Shaun Prater (born October 27, 1989) 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

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

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). After playing

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

Iowa Hawkeyes The Iowa Hawkeyes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. The Hawkeyes have varsity teams in 20 sports, 7 for men and 13 for women; The teams participate in Division I of the Nati ...

, he was selected by the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

in the fifth round of the

2012 NFL draft The 2012 NFL draft was the 77th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players for their rosters. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held ...

. He was also a member of the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

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 ...

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

, and

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

Early life

Prater attended

Omaha Central High School Omaha Central High School, originally known as Omaha High School, is a fully accredited public high school located in downtown Omaha, Nebraska, United States. It is one of many public high schools located in Omaha. As of the 2023–2024 academi ...

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

. He played mainly

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 ...

, but also saw time at

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 ...

as a senior. He had 177 tackles, five interceptions, 20 passes defended, five sacks, six forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. He also had 10 carries for 185 yards along with 12 receptions for 290 yards and four touchdowns. In addition to football, he also ran

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 ...

. He won the 400-meter dash at the 2007 Omaha South Invite with a time of 49.6 seconds. At the 2007 Nebraska State High School Championships, he finished second in the

400 meters The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is ...

, with a career-best time of 48.52 seconds, and third in the

200 meters The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400-metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slight ...

, with another career-best time of 21.58 seconds.

College career

Prater accepted a scholarship offer from Kirk Ferentz and attended the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

, where he played cornerback for the Hawkeyes. Prater was selected First-team All-Big Ten in 2010 and 2011.

Professional career

Cincinnati Bengals

Prater was selected by the

in the fifth round (156th overall) of the

. He was placed on

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 ...

on August 24, 2012.

Philadelphia Eagles

On September 1, 2013, the

claimed Prater off waivers. On October 21, the

released Prater to make room for the signing of

Emmanuel Acho Emmanuel Chinedum Acho (born November 10, 1990) is an American sports analyst and former professional football player who is an analyst for FS1. He played as a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). Acho played college football for t ...

Minnesota Vikings (first stint)

On October 22, 2013, the

claimed Prater off waivers. The team released him on September 4, 2015. Then signed again with the Vikings on December 8, 2015.

Indianapolis Colts

The

signed Prater on September 29, 2015. He was released on October 2, 2015, but re-signed on October 4. Prater was waived on October 20.

Minnesota Vikings (second stint)

On December 8, 2015, Prater re-signed with the Vikings. He was waived by the Vikings on December 14.

Denver Broncos

The

signed Prater on December 22, 2015. A week later he was waived by the team without playing a single game for them.

Arizona Cardinals

On February 1, 2016, Prater signed a futures contract with the

. On August 29, 2016, Prater was waived by the Cardinals.

References

External links

*
Minnesota Vikings bio

Philadelphia Eagles bio

Cincinnati Bengals bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prater, Shaun 1989 births Living people Players of American football from Omaha, Nebraska American football cornerbacks Iowa Hawkeyes football players Cincinnati Bengals players Philadelphia Eagles players Minnesota Vikings players Indianapolis Colts players Denver Broncos players Arizona Cardinals players Omaha Central High School alumni