Chris Samuels

Christopher Auburn Samuels (May 16, 1969 – November 26, 2021) was a Jamaican-born American professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He moved to the U.S. at age five and attended high school in Texas, where he was a standout running back at Judson High School. After high school, he played four years of college football for the Texas Longhorns, running for over 1,000 yards in his career and helping them win the Southwestern Conference title in 1990. He was selected by the San Diego Chargers in the 12th round of the 1991 NFL draft and played one season for them. After his football career, he worked as a physician assistant until his death in 2021.

Early life Christopher Auburn Samuels was born on May 16, 1969, in Montego Bay, Jamaica. He lived in the village of St. James until his family moved to Harlem, New York City, when he was five. He started playing football in a local youth league while in New York.

At Judson, Samuels competed in both football as a running back and track and field as a sprinter. He was a standout in football in high school and was nicknamed the "Judson Rocket". As a senior, he helped Judson to the Class 5A semifinals and was named all-state after running for 1,663 yards and 21 touchdowns. Samuels was ranked the 44th-best recruit in Texas and signed to play college football for the Texas Longhorns. Initially a fullback, he was moved to tailback early in his sophomore year. That year, he ran 45 times for 202 yards and four touchdowns. Samuels was used sparingly as a runner for the first few games of the 1990 season before seeing more carries starting with the fifth game of the season. Samuels helped Texas to a 10–2 record, the Southwest Conference (SWC) title and a 1991 Cotton Bowl Classic berth. He finished the season with 372 rushing yards and four touchdowns, 26 receptions for 253 receiving yards, and averaged 8.0 yards per punt return. He was a standout in training camp and was used by the team at several different positions on offense and special teams. He was released on August 26, 1991, then re-signed to the practice squad two days later. He had one run and one catch, each for four yards, in his next game, a Week 11 win against the Seahawks. However, he broke his leg while making the catch and missed the rest of the season. He served 12 years as a physician assistant and worked at a hospital in the area. His daughters donated his brain to Boston University, where it was discovered he had advanced chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), linked to repeated head trauma. In 2023, they filed a wrongful death and negligence lawsuit against the NFL, stating in the lawsuit that the league "actively concealed the risks to players of repetitive sub-concussive and concussive head impacts".