K. J. Carta-Samuels

K. J. Carta-Samuels
No. 5 – Dresden Monarchs
Position:Quarterback
Personal information
Born: (1995-07-12) July 12, 1995 (age 28)
Saratoga, California, U.S.
Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:225 lb (102 kg)
Career information
High school:Bellarmine
College:Washington (2014–2017)
Colorado State (2018)
Undrafted:2019
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Player stats at CFL.ca

Kyle James Carta-Samuels (born July 12, 1995) is an American professional gridiron football quarterback for the Dresden Monarchs of the German Football League (GFL). He played college football at Washington and Colorado State.

Early life

Carta-Samuels was born in Saratoga, California, and attended Bellarmine College Preparatory. As a junior, he completed 70-of-129 passes for 1,230 yards and 12 scores while rushing for 632 yards and 12 touchdowns. He led the team to an 11–2 record, making the championship of the playoffs. As a senior, he brought them to 8–4 and to the semifinals in the CIF Central Coast Section Open Division playoffs. Carta-Samuels was named All-West Catholic Athletic League on their first-team roster following the season, and was invited to the U.S. Army All-American Bowl. He was a four-star recruit and was the number 23 quarterback prospect in the country according to Scout.com.[1]

College career

University of Washington

Carta-Samuels announced his commitment to University of Washington in January 2014 after initially committing to Vanderbilt.[2] He spent his freshman year as a redshirt, and did not see any playing time. He was named the team's 2014 scout squad MVP. He lost a training camp battle for the starting quarterback position,[3] but made his college debut against Boise State in 2015. He played in a total of eight games in 2015, completing 10-of-24 passes for 124 yards.[1]

As a sophomore in 2016, Carta-Samuels completed 9-of-13 pass attempts for 104 yards and three touchdowns. He appeared in nine total games, and also made a brief appearance in the 2017 Peach Bowl, in a 7–24 loss against Alabama. Against number 7 ranked Stanford, Carta-Samuels led a late scoring drive that contributed to Washington's victory. He appeared in eight games as a junior, throwing ten passes, with eight being completed, for 82 yards. He also caught a pass in their win over the Oregon State Beavers.[4] He announced intentions to transfer in December 2017.[5]

Colorado State University

Though he initially transferred to UCLA,[6] Carta-Samuels changed to Colorado State University (CSU) in March 2018.[7] He beat out Justice McCoy and Colin Hill in training camp to earn the CSU starting quarterback position.[8] In the season opener against Hawaii, Carta-Samuels passed for 537 yards and five touchdowns in the loss. The 537 passing yards set the all-time school record, as no other player had even thrown for 500 yards previously.[1] Against Colorado, he started the game by completing 7-of-8 pass attempts. A week later, in a win over Arkansas, Carta-Samuels completed 32-of-47 pass attempts, going for 389 yards and two touchdowns. He was benched by coach Mike Bobo in a loss versus FCS Illinois State,[8] but regained the starting position for their game against San Jose State. He threw four touchdowns versus the San Jose State Spartans, marking the 14th time a CSU quarterback threw four in one game. He was again benched in favor of Colin Hill following the eighth game of the season. After Hill was injured in the season finale, Carta-Samuels came in and went 6-for-9 passing, with one touchdown in his final career collegiate game.[1]

Carta-Samuels finished the 2018 season going 183-for-298 on pass attempts, throwing for 2,261 yards and 19 touchdowns. He also threw 9 interceptions. His longest completion of the season was on a 69-yard pass to Preston Williams against Hawaii in week one.[1]

Professional career

BC Lions

After going unselected in the 2019 NFL Draft, Carta-Samuels was signed by the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (NFL) in November 2019.[9] The CFL cancelled its 2020 season, and Carta-Samuels was released.[10]

Dresden Monarchs

In April 2021, Carta-Samuels was signed by the Dresden Monarchs of the German Football League (GFL).[11] He led the team to their first ever league championship, being named German Bowl XLII MVP in a 28–19 victory over the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns.[12]

Personal life

His brother Austyn Carta-Samuels played quarterback for Vanderbilt and Wyoming.[13] In the 2022 German Football League Austin replaced his brother as the Dresden Monarchs starting Quarterback,[14][15] but got injured in the first match of the season and was subsequently replaced.[16][17] His father, James Samuels, played at Utah State, as did his uncle. His sister Gabby played volleyball for Colorado.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "K.J. Carta-Samuels – Football – Colorado State University Athletics". CSURams.com.
  2. ^ Clarke, Patrick (January 22, 2014). "K.J. Carta-Samuels to Washington: Huskies Land 4-Star QB Prospect". Bleacher Report.
  3. ^ Jude, Adam (September 14, 2016). "K.J. Carta-Samuels enjoying chance to prove himself as Huskies' backup QB". Seattle Times.
  4. ^ Bryant, Jim. "Washington Huskies quarterback K.J. Carta-Samuels catches a pass against Oreagon State Beavers". United Press International.
  5. ^ Wiltfong, Steve (December 5, 2017). "QB Carta-Samuels will grad transfer from Washington". 247Sports.com.
  6. ^ Simmons, Barton (January 15, 2018). "UCLA lands graduate transfer QB K.J. Carta-Samuels from Washington". CBS Sports.
  7. ^ Lytle, Kevin (March 27, 2018). "How quarterback K.J. Carta-Samuels ended up at CSU and not UCLA". The Coloradoan.
  8. ^ a b L. Stephens, Matt (September 22, 2018). "Colorado State gave up on QB K.J. Carta-Samuels. Have the Rams given up on their season?". Denver Post.
  9. ^ "Lions sign QB K.J. Carta–Samuels". 3DownNation.com. November 29, 2019.
  10. ^ Abbott, JC (August 13, 2021). "Former top QB recruit K.J. Carta-Samuels' reinvented style of play powering success in Germany". American Football International.
  11. ^ Malchow, Alex (April 10, 2021). "German Football League's Dresden Monarchs sign former Colorado State QB K.J. Carta-Samuels". American Football International.
  12. ^ "Dresden Monarchs gewinnen erstmals den Titel". GermanBowl.de (in German). October 10, 2021.
  13. ^ Kosmider, Nick (August 8, 2018). "How K.J. Carta-Samuels leaned on family ties to prepare him for his lone season as a Colorado State quarterback". The Athletic.
  14. ^ "Dresden Monarchs verpflichten US-Amerikaner Austyn Carta-Samuels als neuen Quarterback".
  15. ^ "Erfolgs-Quarterback Carta-Samuels lotst Bruder zu den Dresden Monarchs".
  16. ^ "Dresden Monarchs suchen Quarterback, Marvin Schöne spielt gegen Kiel". 25 May 2022.
  17. ^ "Nicht nur Krankheitsvertretung". June 2022.