Sammie Stroughter - Oregon State University Athletics

2008: Stroughter (straw-ter) was granted a medical hardship year by the Pac-10 Conference for 2007 and thus regained his senior year...one of the top receivers in the conference who will greatly benefit the Beaver quarterbacks with his downfield speed...also a dangerous punt returner who already holds the school record with three returns for touchdowns...needs 24 receptions to move into 10^th place on the OSU receiving chart, currently has 94...11^th for career receiving yards with 1,613 and has a legitimate chance to finish his career as high as third...during the 2007 season SI.com named him one of its 32 “most fun athletes to watch” 2007: Sammie missed the first game of the season due to personal issues and then returned in game two at Cincinnati...ultimately he suffered a season-ending injury (kidney) on a punt return at Arizona State in game four...prior to his injury he caught 15 passes for 262 yards and two touchdowns. 2006: Stroughter earned Pac-10 Second Team as a receiver and punt returner...Associated Press Third Team All-American as an all-purpose player...set up OSU’s game winning drive in the Sun Bowl with a 39-yard punt return...also scored in the Sun Bowl on a 13-yard reception from Matt Moore in the first quarter...Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Week for Oct. 16 after making seven catches for 223 yards and one touchdown (80 yds) against Washington...223 yards was the second-highest number in the conference and the fourth-highest ever at OSU...also named Special Teams Player of the Week for Oct. 30 after returning a punt 70 yards for a touchdown in the win over No. 3 USC...74 receptions tied for fifth in a single season at OSU and his 1,293 receiving yards ranked fourth for a single season...accounted for a school record 470 punt return yards and a school record three punt returns for touchdowns...had an OSU first back-to-back games (EWU, BSU) with punt returns for a touchdown...second in the Pac-10 and third in the nation for punt return yards per attempt at 15.7...led the Pac-10 and was 10^th in the nation for receiving yards per game at 92.4...also had an 80-yard touchdown reception in the win over No. 24 Hawai’i...one of three finalists for the inaugural Randy Moss Return Man of the Year...Sports Illustrated rated him the 13^th-best receiver in the NCAA...first team Pac-10 All-Academic selection. 2005: Sammie made five receptions for 58 yards as a backup, including a career-high three grabs for 21 yards at UCLA...returned at least one punt in every game and finished the year eighth in the Pac-10 with a 6.5 average...a long punt return of 29 yards against Washington State...also had nine kickoff returns, including a 29 effort at UCLA...second team Pac-10 Conference All-Academic selection. 2004: One of six true-freshmen to play...appeared in all 12 games...became the team’s primary punt returner over the course of the season...had a 52-yard return early in the first quarter of the Insight Bowl against Notre Dame, setting up the Beavers at the Irish 27 – OSU scored the game’s first touchdown four plays later...finished ninth in the Pac-10 for punt return yards per attempt at 7.0...also returned eight kickoffs during the middle of the season with a career-long of 37 against California.

GRANITE BAY: SuperPrep Magazine All-Region receiver and Rivals.com listed him 48^th in its “athlete” category...member of TheInsiders.com Northwest Hot 100 list...played wide receiver, running back, defensive back and kick returner for head coach Ernie Cooper...as an all-purpose back as a senior he rushed for 986 yards on 126 carries (7.8 average) and scored 15 touchdowns...caught 31 passes for 618 yards (19.9 average) and six touchdowns...returned kickoffs for 322 yards and 22 punts for 395 yards and two touchdowns...for his career he produced 2,321 all-purpose yards...first team All-Sierra League and first team all-section as a senior...also first team all-metro as a senior by the Sacramento Bee...earned two letters in football and three in track as a 100-meter standout.

PERSONAL: Born in Vallejo, California...son of Andrea Brown...his mother is a nurse ...has an older brother, Eric Blair, and an older sister, Cam Blair...honored by the National Football Foundation in March of 2004 for academic and athletic excellence...enjoys playing video games, working out and training...selected OSU because “I love the vibes I had when I first arrived at OSU. It is a family-oriented scenario and the coaches treated me like family. I felt like it was home away from home”...majoring in sociology and will graduate in December...also has a minor in communications.