Samuel Ehi Eguavoen (born February 22, 1993) is an American 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 ...

. He played

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for the

Texas Tech Red Raiders The Texas Tech Red Raiders and Lady Raiders are the athletic teams that represent Texas Tech University, located in Lubbock, Texas, United States. The women's basketball team uses the name Lady Raiders, while the school's other women's teams us ...

Early life

Eguavoen 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 ...

Lakeview Centennial High School Lakeview Centennial High School is a public secondary school in Garland, Texas, United States. It enrolls students in grades 9– 12 and is a part of the Garland Independent School District. The school's name derives from two sources: "Lakevie ...

Garland, Texas Garland is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located within Dallas County, Texas, Dallas County with portions extending into Collin County, Texas, Collin and Rockwall County, Texas, Rockwall counties. It is located northeast of Dallas and is a ...

, recording 118 total tackles, four sacks, one interception, two pass deflections, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries his senior year. He earned Second-team District 10-5A honors. He was rated a three-star prospect by

Rivals.com Rivals.com (stylized as ''rivals'') is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was found ...

and

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. Eguavoen also played basketball at Lakeview Centennial. He is of Nigerian descent.

College career

Eguavoen played for the

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public university, public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship instit ...

from 2011 to 2014. He played in twelve games, starting five, while totaling 30 tackles his freshman season in 2011 and was named to Rivals.com's

Big 12 The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. It consists of 16 full-member universities (3 private universities and 13 public universities) in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, Okla ...

All-Freshman Team Defense. He appeared in thirteen games, starting nine, and accumulated 52 tackles in 2012. Eguavoen played in thirteen games, all starts, while recording 70 tackles, 1.5 sacks, three quarterback hurries, two pass breakups, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery his junior year in 2013. He appeared in ten games, all starts, while totaling 74 tackles, two sacks, two pass breakups, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, one interception and one quarterback hurry his senior season in 2014. He also garnered Honorable Mention All-Big 12 recognition in 2014.

Professional career

Eguavoen went undrafted in the

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and spent the year working in

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Saskatchewan Roughriders

He signed with the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 19 ...

of the CFL on February 24, 2016. He made his CFL debut on June 30, 2016, recording four defensive tackles against the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...

. Eguavoen played three seasons for the Roughriders, playing in 38 games for the team and contributing with 159 defensive tackles, 14 special teams tackles, four sacks, two forced fumbles and one interception. Eguavoen, who was scheduled to be a free agent February 12, 2019, was released by the Riders on January 2, 2019, to pursue NFL opportunities.

Miami Dolphins

On January 7, 2019, Eguavoen signed with 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 ...

of the NFL. During his time with Miami, Equavoen appeared in 66 games and started seven. He also played a large role on special teams throughout his years on the team. He was placed on the reserve/

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list by the team on August 19, 2020, and was activated the next day. He started six games during the season, recording 42 tackles, 3.5 sacks, and one fumble recovery. In 2021 during a week 18 win against the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

, Eguavoen recovered a fumble in the end zone on the final play of the game to score his first NFL touchdown. On March 16, 2022, Eguavoen signed a one-year contract extension with the Dolphins.

New York Jets

On August 6, 2023, Eguavoen signed with the

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

on a one-year contract worth $1,080,000. He was released on August 29, 2023, and re-signed to the practice squad. He was then elevated to the active roster on September 11, 2023, and appeared in the Jets season opening win against the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

as a special teams player. During the following week against the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

, Eguavoen made his first appearance on defense as a Jet, alongside more usage on special teams. He was signed to the active roster on September 23. On May 3, 2024, Eguavoen re-signed with the Jets. He was released on August 27, and re-signed to the practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on September 9.

References

External links

Texas Tech Red Raiders bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eguavoen, Samuel Living people 1993 births American football linebackers Canadian football linebackers Texas Tech Red Raiders football players Saskatchewan Roughriders players Players of American football from Garland, Texas Players of American football from Collin County, Texas Players of American football from Dallas County, Texas Sportspeople from Edo State American players of American football of Nigerian descent Miami Dolphins players 21st-century African-American sportsmen New York Jets players Players of Canadian football from Texas Lakeview Centennial High School alumni