2020: Established himself as one of the interior lineman in the American Athletic Conference…Was rated as the most valuable defensive player in college football by Pro Football Focus…Finished sixth on the team in total tackles, finishing the regular season with 52 stops…Posted a single-season career-high six sacks which ranked second on the team.
2019: Started every game for Tulane...Finished his junior campaign with a single-season career high 44 tackles, which second among all defensive lineman...Made three tackles and recovered a fumble against FIU at home (Aug. 29)...Racked up five tackles, including four solo efforts against No. 10 Auburn (Sep. 7)...Made three tackles at home against MSU (Sep. 14)...Totaled three tackles at home against Houston (Sep. 19)...Picked up seven tackles away at Army (Oct. 5)...Added two more tackles at home against UConn (Oct. 12)...Tallied three tackles away at Memphis (Oct. 18)...Made four tackles away at Navy (Oct. 26)...Racked up three tackles at home against Tulsa (Nov. 2)...Made three tackles and had one quarterback hurry in the 2020 Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl.
2018: Played and started in 11 of Tulane’s 13 games in his sophomore year...Earned a season-high nine tackles on the road against Ohio State (Sept. 22) to total 40 in 2018…Battled back from an ankle injury in Tulane’s game against USF (Nov. 3)…Recorded three tackles and one sack for a loss of six yards in Tulane’s win over Louisiana-Lafayette in the AutoNation Cure Bowl (Dec. 15), totaling four sacks in the season to force a combined loss of 24 yards.
2017: Played in 11 games, starting in three…Started against USF, Memphis and Cincinnati…Finished ninth on the roster with 26 total tackles…Had 15 solo tackles and 11 assisted tackles…Had two tackles for loss, causing the opponents to lose four yards…Had one QB hurry and one pass broken up against SMU…Had a season-high four solo tackles and six total tackles against Army West Point…Member of the 2017-18 American Athletic Conference All-Academic Team…Member of the Tulane 3.0 Club.
High School: Was a three-year letterman at Shiloh High School in Snellville, Ga.…Rated a three-star prospect by Rivals.com and a two-star prospect by 247sports.com and Scout.com… As a senior, registered 50 tackles, eight tackles for loss, four sacks, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery on his way to earning Class 8A all-region honors…As a junior, tallied 54 tackles, nine tackles for loss and a forced fumble.
Personal: Major is finance.
Sample’s Career Highs
Tackles: 9 at Ohio State, 9/22/18
Tackles for Loss: 2.5 at Ohio State, 9/22/18
Sacks: 2.0 vs. Memphis 9/28/18
Pass Breakups: 1, 2x last vs. SMU 10/20/18
