Sammie Stroughter arrived in Corvallis in 2004 as a 6-foot, 189-pounder dripping with athleticism, having played running back at Granite Bay High in Sacramento. Oregon State was the only Pac-10 school to offer him a scholarship, and the Beavers planned to use him to first return punts while molding him into a top receiver.
Stroughter announced himself to the nation in October 2006 when he returned a 70-yard punt for a touchdown in an upset of No. 3 USC. “Everybody remembers the USC game because of the punt return, but he was so consistent and he got better every week,” says Lee Hull, Sammie’s receiving coach for four years. “He’s fast and quick, and that’s a deadly combo. He breaks out fast and he can accelerate. That separates him from other players.”
Stroughter established himself as one of the most versatile players in the nation that year, racking up 1,741 all-purpose yards and averaging 15.7 yards per punt return, third in the nation. He was named third-team All-America and led the Beavers to a come-from-behind victory over Missouri in the Sun Bowl. Suddenly, people couldn’t get enough of Stroughter. People wanted him at every interview, every football event, wanted him to talk to their kids and sign T-shirts…. To read this Full Article By Lindsay Schnell follow this link to SI.com