 CFL season The 2020 CFL season would have been the 67th season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it would have been the 63rd season of the Canadian Football League. It was originally scheduled to begin on June 11; on April 7, the start of the s ...

, he made the team's active roster following training camp in

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and played in his first professional game on August 7, 2021. Acheampong recorded his first career sack and a blocked field goal attempt in a Week 13 playoff-clinching win over the BC Lions on October 30, 2021. He played in all 14 regular season games in 2021 where he had 16 defensive tackles and two sacks. In

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

, Acheampong played in 16 regular season games where he recorded 19 defensive tackles, one special teams tackle, and one sack. He played in both the East Final and

109th Grey Cup The 109th Grey Cup decided the Canadian Football League (CFL) championship for the 2022 season. The game was played on November 20, at Mosaic Stadium in Regina, Saskatchewan. It marked the fourth Grey Cup game to be held in Regina, and the first ...

and won his first

Grey Cup The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested be ...

championship following the Argonauts' victory over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. To start the

2023 season 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...

, Acheampong played in one of the team's first three games while being a healthy scratch for the other two.

Edmonton Elks

On July 8, 2023, Acheampong was traded to the Edmonton Elks in exchange for a fifth-round selection in the

2024 CFL Draft The 2024 CFL National Draft is a selection of National players by Canadian Football League teams that is scheduled to take place in the spring of 2024. 74 players will be chosen from among eligible players from Canadian Universities across the coun ...

and the rights to

Xavier Gipson Xavier Jamar Gipson (born March 8, 2001) is an American football wide receiver for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks football, Stephen F. Austin. Early years Gi ...

Personal life

Acheampong was born in Brampton, Ontario and started playing football in grade 9.

References

External links

Edmonton Elks bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Acheampong, Sam 1996 births Living people Canadian football defensive linemen Edmonton Elks players Players of Canadian football from Brampton Toronto Argonauts players Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks football players