1. Samuel Onyedikachi Acho was born on September 6,1988 and is an American sports analyst and former professional football player who is a football analyst on ESPN.
36 Facts About Sam Acho
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Sam Acho played as a linebacker for nine seasons in the National Football League, and was vice president of the NFL Players Association.
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Sam Acho graduated from the St Mark's School of Texas, where he was on the academic honor roll during each of his 4 years of high school.
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Sam Acho was named to the all conference football team during his last 3 years of high school.
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Sam Acho was named team co-captain for both his junior and senior years.
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Sam Acho was the state private school champion in both the shot put and discus.
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Out of high school, Sam Acho was rated the 6th best football prospect at his position in the country, despite playing for a small boys school that is better known for its academics.
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Sam Acho finished his career ranked in the top 10 at Texas for career sacks, forced fumbles and fumble recoveries, and still has the school's single season record for most fumble recoveries with 5.
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Sam Acho attended the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis and performed all of the combine and positional drills.
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Sam Acho was ranked as the seventh best outside linebacker in the draft by DraftScout.
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Sam Acho sacked Steelers' quarterback Ben Roethlisberger for a five-yard loss in the fourth quarter.
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Sam Acho forced a fumble while sacking quarterback Joe Flacco for a ten-yard loss in the third quarter.
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Sam Acho remained the starting outside linebacker for the last ten games of the season after Joey Porter was placed on injured reserve due to a knee injury.
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Sam Acho finished his rookie season in 2011 with 40 combined tackles, seven sacks, two pass deflections, and four forced fumbles in 16 games and ten starts.
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Sam Acho made his first career interception off a pass by Vikings' quarterback Christian Ponder, that was originally intended for running back Adrian Peterson, in the second quarter.
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Sam Acho started in all 16 games in 2012 and recorded a career-high 48 combined tackles, four sacks, three pass deflections, and two interceptions.
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On September 23,2013, the Arizona Cardinals placed Sam Acho on injured reserve after he was diagnosed with a broken left fibula and was scheduled to miss the remainder of the season.
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Sam Acho finished the season with five solo tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble in three games and ten starts.
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Sam Acho entered training camp slated as a starting outside linebacker and saw competition from Lorenzo Alexander, John Abraham, and Matt Shaughnessy.
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Sam Acho finished the 2014 season with 31 combined tackles, three pass deflections, an interception, and a sack in 16 games and four starts.
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Sam Acho was sidelined for three weeks during the preseason after suffering from mononucleosis.
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Sam Acho shared starts with Willie Young and finished his first season with the Bears in 2015 with 39 combined tackles, a pass deflection, a forced fumble, and one fumble recovery in 15 games and seven starts.
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Sam Acho finished the 2016 season with 27 combined tackles, a pass deflection, a sack, and a forced fumble in 16 games and six starts.
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Sam Acho became a starting outside linebacker for the last nine games of the regular season after Willie Young and Leonard Floyd both suffered injuries and were placed on injured reserve.
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Sam Acho finished the 2017 season with 45 combined tackles, three sacks, a pass deflection and a forced fumble in 16 games and 12 starts.
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On October 8,2018, Sam Acho was placed on season-ending injured reserve after suffering a torn pectoral muscle.
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On March 5,2019, the Bears released Sam Acho, ending his 51-game, 25-start tenure with 140 total tackles, four sacks, three forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery.
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On November 5,2019, Sam Acho signed a one-year contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, reuniting him with former coach Bruce Arians.
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In college, Sam Acho won numerous awards for academics, leadership and Service.
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Sam Acho won the William V Campbell Trophy, given annually to college football's top scholar-athlete, as well as the Wuerffel Trophy, college football's premier award for outstanding community service, Sam Acho was one of eight winners of the NCAA Today's Top VIII Award, which recognizes the premier student-athletes in all sports during an academic year and a member of the 2010 American Football Coaches Association Good Works Team.
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Sam Acho is included in a 2016 AOL article, "Six NFL Players with Genius IQ's," which noted that he is fluent in 3 languages: English, Spanish, and Igbo.
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Sam Acho's younger brother, Emmanuel Sam Acho, played football for Texas, where he was an All Big 12 linebacker in 2011.
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Sam Acho's brother played four seasons in the NFL with the Cleveland Browns, Philadelphia Eagles, and New York Giants before becoming an analyst for ESPN.
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In 2015, while playing in the NFL, Sam Acho earned an MBA from the Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, Arizona.
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In 2017, Sam Acho started "Relevant is Doing a Sports Podcast" with RELEVANT Brand Director Jesse Carey and former Willow Creek Pastor Steve Carter on the RELEVANT Podcast Network.
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Sam Acho is the author of Let the World See You: How to Be Real in a World Full of Fakes, which was published in late 2020.