Samaje Perine

BIOGRAPHY

Samaje Perine was born on September 16th, 1995 in Jackson, Alabama. He is a running back in the National Football League.

He attended Hendrickson high school, where he was a Four-star recruit by Rivals, 247Sports and ESPN, and a three-star recruit by Scout. He was a three-year starter and collected 1,993 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns as a junior. As a senior, he rushed for 1,492 yards and 12 touchdowns; he was also a member of the track and field teams.

He played college football at the University of Oklahoma; in 2014 as a freshman he was named Second-Team All-American by the FWAA and Phil Steele, Third Team All-American by the AP, Freshman All-American by Phil Steele and Scout, National Freshman Offensive Player of the Year by Scout and freshman of the Year by Touchdown Club of Columbus.

He was also selected as Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year by the league's coaches, Big 12 Offensive Newcomer of the Year by the AP and 247Sports, and Big 12 Freshman of the Year by Athlon Sports. He was a finalist for Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award and played in all 13 games with starts at running back in all games.

As a sophomore in 2015, he was an Academic All-Big 12 First Team selection and named third-team All-American by Phil Steele and honorable mention All-American by Sports Illustrated. He was selected to All-Big 12 First Team (AP, coaches, ESPN.com, Phil Steele) and was a semifinalist for Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award; he started all 13 games, and he finished with 1,349 rushing yards, 16 rushing touchdowns, 15 receptions, 107 receiving yards, and one receiving touchdown.

In 2016 as a junior, he was one of four team captains and was named second-team All-Big 12 by league's coaches and AP. He played in 10 games and finished with 1,060 rushing yards, 12 rushing touchdowns, ten receptions, 106 receiving yards, and one receiving touchdown.

After the season, Perine decided to forgo his senior year and enter the 2017 NFL Draft. The Washington Redskins selected Perine in the fourth round (114th overall) of the 2017 NFL Draft; he made his debut on September 17th against the Los Angeles Rams with 21 rushes for 67 yards. He finished his rookie season with 603 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown to go along with 22 receptions for 182 yards and a receiving touchdown.

In 2018 he had eight carries for 32 yards in five games. On September 1st, 2019, Perine was claimed off waivers by the Cincinnati Bengals. Perine signed with the Denver Broncos in 2023.