Tony Samuel is in his third season as the head football coach at Southeast Missouri State University. Samuel was named to the position Dec. 21, 2005, and the appointment became effective Jan. 1, 2006.

Coach Samuel was the position coach for nearly 20 players that have continued their careers in the National Football League. (Mike Williamson)

Samuel, a graduate of the University of Nebraska, came to Southeast from Purdue University where he served as defensive line coach since March 2005. While at Purdue, he was the position coach of Rob Ninkovich, the team's Most Valuable Player of the Year in 2005 and second team All-Big Ten selection as a defensive end.

Coach Samuel played for legendary coach Tom Osborne at Nebraska and later was an assistant coach for the Cornhuskers when they won back-to-back national championships in 1994-95. (Stan Crader)

Samuel served as head coach at New Mexico State University from 1997-2004 and is the third winningest coach in school history with 57 victories. New Mexico State finished 6-5 in 1999, its first winning season since 1992 and only its third in 32 years. In 2002, his Aggie squad posted a mark of 7-5 which represented the most victories by the program since 1967.

His teams won the Rio Grande Championship twice and he led the Aggies to an undefeated season at home in 2002. During his tenure, Samuel was instrumental in New Mexico State's ranking of 13th in graduation rates among NCAA Division I-A football programs at 76 percent.

From 1986-96, Samuel coached the outside linebacker and rush end positions at his alma mater for legendary head coach Tom Osborne. During his 11 seasons with the Cornhuskers, Samuel mentored six first team All-Americans and 12 future National Football League players. Nebraska won two national championships in 1994 and 1995, captured seven Big Eight/Big Twelve conference championships and competed in 11 bowl games. Samuel also served as the defensive line coach at Stanford from 1984-85 and served in the same capacity at Western Michigan from 1982-83.

As a player, Samuel was a member of Coach Osborne's first recruiting class at the University of Nebraska. He was a two-year starter at defensive end, played in four bowl games including the Sugar Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Astro Bluebonnet and Liberty Bowl. Samuel earned honorable mention All-Big Eight honors as a senior in 1977. Samuel received his undergraduate degree in education from Nebraska in 1981. He was elected to the American Football Coaches Association Board of Trustees in 2002.

Coach Samuel is a native of Trinidad, West Indies, and moved to Jersey City, N.J., at the age of 10. He and his wife, Tamara, have five children, Travis, Serena, Phillip, Karisa and Terryn.

Players Coached in the National Football League
• Trev Alberts, Nebraska, 1st Round (5th Overall) - Indianapolis Colts
• Mike Croel, Nebraska, 1st Round (4th Overall) - New York Giants
• Troy Dumas, Nebraska, 3rd Round - Kansas City Chiefs, St. Louis Rams, Denver Broncos - current Southeast linebackers coach
• Ray Edwards, Purdue, 4th Round - Minnesota Vikings
• Kyle Hunt, Southeast Missouri State - Philadelphia Eagles
• Donta Jones, Nebraska, 4th Round - Pittsburgh Steelers
• Edgar Jones, Southeast Missouri State - Baltimore Ravens
• Jeff Mills, Nebraska, 3rd Round - Denver Broncos
• Rob Ninkovich, Purdue, 5th Round - New Orleans Saints
• Mike Rucker, Nebraska, 2nd Round - Carolina Panthers
• Broderick Thomas, Nebraska, 1st Round (6th Overall) - Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings, Dallas Cowboys
• Jared Tomich, Nebraska, 2nd Round - New Orleans Saints
• Garin Veris, Stanford, 2nd Round - New England Patriots
• David White, Nebraska - Buffalo Bills
• Jamel Williams, Nebraska, 5th Round - Washington Redskins
• Grant Wistrom, Nebraska, 1st Round (6th Overall) - St. Louis Rams, Seattle Seahawks