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Michael Sam is the first member of his family to attend college. Learn 50 things about Sam.
1. Michael Alan Sam, Jr. is a gridiron football defensive end for the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL).
2. Michael Sam played college football for the University of Missouri and was drafted by the St. Louis Rams of the National Football League (NFL) in the seventh round of the 2014 NFL Draft.
3. Michael Sam was a consensus All-American and the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Defensive Player of the Year as a senior at Missouri.
4. Michael Sam also spent time on the Dallas Cowboys' practice squad before being waived.
5. Michael Sam signed with the Alouettes before the 2015 season.
6. Michael Sam attended Hitchcock High School in Hitchcock, Texas.
7. Michael Sam began traveling with the school's varsity football team while in the eighth grade as a water boy.
8. Michael Sam later became a member of the team, playing both defensive end and offensive tackle.
9. Michael Sam earned first-team All-District honors as a defensive lineman in all four years of high school, and as an offensive lineman in his junior and senior years.
10. As a senior, Sam drew attention for his strong performance against Michael Brockers in a game against Chávez High School; Brockers, an All-American, had accepted a scholarship to Louisiana State University.
11. Out of high school, Sam was considered a two-star college football recruit by Rivals.com.
12. Michael Sam received scholarship offers from Arizona State University, Colorado State University, and the University of Houston, but he wanted to attend Texas A&M University, and waited for a scholarship offer from them.
13. Michael Sam accepted a scholarship offer from the University of Missouri (Mizzou), after he was recruited by Craig Kuligowski, the team's defensive line coach. Kuligowski recruited other players near Hitchcock, which made him familiar with Sam.
14. Sam attended the school from 2009 to 2013.
15. He redshirted in his first year at Missouri, and recorded 3.5 quarterback sacks, 24 tackles, including seven tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, one interception and one blocked kick as a redshirt freshman.
16. In his sophomore year, Sam intercepted a tipped pass in a game against the Texas Tech Red Raiders, which secured a victory to make Mizzou bowl eligible.
17. As a senior in 2013, Sam recorded 11.5 quarterback sacks and 19 tackles for a loss. He led the SEC in both categories, and tied Missouri's single-season record for sacks.
18. Michael Sam was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Week in two consecutive weeks, after recording three sacks apiece in games against the Arkansas State Red Wolves and the Vanderbilt Commodores.
19. After the season, Sam was named the SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Year, with C. J. Mosley of the University of Alabama, and a first-team all-SEC selection.
20. Sam was named a first-team All-American by the Walter Camp Football Foundation, Associated Press, Sporting News, the American Football Coaches Association, and the Football Writers Association of America.
21. Michael Sam was also named a semifinalist for the Chuck Bednarik Award, the Hendricks Award, and the Lombardi Award.
22. Missouri played in the 2014 Cotton Bowl Classic, in which Sam forced a fumble that was returned for a touchdown, securing Missouri's victory over the Oklahoma State Cowboys.
23. During his college career, Sam accumulated 123 tackles, including 36 for loss, 21 sacks, six forced fumbles and two intercepted passes.
24. Michael Sam graduated from Missouri in December 2013.
25. Michael Sam participated in the 2014 Senior Bowl in January 2014.
26. Considered too small to play as a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL), he played as an outside linebacker.
27. Michael Sam made his professional debut on August 8, 2014, during the first preseason game against the New Orleans Saints, where he made one tackle in the game on quarterback Ryan Griffin.
28. During the second preseason game against the Green Bay Packers, Sam recorded his first professional sack where he sacked Matt Flynn.
29. On August 30, St. Louis released Sam as part of a final round of cuts to reduce their roster to the league-mandated 53 players before the start of the regular season.
30. On September 3, 2014, Sam was added to the practice squad of the Dallas Cowboys.
31. On October 21, the Cowboys waived Sam to make room for linebacker Troy Davis.
32. Michael Sam participated in the first NFL Veteran Combine, officially clocking 4.99 seconds in the 40 yard dash.
33. On May 22, 2015, Sam signed a two-year contract with Montreal Alouettes of the CFL.
34. On June 12, a day before the Alouettes' first preseason game, Sam was granted permission to leave camp for "personal reasons" to return to home to Texas, and was placed on the suspended list.
35. On June 26, the team announced that Sam had returned to Montreal and would resume practicing with the team on June 30.
36. Michael Sam is the seventh of eight children born to JoAnn and Michael Alan Sam, Sr.
37. His parents separated when he was young.
38. As a child, Sam watched one of his older brothers die from a gunshot wound.
39. Another older brother has been missing since 1998, and his other two brothers are both imprisoned.
40. At one point in his childhood, Sam lived in his mother's car.
41. Michael Sam was once accidentally maced by police who were arresting one of his brothers.
42. Michael Sam argued with his mother, one of Jehovah's Witnesses, over playing football, as she did not agree with those pursuits.
43. Michael Sam often stayed with friends while in high school; the parents of a classmate gave him a bedroom in their house and had him complete household chores.
44. Michael Sam is the first member of his family to attend college.
45. On February 24, 2015, Sam was announced as one of the celebrities who competed on the 20th season of Dancing With The Stars.
46. During Dancing With The Stars, Michael Sam partnered with professional dancer Peta Murgatroyd.
47. Sam and Murgatroyd were eliminated in the fourth week of competition and finished in tenth place.
48. Michael Sam won the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the 2014 ESPY Awards.
49. Michael Sam was named one of GQ 's Men of the Year.
50. He was finalist for Sports Illustrated 's Sportsman of the Year.
Source: Wikipedia.org
