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Former Santa Clarita Football Players Making Their Mark In The NFL

Santa Clarita has a long history of producing professional football players and several former College of the Canyons players and a Valencia Viking have continued to expand on that tradition during the 2020 NFL season.

Marquise ‘Hollywood’ Brown 

A former College of the Canyons wide receiver who was selected as a first-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens, Marquise ‘Hollywood’ Brown was an immediate contributor in his rookie season and has emerged as his team’s top wide receiver threat.

This season, Brown has reeled in 36 receptions for 516 yards and three touchdowns. In his most recent outing against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Wednesday, Brown caught 4 passes for 85 yards and a touchdown. Brown did most of his damage on a 70-yard touchdown reception from Ravens third-string quarterback Trace McSorely.

With Baltimore’s starting quarterback Lamar Jackson already sidelined after a positive COVID test, McSorley had to replace backup Robert Griffin III in the final quarter when Griffin could no longer play through a hamstring injury he had suffered in the second quarter. 

With four games remaining in the regular season, Brown is poised to surpass his rookie year receiving yards, but looks unlikely to match the seven touchdowns he posted in 2019 without a major performance before season’s end.

Domata Peko

Another former Cougar, Peko is a 15-year veteran of the NFL and only signed with his current team, the Arizona Cardinals, as of November 24, after waiting for the right opportunity to emerge.

Related: Former COC Football Player Domata Peko Signs With Arizona Cardinals

This week, in his first game with the Cardinals, Peko was on the field for 33 defensive snaps and managed to record his first tackle with his new team.

At 6-5, the Cardinals remain in the hunt for an NFC West divisional title or a potential Wild Card appearance in the postseason as Peko continues to look to add some postseason success to his career.

Jason Pierre-Paul

Now in the 11th year of his NFL career, former COC defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul is also looking to expand his career resume which already includes a Super Bowl win as a member of the New York Giants in 2011.

Pierre-Paul was traded by the New York Giants to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2018, and Tampa has since evolved into a true championship contender with the addition of future Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady to the roster this offseason.

Pierre-Paul provides more than a veteran presence on Tampa’s defensive front, as he has accumulated 48 tackles, 8.5 sacks, three forced fumbles and two interceptions through the first 12 weeks of the season.

Most recently, the former Cougar had four tackles and a sack in a 27-24 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Tedric Thompson

Valencia graduate Tedric Thompson is now in his fourth NFL season as a safety and joined the reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs this offseason on a one-year deal.

While the Chiefs had a starting safety in Tyrann Mathieu, Thompson was added for depth in the secondary and has had a number of opportunities to see the field so far this year.

Thompson has recorded 13 tackles on the season, 11 solo and two assisted, in six appearances.

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Former Santa Clarita Football Players Making Their Mark In The NFL

One comment

  1. Finally something the people of Santa Clarita can be proud of aside from their blind faith in Trump and their right to spread Covid.

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About Wyatt Smith

Wyatt was born and raised in Santa Clarita. After graduating from Hart High School in 2012, he continued his studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he earned a degree in applied statistics. After a year and a half working in the digital advertising industry, Wyatt left his previous field of work to pursue his interest in writing.