Arguably one of the youngest football players in the National Football League (NFL), Curtis Samuel is a talented and skilled footballer who represents the Carolina Panthers in the NFL as a wide receiver. He dons the No. 10 jersey for the Charlotte-based football team and has proven to be a stroke of genius and a desirable feature.
Being a sensational wide receiver, Samuel has won many hearts with his performances on the field from his high school days to this point of immense stardom and popularity. Although the footballer is relatively new to the NFL, his personal life and career are already of interest to his fans, colleagues, rivals and the general public. It is for this reason that we bring you lesser known facts about the rising football player.
Age and biography
The Carolina Panthers wide receiver was born on August 11, 1996, in Brooklyn, New York, United States. He was born to Nicole Samuel (mother) and Curtis Council (father), both of African American ethnicity.
The football player was picked up by his mother alone at Kingsborough Houses in Brooklyn with his sister. It is in the same apartment that his mother and uncles, including Rasheem Samuel, were raised. He has a cousin called Rashuan Samuel who is a footballer. His mother, Nicole, has been with Curtis’ stepfather, Roy Armstead, for eleven years. The couple connected during a football game and were very supportive of their individual careers. Roy runs a youth football program called the Brooklyn Saints and was Curtis’ youth coach.
The NFL star owes his high school education to Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn, where he ran track and also served as a running back under Danny Landberg. During his junior year, Samuel scored 13 touchdowns, racked up for over 1,000 yards, had two kickoff return touchdowns and three receiving touchdowns.
Samuel would increase his impressive record in his senior year by rushing for 1,461 yards with 17 touchdowns and was eventually named a four-star rookie by Rivals.com and the ninth best wide receiver in his class.
The next step of the football player in his studytrip was to Ohio State University. He joined the University in August 2013 and fully enrolled there in January 2014. Curtis was part of the 2014-2016 varsity football team seasons and was coached by Urban Meyer. As noted in his college stats, the Brooklyn-born footballer recorded six touchdowns, 58 carries for 383 rushing yards and 11 receptions for 95 receiving yards in 2014.
Curtis also had a productive 2015 at Ohio State as he recorded a pressing touchdown to move with 22 receptions for 289 receiving yards, 17 passes for 132 rushing yards as well as two touchdowns. He finished the 2016 season with eight rushing touchdowns, 74 receptions for 865 receiving yards, 97 carries for 771 rushing yards, and seven touchdowns.
Here is a summary of Samuel’s college stats:
| NCAA career statistics | |||||||||
| Ohio State Buckeyes | |||||||||
| Season | To rush | To receive | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Att | yards | Average | TD | Rec | yards | Average | TD | ||
| 2014 | 58 | 383 | 6.6 | 6 | 11 | 95 | 8.6 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 17 | 132 | 7.8 | 1 | 22 | 289 | 13.1 | 2 | |
| 2016 | 97 | 771 | 7.9 | 8 | 74 | 865 | 11.7 | 7 | |
| NCAA career totals | 172 | 1,286 | 7.5 | 15 | 107 | 1,249 | 11.7 | 9 | |
Curtis Samuel’s NFL Career
Curtis took the football league by storm in 2017 after he was selected 40th overall in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft by the Carolina Panthers. The team signed the footballer to a four-year contract worth $6.45 million on May 5, 2017. The contract included a guarantee of $4.05 million and a signing bonus of 2. $83 million.
Samuel recorded his first two career receptions in a game-winning game against the Buffalo Bills on September 17, 2017. He also recorded a rush for 31 yards to score the ending point in a game against the New Orleans Saints. The NFL player suffered a left ankle injury on Nov. 14, 2017, in a game against the Miami Dolphins, which abruptly ended his rookie season. After successful surgery, his team placed him on injured reserve on November 24, 2017. Overall, Curtis Samuel ended his rookie season with four carries for 64 rushing yards in nine games and 15 receptions for 115 receiving yards.
As of 2017, his career stats are detailed as follows: receptions – 15, total return yards – 221, rushing attempts – 4, total touchdowns – 0, receptions – 115 and 64k.
Career highlights and accolades include: All-American Team (Sporting News) (2016), 2× Varsity O Winner, Sugar Bowl Champion (2015), All-Star First Team (Coaches/Media/ AP-2016), PCP National Champion (2015), co-Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week (7/11/16), Fiesta Bowl Champion (2016), and Big Ten Champion (2014).
Body Stats – Height and Weight
Curtis Samuel is 5 feet 11 inches tall which equates to 1.80 metric units while his weight is measured at 200 pounds or 91 kilograms.