Sammie Lee Burroughs (born June 21, 1973) 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 ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

who played two seasons with the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

of 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). 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 ...

Itawamba Community College Itawamba Community College is a public community college with its main campus in Fulton, Mississippi. Additional campuses are in Belden and Tupelo. History Itawamba Community College began as an extension of Itawamba County Agricultural Hi ...

, Mt. San Antonio College, and

Portland State University Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon, United States. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the next ...

. He was also a member of the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

Early life and college

Sammie Lee Burroughs was born on June 21, 1973, in

Pomona, California Pomona ( ) is a city in eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. Pomona is located in the Pomona Valley, between the Inland Empire and the San Gabriel Valley. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city's population was ...

. He attended Pomona High School in Pomoma. Burroughs first played

and then Mt. San Antonio College. He transferred to play for the

Portland State Vikings Portland State Vikings is the nickname of the NCAA-affiliated, intercollegiate athletic teams representing Portland State University of Portland, Oregon. The Vikings compete at the NCAA Division I level in basketball, soccer, volleyball, golf, t ...

, where he earned

Little All-American The Little All-America team is an honor given annually in the United States to the best small-college players at their respective positions. The first Little All-America team for college football, selected with assistance from reporters in ever ...

honors.

Professional career

Burroughs signed with the

after going undrafted in the

1996 NFL draft The 1996 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 NFL draft, draft was held April 20–21, 1996 NFL seas ...

. He had been projected as a

safety Safety is the state 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 The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

in the NFL but ended up playing

. He played in all 16 games, starting one, for the Colts during his rookie year in 1996, recording 32 solo tackles, 10 assisted tackles, and two forced fumbles. Burroughs also appeared in one playoff game that year. He played in all 16 games, starting one, for the second straight season in 1997, posting 20 solo tackles, nine assisted tackles, and one sack. He was placed on injured reserve in August 1998 and missed the entire season. Burroughs became a free agent after the 1998 season and signed a one-year contract with the

in March 1999. He was placed on the physically unable to perform list on August 31, 1999, with a back injury and missed the entire season. He became a free agent after the 1999 season.

Personal life

Burroughs' son, Sammie Burroughs III, played college football at

East Mississippi Community College East Mississippi Community College (EMCC), formerly East Mississippi Junior College, is a public community college in Scooba, Mississippi. EMCC serves and is supported by Clay, Kemper, Lauderdale, Lowndes, Noxubee and Oktibbeha counties in ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burroughs, Sammie Living people 1973 births American football linebackers Itawamba Indians football players Mt. SAC Mounties football players Portland State Vikings football players Indianapolis Colts players Miami Dolphins players Players of American football from Pomona, California Players of American football from Los Angeles County, California 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen