Deebo Samuel facts for kids
Samuel with South Carolina in 2018
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| No. 1 – San Francisco 49ers | |||||||||||||
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| Position: | Wide receiver | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born: | January 15, 1996 Inman, South Carolina, U.S. |
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| Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight: | 215 lb (98 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school: | Chapman (Inman) | ||||||||||||
| College: | South Carolina (2014–2018) | ||||||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 2019 / Round: 2 / Pick: 36 | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
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| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of 2024 | |||||||||||||
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| Player stats at PFR | |||||||||||||
Tyshun Raequan "Deebo" Samuel Sr. (born January 15, 1996) is an American professional football player. He is a wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the South Carolina Gamecocks. The 49ers picked him in the second round of the 2019 NFL draft. In 2021, he was chosen for the Pro Bowl and named a first-team All-Pro. This means he was one of the best players in the league.
Contents
Deebo Samuel's Football Journey
Growing Up and High School Football
Deebo Samuel grew up in Inman, South Carolina. He went to Chapman High School. There, he played high school football and was a star player.
As a senior, he helped his team reach the semifinals of the AAA playoffs. During his high school career, he caught 166 passes for 2,751 yards. He also scored 36 touchdowns. He ran the ball 133 times for 898 yards and 13 touchdowns. Samuel set a school record with 53 career touchdowns. He also made 94 tackles and had 12 interceptions. He was named the High School Sports Report Class AAA Offensive Player of the Year. Samuel decided to play college football at the University of South Carolina.
College Football Journey
Starting Out (2014-2015)
In 2014, Samuel was a "redshirt" freshman. This means he practiced with the team but did not play in any games. This allowed him to train and get stronger.
In 2015, he played in five games. He started three of them. He had some injuries, including a hamstring injury early in the season. He finished with 12 catches for 161 yards.
Big Plays and Injuries (2016-2017)
In 2016, his sophomore year, Samuel played in 10 games. He led his team with 59 catches for 783 yards. He also ran for 98 yards and six touchdowns. In the Birmingham Bowl, he had 14 catches for 190 yards.
The 2017 season started with a bang for Samuel. In the first game, he returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown. He also caught two touchdown passes. In Week 2, he returned another kickoff for a touchdown. He also ran for a touchdown. In Week 3, he caught a 68-yard touchdown pass on the first play.
Unfortunately, Samuel got hurt in Week 3. He broke his right fibula (a bone in his lower leg). This injury ended his season early. Even though he played less than three full games, he had 250 receiving yards, three receiving touchdowns, and two rushing touchdowns. He also had two kickoff return touchdowns.
Senior Season Success (2018)
Samuel announced he would return for his senior season in 2018. He finished the year with 882 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns. His best game was against Clemson. He caught 10 passes for 210 yards and three touchdowns. After the season, he was chosen to play in the 2019 Senior Bowl.
College Statistics
Here are Samuel's college football statistics:
| Season | Team | GP | Receiving | Rushing | Kick Returns | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Ret | Yds | Avg | TD | |||
| 2014 | South Carolina | 0 |  Redshirt |
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| 2015 | South Carolina | 5 | 12 | 161 | 13.4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | 24 | 24.0 | 0 |
| 2016 | South Carolina | 10 | 59 | 783 | 13.3 | 1 | 15 | 98 | 6.5 | 6 | 16 | 431 | 26.9 | 1 |
| 2017 | South Carolina | 3 | 15 | 250 | 16.7 | 3 | 2 | 30 | 15.0 | 1 | 2 | 194 | 97.0 | 2 |
| 2018 | South Carolina | 12 | 62 | 882 | 14.2 | 11 | 8 | 26 | 3.3 | 0 | 23 | 570 | 24.8 | 1 |
| Career | 30 | 148 | 2,076 | 14.0 | 16 | 25 | 154 | 6.2 | 7 | 42 | 1,219 | 29.0 | 4 | |
Joining the NFL: San Francisco 49ers
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand size | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft 11+1⁄4 in (1.81 m) |
214 lb (97 kg) |
31+3⁄8 in (0.80 m) |
10 in (0.25 m) |
4.48 s | 1.48 s | 2.66 s | 4.14 s | 7.03 s | 39.0 in (0.99 m) |
10 ft 2 in (3.10 m) |
15 reps | |
| All values from NFL Combine | ||||||||||||
The San Francisco 49ers picked Deebo Samuel in the second round of the 2019 NFL draft. He was the 36th player chosen overall. He signed a four-year contract with the 49ers in July 2019.
Rookie Season (2019)
Deebo Samuel played his first NFL game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He caught three passes for 17 yards. In his second game, he caught five passes for 87 yards and scored his first NFL touchdown.
