Troy Steven Apke (born April 11, 1995) 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 ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

. 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

Penn State Nittany Lions The Penn State Nittany Lions are the athletic teams of Pennsylvania State University, except for the women's basketball team, known as the Penn State Lady Lions basketball, Lady Lions. The school colors are navy blue and white. The school mascot ...

and was selected by 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 ...

in the fourth round of the

2018 NFL draft The 2018 NFL draft was the 83rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2018 NFL season. The draft was held on April 26–28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington southwest of Dallas; it was ...

. He is the son of former

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

player Steve Apke.

Early life

Apke was born in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

, Pennsylvania to former

Pittsburgh Panthers The Pittsburgh Panthers, commonly also referred to as the Pitt Panthers, are the athletic teams representing the University of Pittsburgh, although the term is colloquially used to refer to other aspects of the university such as alumni, facul ...

and

linebacker Steve Apke. His mother 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 ...

for

. He grew up in nearby Mt. Lebanon Township and attended Mt. Lebanon High School, where he participated in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

, and

. Apke advanced to the PIAA state track and field championships his junior and senior years. He was also the

WPIAL The Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL, pronounced ) is an interscholastic athletic association in Western Pennsylvania. It is District 7 of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association. History The Western ...

Champion in the

100 meters The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...

in 2014, recording a time of 10.81 seconds. He was a three-year starter for the football team playing

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 ...

and

. During his junior and senior seasons Apke had 1,776 receiving yards and 20

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

and on defense, 68

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position) A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent ...

with 3

interceptions In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team bu ...

. A 3-star recruit, Apke committed to

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with ca ...

College career

During his freshman season at Penn State, Apke played four games on

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 ...

, totaling two tackles. In his sophomore year, he played in all 13 games, starting one. He finished the season with 26 total tackles, one forced

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful h ...

, and one pass deflection. During his junior season, Apke played in all 14 games starting one again. On October 1, he recorded a career high six tackles and one pass deflection in a win over

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. Prior to his senior season Apke was named a starter at safety by head coach James Franklin. In the season opener against

Akron Zips The Akron Zips are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Akron in Akron, Ohio, United States. The Zips compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the NCAA Division I, Division I level as a memb ...

, Apke had four tackles and was one of eight players to be a part of three-straight seasons with a shutout on the Nittany Lions roster. Also, he was one of three who played in all three of those games. Apke graduated with a degree in Criminology. Prior to playing in the 2017 Fiesta Bowl, he was one of twenty on the roster who graduated before the Bowl game. Apke was selected to participate in the January 2018 edition of the

NFLPA Collegiate Bowl The NFLPA Collegiate Bowl was a postseason college football all-star game for National Football League Draft-eligible players, held annually in January. The event was founded in 2012 by the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA). In ...

, where he was named game MVP after a team-high seven tackles, a forced fumble and a 56-yard interception return for a touchdown.

College statistics

Professional career

Apke attended the

NFL Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foot ...

, where he ran the

40-yard dash The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed and acceleration of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time can have a he ...

in 4.34 seconds. (“He can RUN, run” was Deion Sanders’ description conveying his surprise at how fast Apke ran the 40). In the

, he was selected by the

in the fourth round, 109th overall. Apke made his NFL debut in the Redskins season opener against the

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 ...

, where he made a touchdown-saving tackle on a punt return, but was injured on the play. He was subsequently 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 ...

a month later. Coming into the

2019 season Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number) * One of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (1987 film), a 1987 science fiction film * '' 19-Nineteen'', a 2009 South Korean film * '' Dici ...

Apke was expected to be a contributor on special teams. Through the first six weeks Apke had three tackles. In week 7 versus the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the 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 ...

, Apke saw significant action on defense after an injury to starting safety

Montae Nicholson Montae Nicholson (born December 4, 1995) is an American professional football safety for the DC Defenders of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football at Michigan State and was selected by the Washington Redskins in the fourt ...

. Apke had an interception, the first of his career, as well as a pass deflection and 6 tackles in just under a half of action in a 9–0 loss. In 2020, Apke was named the starting

free safety Safety (S), historically known as a safetyman, is a position in gridiron football on the American football positions#Defense, defense. The safeties are defensive backs who line up ten to fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage. There are two var ...

after beating out Sean Davis during

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events ...

. Due to poor performance to start the season, he lost his starting position after Week 5. He converted to

in 2021, making him the first white NFL player at the position since Dustin Fox in 2008. Apke re-signed with the team on March 17, 2022. He was released on August 16, 2022, but re-signed 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 ...

on August 31. He was released again on October 5, 2022, but re-signed back to the practice squad on October 21. Apke was released again on November 26, 2022. On December 30, he was re-signed to the practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 9, 2023. The Commanders placed Apke on injured reserve on August 8, 2023. He was released on November 20.

References

External links

Penn State Nittany Lions bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Apke, Troy 1995 births Living people American football cornerbacks American football safeties Mt. Lebanon High School alumni Penn State Nittany Lions football players Players of American football from Pittsburgh Sportspeople from Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania Players of American football from Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Washington Redskins players Washington Football Team players Washington Commanders players