Tony Samuel is an American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 coach and former player. He is the current head football coach at Southeast Missouri State University

Southeast Missouri State University

Southeast Missouri State University, is a public, accredited university located in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, United States, near the banks of the Mississippi River. The institution, having started as a normal school, has a traditional strength in teacher education...

, a position he has held since the 2005 season. Samuel's previous head coaching position was with New Mexico State University

New Mexico State University

New Mexico State University at Las Cruces , is a major land-grant university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States...

 from 1997 to 2004. He had a 34–57 record at New Mexico Stat, which puts him third all-time for wins in program history.

Playing career

Samuel played four years at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln

University of Nebraska–Lincoln

The University of Nebraska–Lincoln is a public research university located in the city of Lincoln in the U.S. state of Nebraska...

 and was a member of Tom Osborne's first recruiting class. He was a two-year starter

Starting lineup

A starting lineup in sports is an official list of the set of players who will actively participate in the event when the game begins. The players in the starting lineup are commonly referred to as starters, whereas the others are substitutes or bench players.The starters are commonly the best...

 at defensive end

Defensive end

Defensive end is the name of a defensive position in the sport of American and Canadian football.This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations have substantially changed how the position is played over the years...

, played in four bowl game

Bowl game

In North America, a bowl game is commonly considered to refer to one of a number of post-season college football games. Prior to 2002, bowl game statistics were not included in players' career totals and the games were mostly considered to be exhibition games involving a payout to participating...

s and earned honorable mention All-Big Eight Conference

Big Eight Conference

The Big Eight Conference, a former NCAA-affiliated Division I-A college athletic association that sponsored football, was formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association by its charter member schools: the University of Kansas, University of Missouri, University...

 honors as a senior.

Early coaching career

From 1986 to 1996, Samuel coached the outside linebackers and rush ends at Nebraska, his alma mater, for legendary head coach Tom Osborne. He mentored six first team All-Americans and 12 future National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

 players, including first-round draft picks Broderick Thomas

Broderick Thomas

Broderick Lee Thomas is a former professional American football player in the National Football League.-High school career:Thomas graduated from Madison High School in Houston in 1985.-College career:...

 (1989), Mike Croel

Mike Croel

Michael Croel is a former American football linebacker who played in the National Football League and the XFL.-Career:...

 (1991), Trev Alberts

Trev Alberts

Trev Kendall Alberts is the director of athletics for the University of Nebraska-Omaha. Before assuming this position, he was an American television and print college football commentator, most notably working alongside Mark May on the ESPN's College GameDay Scoreboard show.-Collegiate:Alberts...

 (1994) and Grant Wistrom

Grant Wistrom

Grant Alden Wistrom, , is a former American Football defensive end who played for the St. Louis Rams and Seattle Seahawks during his 9 year career...

 (1998). During Samuel's 11 seasons with the Cornhuskers, they were national champions in 1994 and 1995, captured seven Big Eight/Big 12 Conference championships, averaged 10 wins per year and played in 11 bowl games.

Personal life

A native of Trinidad

Trinidad

Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...

, West Indies, Samuel moved to Jersey City, New Jersey

Jersey City, New Jersey

Jersey City is the seat of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States.Part of the New York metropolitan area, Jersey City lies between the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay across from Lower Manhattan and the Hackensack River and Newark Bay...

, at the age of 10. He earned his B.S. degree in education from Nebraska in 1981. He has four children and one grandchild.

External links

• Southeast Missouri State profile