Steven Octavien (born November 25, 1984) is a former

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

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 ...

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) for the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

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 ...

and

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

. 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 ...

at the

University of Nebraska A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

Early life

Octavien is of

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

an descent, and attended

Lely High School Lely High School is a four-year public high school located in Lely Resort, Collier County, Florida, about southeast of Downtown Naples. The school serves Naples Manor, Marco Island, Lely, Verona Walk, and some unincorporated areas of Col ...

. He became a starter at

as a sophomore. In his last 2 years he was used as a two-way player. In his junior season, he won the state title in the

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field sport in which the participant athlete throws an oblate spheroid weight (object), weight called a discus in an attempt to mark a further distance than other competitors. It is a ...

and finished second as a senior. In 2003, his personal-best throw of 193-7 was the tenth-best prep mark in the nation.

College career

Octavien enrolled at

Harper College William Rainey Harper College is a Public college, public community college in Palatine, Illinois. It was established by referendum in 1965 and opened in September 1967. It is named for William Rainey Harper, a pioneer in the junior college m ...

. As freshman, he posted 124 tackles (15 for loss), 8 sacks, 3 interceptions, 2 blocked field goals and one blocked punt, while contributing to a 10-1 record. In 2004, he played in only four games because of an injury. He also was a track standout, running the second leg on the school’s 2004 national champion

4 × 400 metres relay The 4 × 400 metres relay or long relay is an athletics track and field, track event in which teams consist of four runners who each complete 400 metres or one lap, totaling 1600 meters. It is traditionally the final event of ...

team and winning the Division III junior college

title with a mark of 164-7. Octavien accepted a football scholarship from the

. In 2005, he was injured in the season opener against the

University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Orono, Maine, United States. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the Flagship universitie ...

, and was lost for the year. As a

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Sports * Redshirt (college sports) Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically ...

junior, he only played in 9 games after missing 4 four contests while rehabbing a leg injury. He posted 32 tackles (4 for loss), one sack, 2 passes defensed, one quarterback hurry and one forced fumble, while contributing for a defense that ranked in the top 25 nationally in scoring defense. As a senior, he started 8 out of 12 games at Will linebacker, leading the team with 92 total tackles, 15 tackles for loss and 9 quarterback hurries. He also had 3 passes defensed and 2 sacks. He was named the team's Defensive Most Valuable Player. Played in 22 games with 10 starts in three years at Nebraska, finishing with 128 tackles, 3.0 sacks, 21.0 ~ tackles for losses, 1 1 pressures, five breakups and a forced fumble.

Professional career

Kansas City Chiefs

Octavien was signed by the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager 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 a contract at present ...

after not being selected in the

2008 NFL draft The 2008 NFL draft was the 73rd NFL draft, annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York (state), New York ...

. He was waived injured on August 30.

Washington Redskins

On November 20,

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, he was signed by the

to their

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

Dallas Cowboys

On November 30,

, the

signed Octavien from the

. He was declared inactive in his first 2 games, before making his NFL debut with 2

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

tackles and a forced fumble against the

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

. In

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, he played in 14 games and tied for fourth on the team with 12

tackles. He was released on September 4,

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

Cleveland Browns

On December 22,

, he was signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager 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 a contract at present ...

by the

. He wasn't re-signed at the end of the season.

Omaha Nighthawks

In 2011, he was signed by the

Omaha Nighthawks The Omaha Nighthawks were a professional American football team based in Omaha, Nebraska, which played in the United Football League (2009–2012), United Football League, joining the league as an expansion team in 2010 UFL season, 2010. During ...

of the United Football League. He played

and

Tampa Bay Storm

On April 3, 2012, the

Tampa Bay Storm The Tampa Bay Storm were a professional arena football team based in Tampa, Florida, US. It played in the Arena Football League (AFL). Originally the team was located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and operated as the Pittsburgh Gladiators. The ...

of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

signed him as a

. His value showed during the season on the field and in the locker room, as a veteran who became a leader for younger teammates.

Montreal Alouettes

On February 16,

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

, he was signed by the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: ''Les Alouettes de Montréal'') are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has disbanded twice and been re-established thrice. The Alouettes compe ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

to a two-year contract. He was released before the start of the season.

San Jose SaberCats

In June 2013, Octavien was assigned to the

San Jose SaberCats The San Jose SaberCats were a professional arena football team based in San Jose, California. The SaberCats had been members of the Arena Football League (AFL) since 1995 (the year in which the team was founded); and until 2015, they belonged to ...

of the

. On August 2, he was placed on the inactive reserve.

LA Kiss

On December 26, 2013, he was selected in the AFL expansion draft by the LA Kiss of the

Personal life

His sister

Dayana Dayana is a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Dayana Cadeau (born 1966), Haitian-born Canadian American professional bodybuilder * Dayana Cázares (born 1999), Mexican football midfielder * Dayana Colmenares (born 1984), Miss Ve ...

was a three-time track

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

in the

hammer A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nail (fastener), nails into wood, to sh ...

and discus throw at the

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States, and other campuses in St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg and Sarasota, ...

and competed in the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials,

2007 Pan American Games The 2007 Pan American Games, officially known as the XV Pan American Games () and commonly known as Rio 2007, were a major Americas, continental multi-sport event that took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from July 13 to 29, 2007. A total of ...

, and the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

References

External links

Nebraska profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Octavien, Steve 1984 births Living people Players of American football from Belle Glade, Florida People from Collier County, Florida American football linebackers Harper Hawks football players Nebraska Cornhuskers football players Cleveland Browns players Dallas Cowboys players Los Angeles Kiss players Omaha Nighthawks players San Jose SaberCats players Tampa Bay Storm players Washington Redskins players American sportspeople of Haitian descent Harper College alumni