Trumaine Sykes

Trumaine "Joe" Sykes (born November 22, 1982) is an American former professional football defensive end who played in the National Football League (NFL), Arena Football League (AFL), and Canadian Football League (CFL). He was originally signed by the Washington Redskins as an undrafted free agent in 2006. He played college football at Southern University.

Trumaine Sykes

No. 78, 98, 48, 57, 19, 13, 1, 96
Position:	Defensive end
Personal information
Born:	(1982-11-22) November 22, 1982 (age 42) Grenada, Mississippi, U.S.
Height:	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:	275 lb (125 kg)
Career information
High school:	Grenada
College:	Southern
NFL draft:	2006: undrafted
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
ArenaBowl champion (XXXII) 4× First-team All-Arena (2012, 2013, 2015, 2018) 2× AFL Defensive Player of the Year (2012, 2015)[1] 4× AFL Defensive Lineman of the Year (2012, 2013, 2015, 2018) First-team All-NAL (2017)
Career NFL statistics
Total tackles: 1
Career CFL statistics
Total tackles: 1 Fumble recoveries: 1
Career Arena League statistics
Total tackles: 118.5 Sacks: 53.5 Forced fumbles: 17 Fumble recoveries: 4 Interceptions: 3 Stats at ArenaFan.com

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.

College recruiting information

Name	Hometown	School	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
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:
Overall recruit ranking:   Scout: JC    Rivals: NR
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, On3, 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. Retrieved October 3, 2013. "2003 West Virginia Football Commits". Scout. Retrieved October 3, 2013. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout. Retrieved October 3, 2013. "2003 Team Ranking". Rivals. 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]