Stanford Lapolean Samuels III (born February 23, 1999) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create turnove ...

who is a free agent. He played college football at

Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the sta ...

Early life

Samuels grew up in

Hollywood, Florida Hollywood is a city in southern Broward County, Florida, United States, located between Fort Lauderdale and Miami. As of July 1, 2019, Hollywood had a population of 154,817. Founded in 1925, the city grew rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s, and is no ...

and attended Charles W. Flanagan High School. As a senior, Samuels was named the

Broward County Broward County ( , ) is a county in the southeastern part of Florida, located in the Miami metropolitan area. It is Florida's second-most populous county after Miami-Dade County and the 17th-most populous in the United States, with over 1.94 ...

Defensive Player of the Year and played in the 2016 Under Armour All-America Game. A consensus top-five cornerback in his recruiting class, Samuels committed to play college football at

, his father's alma mater, over offers from

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = " Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

, and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to t ...

College career

Samuels enrolled early at Florida State to participate in spring practices. Samuels played in all 13 of Florida State's games as a true freshman, registering 27 tackles with a sack five passes defended and two interceptions. He moved to safety and started the final 11 games of his sophomore season, finishing the year with 58 tackles (one for a loss), four interceptions and four pass breakups. As a junior, he moved back to cornerback and started all 12 of the Seminoles' games and made 60 tackles (1.5 for loss), two interceptions and seven passes defended and was named honorable mention All-

ACC ACC most often refers to: *Atlantic Coast Conference, an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic conference located in the US *American College of Cardiology, A US-based nonprofit medical association that bestows credentials upon cardiovascular speci ...

. Following the end of the season Samuels announced he would forgo his senior year at Florida State in order to enter the 2020 NFL Draft.

Professional career

Green Bay Packers

Samuels signed with 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 club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the th ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

on April 29, 2020, shortly after the conclusion of the

2020 NFL Draft The 2020 NFL Draft was the 85th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2020 NFL season. The first round was held on April 23, followed by the second and third rounds on April 24. The ...

. He was waived on September 5, 2020, and was signed to the practice squad the following day. He was elevated to the active roster on November 5 and 14 for the team's weeks 9 and 10 games against the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

and

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...

, and reverted to the practice squad after each game. On January 25, 2021, Samuels signed a reserve/futures contract with the Packers. He was released on August 18, 2021.

Chicago Bears

On January 5, 2022, Samuels was signed to the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine ...

practice squad.

Las Vegas Raiders

On May 16, 2022, Samuels signed with the

Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West divi ...

. He was released on July 11, 2022.

Philadelphia Stars

Samuels signed with the Philadelphia Stars of the USFL on November 17, 2022. The Stars folded when the XFL and USFL merged to create the United Football League (UFL).

NFL career statistics

Personal life

Samuels' father,

Stanford Samuels Jr. Stanford Samuels Jr (born July 27, 1980) is a former professional Canadian football cornerback and current recruiting coordinator for Louisville Cardinals football. He was originally signed as an undrafted free agent by the Indianapolis Colts ...

, also played football at Florida State and professionally in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ...

References

External links

Florida State Seminoles bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Samuels, Stanford Living people 1999 births American football cornerbacks Florida State Seminoles football players Sportspeople from Pembroke Pines, Florida Players of American football from Broward County, Florida Green Bay Packers players Chicago Bears players Las Vegas Raiders players Philadelphia Stars (2022) players