Prince Amukamara Season 2007

Honors & Awards

• 2010 First-Team All-American
• (AFCA, Walter Camp, AP, FWAA, Rivals.com, CBSSports.com, SI.com)
• 2010 Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year (Coaches)
• 2010 Jim Thorpe Award Finalist (1 of 3)
• 2010 Chuck Bednarik Award Semifinalist (1 of 16)
• 2010 Lott Trophy Quarterfinalist (1 of 23)
• First-Team All-Big 12 (Unanimous selection in 2010; Coaches, KC Star, SA Express-News, Dallas Morning News, Rivals.com, ESPN.com, Fort Worth Star-Telegram in 2009)
• Second-Team All-Big 12 (AP in 2009)
• 2010 Season Captain
• Big 12 Commissioner’s Fall Academic Honor Roll (2007, 2010)
• Brook Berringer Citizenship Team (2010)

Senior cornerback Prince Amukamara was the cornerstone of a Nebraska secondary that was again among the nation’s best in 2010. The 6-1, 205-pound Amukamara was widely recognized for his play, becoming Nebraska’s 108th first-team All-American, while also being tabbed as one of three finalists for the Jim Thorpe Award. He was also honored as the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year as voted on by the conference’s head coaches.
Amukamara showed lock-down ability at his corner spot throughout the season, limiting opponents to just 18 pass completions in 52 attempts against him. He also ranked among the national leaders with 13 pass breakups, while registering 59 tackles, including 36 solo stops. While Amukamara did not record an interception, his ability to shut down a large portion of the field allowed Nebraska to rank fifth nationally in pass efficiency defense.
The  Glendale, Ariz., native had 27 career pass breakups to rank seventh in school history. In 2010, Amukamara has had at least two pass breakups in four games, including a season-high three against Missouri. He also had at least five tackles in five games in 2010.
Amukamara earned his degree in sociology in December, completing his undergraduate work in just seven semesters.

2010 (Senior)
    Western Kentucky: Keyed a defensive effort that allowed just 120 passing yards on 22 attempts, finishing with three tackles and a pass breakup. Idaho: Turned in a solid performance, recording seven tackles and adding two pass breakups, as NU forced six turnovers and held the Vandals to 219 yards passing on 39 attemps...one of his breakups led to P.J. Smith’s second-quarter interception. Washington: Keyed a Husker defense that held Jake Locker to just four completions in 20 attempts, finishing with three tackles, including a pair of solo stops, and adding a pass breakup. South Dakota State: Had one tackle, while NU held SDSU to just 236 total yards and 95 through the air. Kansas State: Shined in Nebraska’s 48-13 win, totaling six tackles and breaking up a pair of passes as the Wildcats had just 135 yards passing on 27 attempts. Texas: Starred in the secondary as NU held Texas to its fewest passing yards since 1983...had four tackles and a pass breakup, as the Longhorns completed just one pass to a wide receiver. Oklahoma State: Recorded three solo tackles, as NU topped previously unbeaten Oklahoma State. Missouri: Played at an All-America level, helping the Huskers knock off No. 7 Missouri...totaled two tackles and a season-high three pass breakups, as the Huskers held Blaine Gabbert to 18-of-42 passing for a season-low 199 yards...anchored a secondary that totaled six breakups en route to Nebraska’s first win over a top-10 foe since 2001. Iowa State: Registered seven tackles, including a nine-yard sack. Kansas: Helped limit KU to just 15 passing yards and 87 total yards, as he collected two tackles and had a breakup. Texas A&M: Had a career-high 10 tackles, including eight solo stops. Colorado: Keyed a Blackshirt defense that held Colorado to just 10-of-27 passing by recording a pair of breakups and two tackles. Oklahoma: Had eight tackles - his second-highest total of the season - while helping limit the Sooners to 1-of-16 on third down. Washington: Amukamara had one assisted tackle against the Huskies, while helping limit UW to just 72 passing yards.

 

2009 (Junior)
Amukamara registered five interceptions to rank second on the team behind Matt O'Hanlon. Amukamara had a team-high 11 pass breakups, including four games with at least a pair of breakups. Amukamara finished 19th nationally in passes defended at 1.14 per game. He also contributed 64 tackles, including a pair of sacks, and had at least five tackles in five games.

