Virginia Tech’s Caleb Farley, Alabama’s Patrick Surtain II and South Carolina’s Jaycee Horn are all vying to become the first cornerback taken in the 2021 NFL Draft. Respectfully, though, Florida State’s Asante Samuel Jr. made a case for himself.
“I feel like I’m the best corner in the draft because I could play inside, I could play outside,” he said Friday in an interview with show host Andrew Siciliano on NFL Network’s NFL Now. “I could play man, press. I could play man off. I could play zone coverage from off, I could play zone coverage from press and I feel like I’m very versatile. I played some snaps at safety at Florida State and out of the three years, I kind of played three different schemes. So I feel like I’m very versatile and I could basically do anything.”
Samuel is listed by NFL.com as a 5-foot-10, 180-pounder with 30.125-inch arms and 8.875-inch hands. He echoed his point from March 22 at Florida State’s pro day, when he first noted his size does not matter.
“Well, I definitely feel like I’m big enough to play outside,” Samuel said. “I mean, it’s a lot of guy that’s actually smaller than me that start on the outside in the NFL. So I don’t feel like — that’s definitely not a problem. I mean, if your technique is up and sound and you’re a true competitor, you can play pretty much anywhere.
“I mean, at quarterback, they want guys 6-5. But Russell Wilson’s out there, 5-11, doing his thing. So I feel like it’s not really about size. It’s about if you’re true baller on the field.”
As a starter in all eight games of the Seminoles’ 2020 season, Samuel totaled 31 tackles (one for loss), three interceptions (six pass breakups) and two fumble recoveries (one forced) on the way to a first-time All-ACC selection. He built off his sophomore season in 2019, when Samuel started all 12 games and notched 48 tackles (one for loss), one interception and 14 pass breakups.
“I take a lot of pride in tackling,” Samuel said. “First of all, the team is counting on me to make the tackle and make the play. So I feel like I have to give it my 110% every time on the field. But tackling is just as important as catching interceptions or making pass deflections. You can’t tackle on defense, you don’t need to be out there.”
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Samuel made an immediate impact during the 2018 season, his freshman year, where he made 12 appearances (three starts) and recorded 17 tackles (one for loss) and nine pass breakups. A four-star recruit out of Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas, Samuel was the 247Sports Composite’s No. 60 overall prospect and No. 9 cornerback in the 2018 class.