Later in the season, he had a big game against the Seattle Seahawks. He caught eight passes for 112 yards. Against the Arizona Cardinals, he caught eight passes for 134 yards. He scored more touchdowns in games against the Green Bay Packers, Baltimore Ravens, and Los Angeles Rams. In the last regular-season game against the Seahawks, he had 102 receiving yards and a rushing touchdown.
Samuel played in Super Bowl LIV against the Kansas City Chiefs. He ran the ball twice for 53 yards and caught five passes for 39 yards. His 53 rushing yards were the most ever by a wide receiver in a Super Bowl.
Overcoming Challenges (2020)
The 2020 season was tough for Samuel due to injuries and COVID-19. He was placed on the injured reserve list early on. He returned in October. In Week 12, he had 11 catches for 133 yards against the Rams. He finished the season with 33 catches for 391 yards and one touchdown.
Becoming a "Wide Back" (2021)
The 2021 season was a breakout year for Deebo Samuel. In the first game, he caught nine passes for 189 yards and a touchdown. He had another huge game in Week 8 against the Bears, with six catches for 171 yards. He was named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week twice that season.
The 49ers started using Samuel in a new way. They had him line up in the backfield like a running back. This allowed him to get the ball more often and make exciting plays. He even came up with a new term for his role: "wide back."
Samuel was chosen for the Pro Bowl in 2021. He set an NFL record for wide receivers with eight rushing touchdowns in a single season. He also threw a 24-yard touchdown pass in a key game against the Rams. He finished the regular season with 77 catches for 1,405 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns. He also had 365 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns. He was named a First Team All-Pro, meaning he was one of the very best players in the league.
In the Wild Card Round against the Dallas Cowboys, Samuel ran for 72 yards and a touchdown.
Continuing to Shine (2022-2023)
Before the 2022 season, Samuel signed a big new contract with the 49ers. In Week 4 against the Rams, he had 115 receiving yards and a touchdown. He dealt with a hamstring injury during the season but returned to play. He finished 2022 with 632 receiving yards and two touchdowns, plus 232 rushing yards and three touchdowns. He was ranked 61st among NFL players by his peers.
In 2023, Samuel continued to be a key player. In Week 13, he had two receiving touchdowns and one rushing touchdown against the Philadelphia Eagles. He was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week again. He also crossed 1,000 career rushing yards. This made him only the second player in NFL history to have 4,000 receiving yards and 1,000 rushing yards in their first five seasons. He finished the 2023 season with 892 receiving yards and seven receiving touchdowns, along with 225 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns. He played in Super Bowl LVIII, where the 49ers lost to the Chiefs in overtime. He was ranked 30th among NFL players by his peers.
Recent Season (2024)
In Week 1 of the 2024 season, Samuel scored a rushing touchdown against the New York Jets. In Week 5, he caught his first receiving touchdown of the season, a 76-yard pass from quarterback Brock Purdy.
NFL Career Statistics
Here are Deebo Samuel's NFL statistics:
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Led the league | |
| Bold | Career high |
Regular Season
| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | Rushing | Fumbles | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Fum | Lost | ||
| 2019 | SF | 15 | 11 | 57 | 802 | 14.1 | 42 | 3 | 14 | 159 | 11.4 | 31 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 2020 | SF | 7 | 5 | 33 | 391 | 11.8 | 35 | 1 | 8 | 26 | 3.3 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | SF | 16 | 15 | 77 | 1,405 | 18.2 | 83 | 6 | 59 | 365 | 6.2 | 49 | 8 | 4 | 2 |
| 2022 | SF | 13 | 12 | 56 | 632 | 11.3 | 57 | 2 | 42 | 232 | 5.5 | 51 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| 2023 | SF | 15 | 15 | 60 | 892 | 14.9 | 54 | 7 | 37 | 225 | 6.1 | 23 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| 2024 | SF | 15 | 15 | 51 | 670 | 13.1 | 76 | 3 | 42 | 136 | 3.2 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Career | 81 | 73 | 334 | 4,792 | 14.3 | 83 | 22 | 202 | 1,143 | 5.7 | 51 | 20 | 12 | 5 | |
Postseason
| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | Rushing | Fumbles | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Fum | Lost | ||
| 2019 | SF | 3 | 3 | 10 | 127 | 12.7 | 30 | 0 | 6 | 102 | 17.0 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | SF | 3 | 3 | 10 | 154 | 15.4 | 44 | 1 | 27 | 137 | 5.1 | 26 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | SF | 3 | 3 | 13 | 211 | 16.2 | 74 | 1 | 13 | 34 | 2.6 | 22 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2023 | SF | 3 | 3 | 13 | 146 | 11.2 | 26 | 0 | 6 | 15 | 2.5 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 12 | 12 | 46 | 638 | 13.9 | 74 | 2 | 52 | 288 | 5.5 | 32 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
Personal Life
Deebo Samuel got his nickname "Deebo" from his father, Galen. It comes from the character Deebo in the 1995 movie Friday.
