De'Ante Tymon "Pop"[1] Saunders (pronounced dee-AHN-tay[2]) (born September 19, 1992) is a former American football defensive back. He played college football at Tennessee State. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Cleveland Browns.
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| Position: | Defensive back | ||||
| Personal information | |||||
| Born: | September 19, 1992 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | ||||
| Height: | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||||
| Weight: | 187 lb (85 kg) | ||||
| Career information | |||||
| High school: | DeLand (DeLand, Florida) | ||||
| College: | Tennessee State | ||||
| Undrafted: | 2015 | ||||
| Career history | |||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||
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High school
editSaunders attended DeLand High School where he played running back and defensive back. During his sophomore season DeLand advanced through the playoffs, losing state championship.[3] As a junior, he rushed for 1,634 yards and 23 touchdowns.[4] DeLand once again reached the state championship game.[4] As a senior, Saunders, as a running back, rushed the ball 25 times for 140 yards and two touchdowns while catching one pass for one yard.[3]
While at DeLand, he was named the 2009, he was named Class 6A First-team All-State defensive back and All-Central Florida Defensive Player of the Year by the Orlando Sentinel.[4] In 2010 Class 6A Florida Athletic Coaches Association Player of the Year for Seminole and Volusia counties.[4] He was also teammates with future NFL running back Mike Gillislee. While being recruited, Saunders chose Florida over South Carolina, Ole Miss, Clemson, Cincinnati, South Florida and Florida International.[4]
College career
editFlorida
editSaunders originally attended Florida in 2011 and 2012.
As a freshman, he appeared in 12 games recording 26 tackles, one tackle-for-loss, while also recording two interceptions, one returned for a touchdown.[5] He also returned six punts for 25 yards.[5] The following season, he appeared in eight games, starting seven at either nickelback or safety.[6] For the season he recorded 18 tackles and recorded one interception and one fumble recovery.[5][6] He also returned five punts for 39 yards.[5] He missed the first two games of the season for what was said to be a hamstring injury and the final two for a knee injury.[6]
After the 2012 season, Saunders and offensive tackle Matt Patchan announced they were transferring out of Florida.[6]
For his career at Florida, he started 16 of 20 games.[7]
Tennessee State
editAfter the 2012 season, he transferred to Tennessee State. While there he started 19 of 24 games recording 67 tackles, 15 passes defensed, nine interceptions.[7] He also recorded 57 punt returns for 373 yards and a touchdown.
Professional career
editAfter going undrafted in the 2015 NFL draft Saunders signed with the Cleveland Browns. He was one of the Browns final cuts on September 5, 2015.[8] The next day he was re-signed to the team's practice squad.[8] On November 4, he was called up to the Browns active roster.[8] One day after being called up to the active roster, Saunders made his NFL debut in the Browns 31-10 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.[9] During the game, he recorded his first career tackle.[9] He was released on November 9.[8] On November 11, he was re-signed to the Browns practice squad.[8] On December 28, after his Christmas Day arrest, he was released by the Browns.[8][10]
Personal life
editIn December 2015, Saunders along with teammate Armonty Bryant were arrested during a traffic stop on Interstate 71 in Brook Park, Ohio.[11][12] Saunders was pulled over while driving 75 mph in a 60 MPH zone.[12][13] After being pulled over, he refused to take a breathalyzer test.[13] Saunders was found to be in possession of a handgun.[11] He was also cited for driving under the influence. While Bryant was in possession of Adderall.[11] Saunders pleaded not guilty.[11]
In February 2016, Saunders and Bryant were both indicted on felony charges.[14] Saunders was charged for improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle.[14]
References
edit- ^ "De'Ante "Pop" Saunders signs with Cleveland Browns". News-JournalOnline. Daytona Beach News-Journal. May 2, 2015. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
- ^ "Depth Chart/Pronunciation Guide" (PDF). Cleveland Browns. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 9, 2016. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
- ^ a b "De'Ante Saunders - RB - Football - DeLand >> Florida Gridiron Preps". Retrieved April 23, 2016.
- ^ a b c d e "De'Ante Saunders". Gatorsports.com. Archived from the original on August 12, 2016. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
- ^ a b c d "De'Ante Saunders Stats". Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on September 20, 2016. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
- ^ a b c d DiRocco, Mike (December 27, 2012). "De'Ante Saunders among 2 leaving". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
- ^ a b "De'Ante Saunders - DB for Tennessee State Tigers". FoxSports.com. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f "De'Ante Saunders Transactions". FoxSports.com. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
- ^ a b "De'Ante Saunders Game Logs". FoxSports.com. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
- ^ Withers, Tom (December 28, 2015). "Browns release safety De'Ante Saunders following arrest". Pro32.AP.org. Associated Press. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
- ^ a b c d MacDonald, Evan (December 28, 2015). "Browns safety De'Ante Saunders pleads not guilty to drunken driving following Christmas arrest". Cleveland.com. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
- ^ a b McGraw, Veronica (December 26, 2015). "Browns DB De'Ante Saunders arrested for OVI, speeding in Brook Park". NewsNet5.com. News Net 5. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
- ^ a b "Browns' Armonty Bryant, De'Ante Saunders arrested after Christmas AM traffic stop". USAToday.com. USA Today. December 26, 2015. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
- ^ a b "Browns' Armonty Bryant, De'Ante Saunders plead not guilty in Christmas Day traffic stop". Fox8.com. February 24, 2016. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
External links
edit- Tennessee State Tigers bio Archived September 24, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
- Cleveland Browns bio