Lawrence Samuels

Lawrence Samuels

Samuels with Adrian McPherson during a 2013 game.
Tampa Bay Storm
Head coach
Personal information
Date of birth: (1970-05-01) May 1, 1970
Place of birth: Mobile, Alabama
Height: 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Weight: 215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High school: Mobile (AL) Shaw
College: Livingston (AL)
Debuted in 1994 for the Tampa Bay Storm
Last played in 2010 for the Tampa Bay Storm
Coaching debut in 1993 for the West Alabama Tigers football|West Alabama
Career history
As player:
Tampa Bay Storm (1994–2000) New Jersey Gladiators (2001) Tampa Bay Storm (2002–2010) *Offseason and/or practice roster member only
As coach:
West Alabama (WR) (1993–1994) West Alabama (WR) (1998–2000) Central H.S. (WR/OL) (2002–2003) Sickles H.S. (WR/DB) (2004–2005) Wharton H.S. (WR) (2005–2006) Team USA (WR) (2009) East Lake H.S. (WR/DB) (2009–2010) Central State (WR) (2011) Tampa Bay Storm (WR) (2012) Tampa Bay Storm (OC) (2013) Tampa Bay Storm (HC) (2013–present)
Career highlights and awards
4× All-Iron Man Team (2000, 2003, 2007 & 2008) 5× 2nd Team All-Arena (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 & 2007) AFL Hall of Fame inductee (2013)
Career Arena football statistics
Receptions 1,035 Yards 11,820 TDs 169 Tackles 360 Interceptions 32
Stats at ArenaFan.com

Lawrence 'Law Dogg' Samuels (born May 1, 1970) is a arena football coach and former wide receiver/linebacker who is the head coach for the Tampa Bay Storm of the Arena Football League (AFL). He played his college football at the Livingston University, and was an AFL wide receiver/linebacker from 1994 to 2010.^[1] He received both his Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Technology and Master's of Science degree in Education from The University of West Alabama.

Early life

Born in Mobile, Alabama, Samuels attended Shaw High School in Mobile. Samuels was a basketball player in high school, but was lured to the football field after seeing most of his childhood friends join the Shaw team.^[2]

Professional career

Tampa Bay Storm

Samuels made his AFL debut in 1994 with the Tampa Bay Storm racking up 247 receptions through the 2000 season for over 3100 yards (3120 yards) in his first tenure with the Storm.

New Jersey Gladiators

In 2001, Samuels left the Storm and played the season with the New Jersey Gladiators, catching 65 passes (a career high at the time) for 742 yards, just short of his 844 yard career high receiving season he recorded the year before with Tampa Bay.

Return to the Storm

After a single season in New Jersey, Samuels returned to Tampa, where he finished his playing career. From 2003-2007, Samuels notched 1,000+ yards receiving in 4 of 5 seasons, including back-to-back-to-back 1,100 yard+ seasons in 2005, 2006, and 2007. Was named MVP and Ironman of ArenaBowl XVII.

In 2007, after 5 losses to begin the season, Samuels was again named to the AFL's All-Ironman Team after leading the Storm to a #3 seed in the playoffs. 100+ catches, 1000+ yards, and 100+ TDs also helped Samuels earn the honor.

On June 15, 2008, Samuels became the first receiver in AFL history to record 1,000 career receptions.

On August 10, 2013, Samuels was inducted into the AFL Hall of Fame.^[3]

Coaching career

In 2002 and 2003, he was an assistant coach and wide receivers coach at Central High School in Brooksville, Florida.

He was the offensive coordinator and receivers coach for the Wharton High School Wildcats during the 2005 and 2006 seasons.

In 2011, Samuels was named the offensive coordinator of the Storm, working with one of his former coaches, Dave Ewart.^[4]

Ewart was fired in early August 2013, and on September 5, 2013, Samuels was promoted to head coach of the Storm.^[5]

Personal

His brother, Chris Samuels, was a 6-time Pro-Bowler in the National Football League

Lawrence is married to wife Kelli. They have two daughters.

References

External links

• AFL stats
• arenafootball.com player profile

www.lawrence_sanuels.com