Wasswa Serwanga

Wasswa Kenneth Serwanga (born 23 July 1976) is a Ugandan former professional American football cornerback in the National Football League (NFL) and Arena Football League (AFL). He played one season for the San Francisco 49ers and two for the Minnesota Vikings of the NFL, and one for the Los Angeles Avengers of the AFL. Serwanga was born in Uganda and moved to the U.S. as a child, where he attended Sacramento High School and later played college football for the Sacramento State Hornets, Pacific Tigers and UCLA Bruins. He is the identical twin brother of former NFL player Kato Serwanga.

Early life Serwanga was born on 23 July 1976 in Kampala, Uganda. He has three brothers and two sisters, including a twin brother, Kato. He was born 15 minutes earlier than his brother, for which he received his name, meaning "elder twin". He moved to the United States at age three. Patrick himself had nearly been killed by Amin's regime, surviving an attempted murder by jumping from his moving car. He and his brother played football while attending Sacramento Charter High School, where they both were cornerbacks, with Wasswa being a starter. The twins were described as very competitive with each other, while Kato said that of Wasswa: "He's me, and I'm him. We're the same cats. We share every quality. We are about as similar as two people can be. We look as similar as two people could look." They both signed to play college football for the Sacramento State Hornets.

College career The twins both started at Sacramento State as freshmen in 1994, but transferred to the Pacific Tigers following one season when the school initially decided to drop football. They saw significant playing time with the Tigers in 1995, as both appeared in eight games (sitting out several due to transfer rules), with Wasswa totaling 23 tackles and two interceptions. After the 1995 season, it was announced that Pacific was ending its football team due to financial issues. They had to transfer again, with Wasswa committing to the UCLA Bruins while Kato went to the California Golden Bears, the first time the twins were on separate teams. The twins faced off against each other when UCLA played California, with the News-Pilot describing them as being a "mirror image" of each other, as both were the same height and weight . and tackles. He also faced off against his brother for a second time. His brother also signed a contract with the New England Patriots and played for them that year. Wasswa was released by the Bears on 21 August 1998. On 21 April 1999, he signed with the San Francisco 49ers. He and his brother became the first Ugandan-born NFL players in history, and remain among only three to do it.

In Week 7, Serwanga posted his first statistics, making three tackles (two solo, one assisted) in a 40–16 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. He was mainly used as a special teams player and a reserve cornerback. The 1999 49ers finished with a record of 4–12. He was not re-signed and became a free agent after the season.

On 24 April 2000, Serwanga signed with the Kansas City Chiefs. He was later released on 22 August. The following day, he was claimed off waivers by the Minnesota Vikings. He made the final roster as a reserve cornerback. In Week 3, the Vikings played against the New England Patriots featuring his brother, although he was inactive. After having been inactive for the first nine games of the season, he made his Vikings debut against the Arizona Cardinals and made a tackle on special teams. He made his first defensive tackle in Week 15 against the St. Louis Rams and was named starter at nickelback for Week 16 against the Green Bay Packers. The Vikings compiled a record of 5–11, Serwanga having made five tackles in the 2001 season.

Serwanga signed with the Los Angeles Avengers of the Arena Football League (AFL) for the 2003 season. He appeared in five games for the Avengers, all as a starter, totaling 31 solo tackles, six assisted tackles, four pass breakups, an interception and a forced fumble. He was waived after the season. He finished his professional football career having appeared in 23 NFL games and five AFL games. In the NFL, he recorded 34 tackles and a forced fumble with two starts among his 23 appearances.