Prince Amukamara was born in Leominster, Massachusetts, on June 6, 1989. At the age of 5, his family made their way to Glendale, Arizona. Amukamara is of Royal Igbo Nigerian descent. His great-grandfather was the King of Awo-Omamma, a village in the Iwo State of Nigeria. His father is the village’s chief. He is currently next in line to become chief of the village. Amukamara attended Apollo High School where he would play basketball and football for the Hawks. He was the star player of the football team at Apollo. He was a lethal weapon on offense and a valuable asset on defense. In a standout junior season, he rushed for 1,283 yards with 14 touchdowns on offense. Defensively, he ended the season with 30 tackles, 1 interception, and 3 passes defended. In his senior campaign, he would do the unthinkable and nearly double all stats and even triple one stat on defense. Amukamara rushed for 2,106 yards with 24 touchdowns on offense. On defense, he tripled his tackles with 95 to go along with 2 interceptions, and 5 passes defended. His dominance was so impressive he would receive 7 division 1 scholarship offers.
Of those offers, Amukamara would commit to play for the Nebraska Cornhuskers as a cornerback. In his freshman year, Amukamara only saw the field on special teams and finished the season with only 4 tackles in 8 games. Entering his sophomore season, his role would increase. He would play in all 13 games for the Cornhuskers and start in 3 of those games. He wrapped up the season with 34 tackles, 3 passes defended, and 2 forced fumbles. He had 4 games with at least 3 tackles. As a junior, his contributions to the team would continue to increase. Amukamara registered 64 tackles, 5 interceptions, and 11 passes defended. He ranked 19th in the Nation that season in passes defended. In his final year as a Cornhusker, Amukamara was the cornerstone of the secondary in his senior season. He displayed just how good of a lockdown cornerback he really was as he allowed only 18 completions on 52 attempts to the receivers he covered. He would also rack up 59 tackles and 13 passes defended. Although he didn’t have any interceptions, his play was still good enough to earn him the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year Award.
Amukamara entered the 2011 NFL Draft. He would be taken 19th overall by the New York Giants. Unfortunately, his NFL career would be off to a rough start. In just his second NFL practice, he broke his foot and required surgery leaving him out indefinitely. Amukamara would end up missing 9 games. In his debut in week 11 against division rivals Philadelphia Eagles he would make immediate impact. On his first drive in an NFL game he recorded his first career interception. His rookie year couldn’t have ended any better. The Giants would make a run in the playoffs and defeat the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI with a score of 21-17. Amukamara remained on the Giants until 2016 when he would sign a one year deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars. He finished his season with the Jags with mediocre numbers. After not being re-signed, he has signed a one year contract with the Chicago Bears for the upcoming 2017 NFL season.
Prince Amukamara also spends time helping out in the youth community. He puts on football camps for the youth. He recently held a free camp at his alma mater Apollo High School in Glendale, Arizona, in July 2017. He is also an ambassador for Up2Us Sports which is a non-profit organization that helps America’s youth overcome the rough lifestyle that is overtaking the younger generations through sports.
