Akbar Gbaja-Biamila
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
|
| Free Agents — No. -- | |
| Linebacker | |
| Date of birth: May 6, 1979 | |
| Place of birth: Los Angeles, California | |
| Height: 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | Weight: 260 lb (120 kg) |
| National Football League debut | |
|---|---|
| 2003 for the Oakland Raiders | |
| Career history | |
| College: San Diego State | |
| Undrafted in 2003 | |
Teams:
|
|
| Current status: Active | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
|
|
| Stats at NFL.com | |
Akbar Oluwakemi-Idowu Gbaja-Biamila (born May 6, 1979 in Los Angeles, California) is an American football linebacker who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the Oakland Raiders as an undrafted free agent in 2003. He played college football at San Diego State.
Gbaja-Biamila has also played for the San Diego Chargers and Miami Dolphins. He is the younger brother of Green Bay Packers defensive end Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila.
Contents |
[edit] Early years
Gbaja-Biamila a former hoop star who won "Back-to-Back" City and State Championships (1996,1997) with the dynasty of the Crenshaw High School Basketball teams of the Willie West Jr. era, made the move to play football in his senior year. Gbaja-Biamila was an all-league and all-conference choice as senior at Crenshaw High School in South Los Angeles, California. He was also named team’s defensive lineman of the year, compiling 11 sacks and 74 tackles in his senior campaign.
[edit] College career
Gbaja-Biamila played for San Diego State University from 1998-2002 while earning a degree in communications. He was an All-Mountain West Conference selection as a senior in 2002, and finished his career with 96 tackles, 12 sacks and 22 tackles for loss.
[edit] Professional career
[edit] First stint with Raiders
Gbaja-Biamila went undrafted in the 2003 NFL Draft and later signed with the Oakland Raiders as a free agent. He made the team out of training camp and played in 13 of the team's 16 regular season games, while being inactive for three. He recorded seven tackles (four solo) on the season, with his first and only sack of the season coming against Daunte Culpepper, then with the Minnesota Vikings.
In 2004 Gbaja-Biamila split time between defensive end and linebacker, occasionally filling in for players such as Travian Smith and Tyler Brayton. He appeared in 14 games for the Raiders during the regular season and was inactive for two games. He accumulated a career-high 14 tackles (11 solo) and added a sack on the year. His lone sack came against Brad Johnson and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, while he recorded a season-high three tackles in games against the Denver Broncos and Jacksonville Jaguars. Gbaja-Biamila also recovered a blocked punt against the Carolina Panthers which led to a Raiders touchdown.
Battling injuries during the 2005 training camp, Gbaja-Biamila was released by the Raiders on September 3. He had a workout with the Green Bay Packers two days later, but he was not signed and spent the season out of football.
[edit] San Diego Chargers
Gbaja-Biamila returned to the NFL in 2006 after being signed by the San Diego Chargers on January 12. The fit was a good one for him, who as slightly undersized yet quick defensive end was a perfect fit for the 3-4 defense employed by then-defensive coordinator Wade Phillips and the Chargers.
Gbaja-Biamila made the team out of training camp, but appeared in only one game during the season. He registered his lone tackle on November 5 against the Cleveland Browns. On December 2, he was released by the Chargers to make room for fellow linebacker Shawne Merriman, who was returning from a four-game suspension.
[edit] Miami Dolphins
On February 6, 2007 it was announced that Gbaja-Biamila had been signed to a future contract with the Miami Dolphins. The move reunited him with new Dolphins head coach Cam Cameron, who was offensive coordinator in San Diego the season before when Gbaja-Biamila was a member of the Chargers. On September 11, 2007 he was released by the Dolphins. He spent the season out of football.
[edit] Second stint with Raiders
On March 28, 2008 Gbaja-Biamila re-signed with the Oakland Raiders to a two-year contract. He was released less than two months later on May 20.
[edit] Personal
[edit] Name meaning
Akbar’s full name is Akbar Oluwakemi-Idowu Gbaja-Biamila. Akbar is Arabic and means "great." His middle and last names are Nigerian. The middle names, Oluwakemi means "God kept me" and Idowu means "born after twins." His older brother Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila is a twin to Hadijat-Kubrat Gbajabiamila. His last name, Gbaja-Biamila means "big man come save me." This name comes from his paternal great-great-grandfather who stood seven feet tall and was the village moderator in the Nigerian village in which he lived.
[edit] Family
In 2002 his mother, Bolatito, died in a tragic car accident. In 2004 his father, Mustapha, after years of treatment, was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. Symptoms of Mustapha's Parkinson's first started to show up in 1998, after attending his youngest son’s, Abdul-Jabbar (Akbar’s junior brother) home football game, Mustapha collapsed due to dehydration and was admitted to MLK-Harbor. It was from here that his symptoms of Parkinson's escalated. Originally, Mustapha was diagnosed as suffering from hepatitis, but after revaluation at Cedars-Sinai it was found to be Parkinson’s. While a member of the Chargers in 2006, Akbar routinely drove back-and-forth from San Diego to Los Angeles to spend time with his father.