Amukamara recorded his first career interception and had six tackles in the opener against Florida Atlantic. He added seven tackles, a sack and two breakups in a 38-9 win over Arkansas State, then posted six tackles, including four solo stops and a tackle for loss, at Virginia Tech. He forced a fumble in Nebraska's shutout of Louisiana-Lafayette, then had a team-high nine tackles and two pass breakups in a key win at Missouri.

Amukamara had a big game at Baylor with four tackles, a career-high three breakups and his second interception of the season. Amukamara picked off his third pass of the season and returned it 22 yards to the Oklahoma 1, setting up the game's only touchdown in a 10-3 NU win. He also had two breakups in the game. Amukamara added his second career sack against Kansas, then recovered a fumble against Kansas State.

He nabbed his fourth pick at Colorado, then had a big game against Texas. Amukamara recorded a first-quarter interception to set up a Nebraska field goal and had seven tackles, including six solo stops. He added three tackles in the Holiday Bowl shutout of Arizona.

2008 (Sophomore)
Amukamara played in all 13 games with starts against Western Michigan, New Mexico State and Virginia Tech. He had 34 tackles, including 21 solo stops, and added three pass breakups and caused a pair of fumbles on punt coverage at Kansas State. He also had two tackles for loss and an 11-yard sack against Baylor.

He had a season-high eight tackles against Western Michigan, and added six stops against New Mexico State. He had four games with at least three tackles.

2007 (Freshman)
Amukamara played for Nebraska as a true freshman, serving in a reserve role in the secondary, while also providing standout special teams play. He did not play in the first three games, but appeared in eight of the final nine games. He totaled four tackles, including two against Kansas State.

Before Nebraska (Apollo HS)
Amukamara was a dual-threat performer for Coach Zach Threadgill at Apollo High School. During his final two seasons, Amukamara scored nearly 50 touchdowns, while rushing for 3,389 yards and averaging 11.9 yards per carry. In the same two seasons, he had 664 receiving yards and totaled about 125 tackles, including 95 tackles and two interceptions in 2006.

As a senior, Amukamara rushed for 2,106 yards and 24 touchdowns, while catching 22 passes for 252 yards and six touchdowns. He also averaged 26 yards per punt return and 20.8 yards on kickoff returns. His play helped Apollo High to a 7-4 record. In the first round of the Class 4A playoffs against Scottsdale Chaparral, Amukamara rushed for 366 yards and four touchdowns in an overtime loss. Amukamara was the state high school player of the year by the Arizona Republic newspaper, which named him a first-team Class 4A all-state pick.

Amukamara was also a starting guard in basketball, helping Apollo to three straight Class 4A state titles. In 2007, he averaged 11.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 3.5 steals per game. He also starred in track, winning the Class 4A state titles in both the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes in 2007. His times in the 100 (10.78) and 200 (21.91) were both tops in the state of Arizona. He chose Nebraska over Fresno State and Arizona State.

Personal
Amukamara was born on June 6, 1989, and is the son of Romanus and Christie Amukamara. He is a political science major, and was named to the 2007 Big 12 Commissioner's Fall Academic Honor Roll. Amukamara is a regular volunteer in the community and was named to the 2010 Brook Berringer Citizenship Team. His outreach work includes team hospital visits, a World War II Veteran's Visit and March Madness Ball Night for the Down Syndrome Association for Families.

Amukamar a's Career Statistics

.	.	Tackles			.	.	Fum.	.	.	.	QB
Year	G/S	UT	AT	TT	TFL	Sacks	C-R	BK	PBU	PI	Hry.
2007	8/0	2	2	4	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0
2008	13/3	21	13	34	2-12	1.0-11	2-0	0	3	0	1
2009	14/14	41	23	64	3-13	2.0-11	1-1	0	11	5-63	0
2010	14/14	36	23	59	1-9	1.0-9	0-0	0	13	0	0
Totals	49/31	100	81	181	6-34	4.0-31	3-1	0	27	5-63	1

Single-Game Highs
Tackles– 10, at Texas A&M, 2010
Solo Tackles– 8, at Texas A&M, 2010, vs. Oklahoma, 2010 
Tackles for Loss- 1 six tiems, twice in 2008 and three times in 2009, once in 2010
Sacks- 1.0 three times, once in 2008 and twice in 2009
PBU's- 3 at Baylor, 2009, vs. Missouri, 2010