Sammie Stroughter (born January 3, 1986) 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

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

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). 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

Oregon State Beavers The Oregon State Beavers are the sport, athletic teams that represent Oregon State University, located in Corvallis, Oregon. The Beavers compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Division I ...

and was selected by the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

in the seventh round of the

2009 NFL draft The 2009 NFL draft was the 74th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 25 and 26, 2009. The draft c ...

Early life

Stroughter attended Granite Bay High School in

Granite Bay, California Granite Bay is a census-designated place (CDP) in Placer County, California, Placer County, California, United States. It is part of the Sacramento, California, Sacramento–Arden-Arcade, California, Arden-Arcade–Roseville, California, R ...

. For the Grizzlies, Stroughter played wide receiver, running back, defensive back, and kick returner for head coach Ernie Cooper. As an all-purpose back his senior year, he rushed for 986 yards on 126 carries (7.8 average) and scored 15 touchdowns in addition to catching 31 passes for 618 yards (19.9 average) and six touchdowns. Stroughter also returned kickoffs and tallied 322 return yards as well as 22 punt returns for 395 yards and two touchdowns. For his career, he had 2,321 all-purpose yards. His honors included First team All-Sierra League, first team all-section as a senior, and first team all-metro as a senior by the Sacramento Bee. Stroughter earned two letters in football and three in

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

as a 100-meter standout.

College career

Stoughter played collegiately for the

. During his time with the program, Stroughter became one of the most honored players in the history of the Oregon State program and one of the top receivers in the Pac-10. He completed his career third at OSU for career receptions (164) and yards (2,653). His all-purpose total was 4,299 yards, fourth at OSU. He owns the fourth-best (1,293 yards/2006) and sixth-best (1,040 yards/2008) single-season receiving yards mark at OSU. He graduated from Oregon State with a degree in sociology.

Professional career

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

In Week 6 of the 2009 season, Stroughter returned a kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown against the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

, marking the third time it had been accomplished in franchise history. He recorded his first career receiving touchdown in a Week 9, 38-28 victory over the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

. He was placed on season-ending

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

with a broken foot on December 21. In Week 13 of the 2010 season, Stroughter caught a season-high all six targets and rushed once for two yards in a home loss to Atlanta. On the Buccaneers' final drive of the game, Stroughter made a spectacular catch on fourth-and-11 that made ESPN Sports Center's NFL Week 13 Top Ten Plays. After Week 2 of the 2012 season, Stroughter was placed on Injured Reserve after injuring his foot.

Coaching career

After 2 years as an assistant coach at his alma mater Granite Bay High School, Stroughter was named the head football coach at

Rio Americano High School Rio Americano High School, colloquially known as Rio, is a public high school in Arden-Arcade, California, just outside Sacramento, California, Sacramento, serving students in grades 9 through 12 as part of the San Juan Unified School District. ...

Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...

in June 2017.

References

External links

Tampa Bay Buccaneers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stroughter, Sammie 1986 births Living people Players of American football from Vallejo, California Players of American football from Sacramento, California American football wide receivers American football return specialists Oregon State Beavers football players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players