Trumaine Sykes

Trumaine "Joe" Sykes (born November 22, 1982) is a professional American football defensive end who is currently a free agent. He was originally signed by the Washington Redskins as an undrafted free agent in 2006. He played college football at Southern University.

Trumaine Sykes

Personal information
Born:	(1982-11-22) November 22, 1982 (age 40) Grenada, Mississippi
Height:	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:	275 lb (125 kg)
Career information
High school:	Grenada (Grenada, Mississippi)
College:	Southern
Position:	Defensive end
Undrafted:	2006
Career history
Washington Redskins (2006) Green Bay Blizzard (2008) Saskatchewan Roughriders (2009) Milwaukee Iron (2010) Edmonton Eskimos (2010–2011) San Jose SaberCats (2012) Sacramento Mountain Lions (2012) San Antonio Talons (2013) San Jose SaberCats (2014) Calgary Stampeders (2014)* Pittsburgh Power (2014)* Jacksonville Sharks (2015) Monterrey Steel (2017) Albany Empire (2018–2019)
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
4× First Team All-Arena (2012, 2013, 2015, 2018) 4× AFL Defensive Lineman of the Year (2012, 2013, 2015, 2018) 2× AFL Defensive Player of the Year (2012, 2015)^[1] First Team All-NAL (2017)
Career NFL statistics
Tackles: 1
Career CFL statistics
Tackles: 1 Fumble Recoveries: 1
Career Arena statistics
Tackles: 118.5 Sacks: 53.5 Force Fumbles: 17 Fumble Recoveries: 4 Interceptions: 3
Player stats at NFL.com · ArenaFan.com

Sykes has also played for the Green Bay Blizzard and the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Early life

Sykes attended Grenada High School in Grenada, Mississippi.^[2] Sykes was a member of the basketball and football teams while at Grenada.

College career

Holmes C.C.

Sykes began his college career at Holmes Community College in Mississippi. Sykes played two years at Holmes, becoming an NJCAA All-American.

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	40^‡	Commit date
Joe Sykes DE	Grenada, Mississippi	Holmes C. C.	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	4.6	Jul 8, 2003
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: JC   Rivals: NR
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "West Virginia Football Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 3, 2013. "2003 West Virginia Football Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved October 3, 2013. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved October 3, 2013. "2003 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 3, 2013.

Sykes committed to West Virginia University on July 8, 2003.^[3] Sykes chose West Virginia over football scholarship offers from Auburn, Louisiana Tech, Memphis, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Southern Miss & Temple.^[4]

West Virginia

Sykes enrolled at West Virginia in January so he could familiarize himself with the playbook. Sykes appeared in 9 games in 2004, recording 4 tackles with 1.0 sack.

Southern

His senior year of college, Sykes transferred to Southern University. In his one year with the Jaguars, Sykes was named first team All-SWAC, after leading the conference in sacks with 9.^[5]

Professional career

Return to San Jose

On January 27, 2014, Sykes was traded back to the SaberCats in exchange for Mitch Mustain and Jabari Fletcher.^[6]

Pittsburgh Power

On September 25, 2014, Sykes was assigned to the Pittsburgh Power. The Power folded in November 2014.^[7]

Jacksonville Sharks

On January 12, 2015, Sykes was assigned to the Jacksonville Sharks. Following the seasons end, Sykes was named the Defensive Lineman of the Year for the third time in his career.^[8] Sykes was also named the Defensive Player of the Year for the second time in his career.

Monterrey Steel

On March 24, 2017, Sykes signed with the Monterrey Steel of the National Arena League.

Albany Empire

On March 19, 2018, Sykes was assigned to the Albany Empire.^[9] On July 18, 2018, Sykes was named the AFL's Defensive Lineman of the Year for the 4th time.^[10]

References

1. "San Jose SaberCats DL Joe Sykes Named Arena Football League Defensive Player of the Year: Fan Take". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved 2012-11-07.
2. Hathcock, Chuck (January 7, 2010). "Grenadian detours through CFL heading to NFL". www.grenadastar.com. Grenada Star. Retrieved October 3, 2013.
3. "Joe Sykes". www.rivals.com. Yahoo!. Retrieved October 3, 2013.
4. "Joe Sykes". www.scout.com. Microsoft. Retrieved October 3, 2013.
5. "SWAC FOOTBALL: ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM ANNOUNCED". www.gojagsports.com. Southern University. December 1, 2005. Retrieved October 3, 2013.
6. "SaberCats reaquire DL Joe Sykes in Trade with San Antonio". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. January 27, 2014. Retrieved January 28, 2014.
7. DiPaola, Jerry (November 17, 2014). . triblive.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2014. Retrieved December 20, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
8. "Joe Sykes Named VidSwap Defensive Lineman of the Year". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. August 25, 2015. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
9. . arenafan.com. Archived from the original on March 21, 2018. Retrieved March 20, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
10. "Albany's Joe Sykes Named Defensive Lineman of the Year". www.aflfootball.com. Arena Football League. July 18, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2018.

External links

• Southern Jaguars bio
• West Virginia Mountaineers bio