Charles Yaw Peprah (born February 24, 1983) is an American former professional football player who was a safety in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide. Peprah was selected by the New York Giants in the fifth round of the 2006 NFL draft. He was also a member of the Green Bay Packers, Atlanta Falcons and Dallas Cowboys. With the Packers, he won Super Bowl XLV over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Charlie Peprah
Peprah with the Green Bay Packers in 2011
No. 26, 38
PositionSafety
Personal information
Born (1983-02-24) February 24, 1983 (age 43)
Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.
Listed height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Listed weight203 lb (92 kg)
Career information
High schoolPlano East (Plano, Texas)
CollegeAlabama
NFL draft2006: 5th round, 158th overall pick
Career history
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Awards and highlights
Career NFL statistics
Total tackles195
Forced fumbles3
Pass deflections17
Interceptions8
Defensive touchdowns1
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Early life

edit

Peprah is the grandson of the former military president of Ghana, general Ignatius Kutu Acheampong. Ruling in a coup d’etat in 1972, Acheampong remained in power until 1978 and was executed in 1979 after a revolution. Acheampong's daughter Elizabeth Acheampong, the last family member to see her father alive, married Josh Peprah, a member of Acheampong's army, and emigrated to Europe and then the United States.[1]

Peprah was born in Fort Worth, Texas and has two brothers, Richard and Josh, college football players at Wyoming and Wisconsin respectively.[2] When he was in middle school, his parents divorced, and his father returned to Ghana.[1] Charlie Peprah attended Plano East Senior High School.[2]

College career

edit

In 50 games with the Alabama Crimson Tide, Peprah totaled 310 tackles (163 solo), nine interceptions (returned two for touchdowns), five fumble recoveries, four forced fumbles, and 24 passes defensed.

Peprah played various positions for Alabama including right cornerback and safety. In 2004, he was an Academic All-SEC selection, and as a senior in 2005, he was a second-team All-SEC pick. At the 2004 Music City Bowl, he recorded a season-high 11 tackles, 10 of which were solo, but Alabama lost to Minnesota.

At the 2006 Cotton Bowl Classic, he had three tackles and a pass defense against Texas Tech, and Alabama won 13–10.[2] He graduated from Alabama with a bachelor's degree in marketing and master's degree in financial planning.[1]

Professional career

edit
Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeightArm lengthHand span40-yard dash10-yard split20-yard split20-yard shuttleThree-cone drillVertical jumpBroad jumpBench press
5 ft 10+78 in
(1.80 m)
206 lb
(93 kg)
31+34 in
(0.81 m)
9+12 in
(0.24 m)
4.55 s1.64 s2.74 s4.09 s6.69 s37.5 in
(0.95 m)
9 ft 11 in
(3.02 m)
17 reps
All values from NFL Combine/Pro Day[3][4]

New York Giants

edit

The New York Giants selected Peprah in the fifth round of the 2006 NFL draft with the 158th overall pick.[5]

Green Bay Packers (first stint)

edit

On September 3, 2006, Peprah was claimed off waivers by the Green Bay Packers.[2]

Peprah played eight games for the Packers and four preseason games for the Giants. On December 10 against the San Francisco 49ers, Peprah ran down Brandon Williams, stopping his punt return at 25 yards. On December 31 against the Chicago Bears, Peprah pushed Bernard Berrian out of bounds after Berrian completed a punt return for seven yards.[2]

In his second season with the Packers, Peprah played for all 16 regular season and two playoff games for the Packers. Peprah forced a fumble from kick returner Ahmad Bradshaw in the September 16 match against Peprah's former team New York Giants. Tracy White recovered the fumble, and the Packers later scored a touchdown and won the game 35–13. On November 22 against the Detroit Lions, Peprah made the first stops of his career with two solo tackles and overall in the season made three special teams tackles.[2]

With one start, Peprah played 13 games in 2008 with 19 tackles, two passes defensed, and nine stops on special teams.[2]

Atlanta Falcons

edit

On November 4, 2009, Peprah signed as a free agent to the Atlanta Falcons and played two games with Atlanta on special teams.[2]

Green Bay Packers (second stint)

edit

The Packers re-signed Peprah on April 26, 2010.[6] After playing on special teams on weeks 1 and 2, Peprah spent the third and fourth games of the season sidelined by a thigh injury. In the October 31 game against the New York Jets, Peprah made five tackles and a quarterback pressure, broke up consecutive Jets passes, and knock the ball out of Jerricho Cotchery's possession on a fourth down running attempt.[7]

Peprah was the leading tackler for the Packers in Super Bowl XLV, a 31–25 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Peprah recorded 10 tackles (9 solo). He was the only player in the game to record double digit tackles.[8]

On March 4, 2011, the Packers re-signed Peprah to a 2-year, $2.5 million deal.[9] On November 6, he recorded his first interception return for a touchdown in a game against the San Diego Chargers. On July 25, 2012, he was released after he failed a physical with an injured knee.[10]

Dallas Cowboys

edit

On October 23, 2012, he was signed by the Dallas Cowboys to provide depth at the safety position and to replace an injured Matt Johnson.[11] He wasn't re-signed after the season.

NFL career statistics

edit
Legend
Bold Career high

Regular season

edit
Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GPGSCmbSoloAstSckTFLIntYdsTDLngPDFFFRYdsTD
2006GNB 803210.00000000000
2007GNB 160111100.00000002000
2008GNB 131121020.00000000000
2009ATL 201100.00000000000
2010GNB 14116346170.03200050000
2011GNB 16149465290.035147176101000
2012DAL 5111740.0012702720000
7427195142530.068174176173000

Playoffs

edit
Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GPGSCmbSoloAstSckTFLIntYdsTDLngPDFFFRYdsTD
2007GNB 201010.00000000000
2010GNB 42241770.00000000000
2011GNB 119900.01000000000
73342680.01000000000

Scouting career

edit

In 2016, Peprah was hired by the Green Bay Packers as a scouting assistant. Peprah was promoted to college scout in July 2017.[12]

References

edit
  1. 1 2 3 Crouse, Karen (February 6, 2011). "To the Super Bowl via Ghana: A Packer Family's Journey". The New York Times. p. SP1.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Charlie Peprah". Green Bay Packers. Archived from the original on February 6, 2011. Retrieved February 5, 2011.
  3. "Charlie Peprah Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved December 28, 2024.
  4. "Charlie Peprah College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved December 28, 2024.
  5. "2006 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  6. "Packers sign S Peprah, release TE Frischknecht". WKOW. April 26, 2010. Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved February 5, 2011.
  7. D'Amato, Gary (November 10, 2010). "Packers' Peprah keeps believing". Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Retrieved February 5, 2011.
  8. "Super Bowl XLV Box Score".
  9. Rosenthal, Greg (March 4, 2011). "Charlie Peprah puts pen to paper". profootballtalk.com.
  10. "Charlie Peprah draws interest from Chicago Bears, report says - NFL.com". NFL.com. Archived from the original on August 27, 2012.
  11. Watkins, Calvin (October 23, 2012). "Source: Cowboys agree to deal with Charlie Peprah". ESPN Dallas Cowboys Report.
  12. "Packers announce player personnel department changes". Archived from the original on July 27, 2017. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
edit