Nnamdi Asomugha

Asomugha at the 2009 OWIN Fundraising event
No. 21     Oakland Raiders
Cornerback
Personal information
Date of birth: July 6, 1981 (1981-07-06) (age 28)
Place of birth: Lafayette, Louisiana
Height: 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	Weight: 210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
College: California
NFL Draft: 2003 / Round: 1 / Pick: 31
Debuted in 2003 for the Oakland Raiders
Career history
As player: Oakland Raiders (2003–present)
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
1× First-team All-Pro selection (2008) 1× Second-team All-Pro selection (2006) 2× Pro Bowl selection (2006, 2008)
Career NFL statistics as of week 17, 2008
Tackles	257
Sacks	2.0
Interceptions	10
Stats at NFL.com

Nnamdi Asomugha (pronounced /ˈnɑːmdi ɑːsəˈmuː.ɑː/; born July 6, 1981, in Lafayette, Louisiana) is a Nigerian-American (ethnically Igbo) cornerback for the National Football League's Oakland Raiders professional football team. He was drafted in the first round of the 2003 NFL Draft (31st overall) by the Raiders. He played college football at California.

[edit] Biography

Asomugha was raised in Los Angeles, California. He attended and played high school basketball and football at Leuzinger High School in Lawndale, California and Bishop Montgomery High School in Torrance, California before transferring to and graduating from Narbonne High School in Harbor City, California.

[edit] College career

Asomugha went to college at the University of California, Berkeley, where he finished his career with 187 tackles, three sacks, 19 stops for losses, eight interceptions, three touchdowns, 15 pass deflections, two fumble recoveries and a forced fumble in 41 games as a free safety. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Corporate Finance.

[edit] Professional career

Asomugha was the second Cal player to be drafted in the first round (31st overall) of the 2003 NFL draft by the Oakland Raiders after Kyle Boller was taken by the Baltimore Ravens. He was moved to cornerback and made his first two career interceptions against the Cleveland Browns on October 1, 2006. He got his third interception four weeks later against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He returned this interception 24 yards for a touchdown. Though the team suffered through a 2-14 season, Asomugha's 2006 campaign was his finest yet. In his fourth year, he finished the season with 50 tackles, eight interceptions, a sack, a forced fumble and one touchdown. His interception total tied him for second highest total in the National Football League along with four other players (including former Oakland Raiders cornerback Charles Woodson). Asomugha was invited to the 2007 Pro Bowl as an alternate in Honolulu, Hawaii but because of late notice he was not able to attend the annual all-star game ^[1]. He also received the Oakland Raiders "Commitment to Excellence" Award and was named the team's Most Valuable Player in 2006. Asomugha was selected onto Dr. Z's Sports Illustrated 2006 All-Pro team ^[2] as well as The Associated Press 2006 All-Pro Team.^[3]

Asomugha was selected as the Raiders Team Captain for the 2007 season. The 2007 season was a lonely existence for Asomugha, who paid for his eight-interception breakout season of 2006. Not even established star quarterbacks such as Brett Favre and Peyton Manning, neither short on confidence or receivers, would challenge him. Opposing quarterbacks tested him only 31 times with a mere 10 completions the entire season. One NFL scout told Pro Football Weekly that Asomugha was thrown at "less than any defender in the last ten years" in 2007 ^[4] He finished the 2007 season with 34 tackles, 1 interception and 7 breakups and was named a 2008 Pro Bowl alternate.

A free agent in the 2008 offseason, the Raiders placed the 'exclusive' franchise tag on Asomugha on February 20, 2008.^[5]

Asomugha covers Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Michael Jenkins at a Raiders home game on November 2, 2008.

Asomugha was selected as the Raiders Team Captain for the 2008 season. Opposing quarterbacks tested Asomugha only 27 times with 8 completions allowed the entire season. Only perennial all-pros Randy Moss (3 receptions, 40 yards) and Tony Gonzalez (2 receptions, 34 yards) would catch more than one ball on him during the year. New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said Asomugha is "as complete a cornerback as he has seen all year".^[6] He finished the 2008 season with 40 tackles, 1 interception, 1 forced fumble, and 9 pass deflections. He received the Oakland Raiders "Commitment to Excellence" Award for the second time and was named the team's 2008 Co-Most Valuable Player along with running back Justin Fargas. Asomugha was selected as a starter for the 2009 Pro Bowl. Asomugha was selected onto The Sporting News 2008 All-Pro Team ^[7] as well as the Pro Football Writers Association All-NFL Team for 2008 ^[8]. Asomugha was also selected onto Peter King's Sports Illustrated 2008 All-Pro team ^[9] as well as The Associated Press 2008 All-Pro Team.

On February 19, 2009 the Raiders re-signed Asomugha to a complex three-year deal that makes him the highest paid defensive back in NFL history. The first two years, worth $28.5 million, are fully guaranteed. In the third year of the contract, if Oakland wants to keep Asomugha, it must pay him the average of the top five highest-paid "quarterbacks" or $16.875 million, whichever is higher. If the Raiders fail to pick up the option, Asomugha will become a free agent with Oakland not having the ability to tag him again.^[10].

[edit] Philanthropy

Off the field, education and community service are his mainstays. Asomugha serves as Chairman for the Orphans and Widows In Need (OWIN) Foundation. Through OWIN, Asomugha and his family provide food, shelter, medicine, vocational training, literacy efforts, and scholarships to widows and orphans victimized by poverty or abuse in Nigeria. Currently, OWIN has two centers in Nigeria and plans to expand to other countries in Africa in 2010 ^[11].

