In the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft, Sam Darnold was selected by the New York Jets as the third overall pick. The choice came as no surprise to many who have followed his career since his high school days.
The youngster is now expected to have a great National Football League (NFL) career. Here is everything to know about him.
Sam Darnold Biography
June 5, 1997, the day the NFL star was born as Samuel Richard Darnold on California Capistrano Beach. He was raised next to a sister by a teacher mother and his father, who worked for a construction company. Sam grew up in Orange County in a poor family.
His love for the sport didn’t start with him as you can also say it’s a thing in his gene. While her father played football at the University of Redlands, her mother, Chris Darnold, played varsity volleyball when she was at Long Beach City College. Additionally, his sister Franki also played college volleyball.
You would have to think that with how good he is as a young league player, he started playing since childhood. In fact, he even started playing before the age of six, but instead of soccer, his sport was basketball.
For his education, Sam attended San Clemente High School in California where he became an avid sportsman playing football, baseball and basketball. What was more interesting was the fact that he was good at all.
Sam Darnold has played football as a wide receiver and linebacker as well as a quarterback at different times. Having had a very successful career in high school, he received several scholarships, including the University of Oregon, the University of Utah, and Duke University. But then he decided to go to the University of Southern California.
Having played for USC in the 2016 and 2017 seasons and after winning the Archie Griffin Award as well as the Football Writers Association of America’s Freshman All-America team, he announced he was up for the 2018 NFL Draft. was selected by the New York Jets.
Height, weight and body statistics
As stated, Darnold didn’t just start out with soccer, he also played other sports such as basketball and baseball, excelling in all areas especially basketball. Apart from his love for sports and talent, what contributed significantly to this success was his athletic shape and height.
The man who could definitely stand as the tallest of a good number of gatherings stands at 1.91m (6ft 3in). Additionally, it weighs 102 kg (225 lbs). Sam Darnold has a hand that measures 9 3/8″, and while his overall body measurement hasn’t been provided, he has a wide arm that’s great for the game.
Other facts to know
1. The man we know as Sam Darnold was almost called Buck when he was born because his dad wanted him to be tough. But then his mother wouldn’t have her son named Buck and because of that we now have him as Sam.
2. In high school, he became South Coast League Most Valuable Player a few times while playing basketball.
3. Although many people will find it hard to believe, Sam is a very shy kid despite his athletic intelligence. You can easily be fooled by its construction, but it is very soft.
4 Before becoming a big name in USC and then the NFL, his grandfather was also a big name. He was Marlboro’s first man and, like his grandson, Dick Hammer was also good at athletics. The only thing more is that he was part of the 1964 USA Olympic volleyball team. Ten years earlier, he played for the USC basketball team and qualified for the Final Oven. If you think that’s all, his maternal grandmother also played volleyball and she shared the gene with her children, including Sam’s mother.
5. He has a girlfriend, Claire Kirksey. The couple’s first social media photo was posted in 2016. But before that, Claire had several relationships based on the images shared on her Instagram account.
6. Because of his great introvert, the first time Claire Kirksey introduced Sam Darnold to her parents, they thought he was afraid of her.