Tyshun Raequan "Deebo" Samuel (born January 15, 1996) is an American football wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers. He played college football at South Carolina and was selected by the 49ers in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft. In 2021, he was selected to the Pro Bowl and received first-team All-Pro honors.
Early years
Samuel attended Chapman High School in Inman, South Carolina, where he played high school football and was coached by Mark Hodge. As a senior, he led his team to the semifinals of the AAA playoffs. During his career, Samuel had 166 catches for 2,751 yards and 36 touchdowns; he rushed 133 times for 898 yards and 13 touchdowns. He finished with a record 53 career touchdowns, 94 tackles and 12 interceptions. He won the High School Sports Report Class AAA Offensive Player of the Year, and played in the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas. Samuel was rated as a three-star recruit by the 247 composite. He committed to the University of South Carolina to play college football.
College career
2014 season
Samuel redshirted in his true freshman year of 2014.
2015 season
Samuel played in five games total, making three starts and struggling with injuries. He suffered a hamstring injury in the season opener against North Carolina. Samuel finished the season with 12 receptions for 161 yards.
2016 season
In his sophomore season, Samuel played in 10 games, led the team with 59 receptions for 783 yards, and rushed 15 times for 98 yards and six touchdowns. In the Birmingham Bowl against USF, he had 14 receptions for 190 receiving yards.
2017 season
In the first game of the season against NC State, Samuel returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown and had five catches for 83 yards for two touchdowns. In Week 2 against Missouri, Samuel once again returned a kickoff for a touchdown, and finished with five catches for 45 yards, and also ran the ball two times for 30 yards and a touchdown. In Week 3 against Kentucky, on the first play from scrimmage Samuel caught a 68-yard touchdown pass from Gamecock quarterback Jake Bentley. After suffering a season-ending injury later in the game, Samuel would finish the season having not even played three full games, yet accumulated 250 yards receiving for three touchdowns, two carries for 30 yards and a touchdown, and two kickoff returns for two touchdowns for a combined 194 yards.
Injury
In Week 3 against Kentucky, with 2:27 left in the third quarter, Samuel caught a pass from Jake Bentley and was awkwardly tackled by Derrick Baity Jr. of Kentucky, bending his leg back. It was announced after the game by head coach Will Muschamp that Samuel had broken his right fibula and would miss the rest of the season. Despite the injury, it was announced that Samuel could possibly return later on in the season, but he suffered a sprained foot in rehab and would not return. Former Gamecock running back Marcus Lattimore (who suffered severe knee injuries in college) had encouraging words for Samuel following his injury, saying: "I know you are down and frustrated and you feel like your dreams are far away now. They aren’t. You can use this moment to show people how to overcome adversity, the whole state of South Carolina loves Deebo."
2018 season
On November 5, 2017, Samuel announced that he would be returning for his senior season. Samuel finished the 2018 season with 882 yards receiving and 11 touchdowns. His best game of the season came against Clemson, where he caught 10 passes for 210 yards and three touchdowns. He chose not to play in the Gamecocks' bowl game, the 2018 Belk Bowl. He was later selected to play in the 2019 Senior Bowl.
College statistics
Professional career
San Francisco 49ers
Samuel was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the second round (36th overall) of the 2019 NFL Draft. He signed a four-year contract with the 49ers on July 25, 2019.