In 2006, Asomugha launched the annual Asomugha College Tour for Scholars (ACTS) program. Each year, he teams up with selected students from Bay Area high schools on college tours across the country. To date, Asomugha has taken students to visit Morehouse College, Spelman College, Georgia Institute of Technology, Clark Atlanta University, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston University, Brown University and the Berklee College of Music. All of the tour participants who have graduated from high school have gone on to attend higher education institutions ^[12].

For the 2009 tour, Asomugha took students to visit schools in New York City including NYU, Columbia University, The Juilliard School, The Fashion Institute of Technology, Fordham University and The New School ^[13]. Originally, ACTS partnered with the East Oakland Youth Development Center (EOYDC), however the program has expanded to include students from the Young Musicians Program (YMP) in Berkeley and select high schools in the Los Angeles area.

Asomugha's partnership with the East Oakland Youth Development Center began in 2004 when he was first asked to speak to a group of 250 youth during the summer cultural enrichment program. He has returned to speak each year, often joined by his Raider teammates. He emphasizes the importance of education, hard work ethic on and off the field, a positive attitude, and a healthy diet. Asomugha has provided shoes and running suits to students from the center, hosts an annual academic celebration for them at the Raiders facility, and he has even taken a group fly fishing ^[14].

Asomugha speaking about the importance of community service at the Clinton Global Initiative University 2009 meeting in Austin, Texas with former President Bill Clinton.

Asomugha joined former President Bill Clinton, Matthew McConaughey, and Marie Tillman at the 2009 Meeting of Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U) hosted by The University of Texas at Austin to discuss the importance of global service and student activism. CGI U is President Clinton's youth initiative designed to challenge college students to take action on some of the most pressing global issues in areas such as education, poverty and global health. At CGI U, Asomugha spoke to over 1,200 student leaders, university presidents and leaders of national youth organizations about his philanthropic efforts in Nigeria and Oakland, CA ^[15].

Additionally, Asomugha distributes backpacks to the incoming freshmen each year at Narbonne High School in Los Angeles. He also outfits the football and basketball team with shoes, a mandate he wrote into an endorsement contract he signed with Nike.

For his commitment to community service, Asomugha was named a Home Depot Neighborhood MVP 2007 ^[16]

In 2008, Asomugha was presented with The President's Volunteer Service Award. An award that was established to recognize the important contributions Americans of all ages are making within their communities through service and civic engagement^[17].

Essence Magazine selected Asomugha as one of the “Do Right Men of 2008”, highlighting his success and philanthropic endeavors ^[18]

Asomugha has been recognized by fellow members of the NFL Players Association who nominated him in 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008 for the Byron "Whizzer" White Award for Outstanding Community Service.

Asomugha was also nominated for the prestigious Sports Illustrated 2008 Sportsman of the Year award ^[19].

[edit] Personal

Asomugha made his first professional acting debut in 2008 on the The CW Network sitcom, The Game (U.S. TV series). In 2009, he played the role of Ken Shaw in the season premiere of Friday Night Lights (TV series) Season 4 ^[20].

When his football days are over, Asomugha says he is interested in a career in acting or broadcasting. Asomugha is a co-host of "Sports Sunday" on NBC Bay Area with Raj Mathai, and is also a regular on 98.1 KISS FM during the football season. In 2008, Asomugha was chosen from hundreds of applicants for the NFL Broadcast Bootcamp ^[21].

Asomugha is of Igbo descent, an ethnic group in southeastern Nigeria.

He is also a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. initiated at University of California, Berkeley Gamma Alpha chapter where he last held the position of Vice-Polemarch before joining the NFL.

Asomugha is partially color blind stating in the June 2009 issue of ESPN The Magazine that "It was determined when I was about 7 years old. It's never really affected my play on the field -- I can easily distinguish between light and dark colors. I only have trouble between similar colors -- the light ones. They look the same to me. No problems on the field" ^[22].

[edit] Further reading

• "NFL Top 50 Players 2009 (#8)". CBS Sportsline. June 25, 2009. http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/story/11892651. 
• "NFL Top 50 Players 2008 (#29)". CBS Sportsline. June 25, 2008. http://cbs.sportsline.com/nfl/story/10877567/rss. 
• "NFL Top 50 Players 2007 (#37)". CBS Sportsline. June 14, 2007. http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/story/10225498. 
• "Asomugha Has It Covered". Oakland Tribune. December 3, 2006. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4176/is_20061203/ai_n16890020/pg_1. 
• "Asomugha Joins Elite Company at Corner". AOL. October 4, 2007. http://sports.aol.com/nfl/story/_a/asomugha-joins-elite-company-at-corner/20071004154009990001. 
• "Asomugha Shutting Down the Opposition". Rotoworld. December 17, 2007. http://www.rotoworld.com/content/playerpages/playerbreakingnews.asp?sport=NFL&id=779&line=108859&spln=1. 
• "Nnamdi is the Man". Boston Herald. March 2, 2008. http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/football/other_nfl/view.bg?articleid=1077173. 
• "Asomugha Proves Doubters Wrong". Vallejo Times Herald. November 23, 2008. http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/8871402/Asomugha-proves-doubters-wrong-?CMP=OTC-K9B140813162&ATT=5. 
• "Shutdown corner Asomugha opens new routes for Oakland kids". CBSSports.com. April 22, 2009. http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/story/11661411. 
• "Raiders' star finds strength in Berkeley High coach". San Francisco Chronicle. May 26, 2009. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/05/26/SPCG17QNVA.DTL. 

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Nnamdi Asomugha

• Cal Bears bio
• Oakland Raiders bio
• OWIN Foundation