| No. 5 | |
|---|---|
| Position | Quarterback |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1995-07-12)July 12, 1995 (age 30) Saratoga, California, U.S. |
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Weight | 225 lb (102 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Bellarmine |
| College | Washington (2014–2017) Colorado State (2018) |
| NFL draft | 2019: undrafted |
| Career history | |
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
| Awards and highlights | |
| |
| Stats at CFL.ca | |
Kyle James Carta-Samuels (born July 12, 1995) is an American formerfootballquarterback. He playedcollege football atWashington andColorado State. He also played for theDresden Monarchs of theGerman Football League (GFL).
Carta-Samuels was born inSaratoga, California, and attendedBellarmine College Preparatory. As ajunior, he completed 70-of-129 passes for 1,230 yards and 12 scores while rushing for 632 yards and 12 touchdowns. He led the team to an 11–2 record, making the championship of the playoffs. As asenior, he brought them to 8–4 and to the semifinals in the CIF Central Coast Section Open Division playoffs. Carta-Samuels was named All-West Catholic Athletic League on their first-team roster following the season, and was invited to theU.S. Army All-American Bowl. He was a four-star recruit and was the number 23 quarterback prospect in the country according toScout.com.[1]
Carta-Samuels announced his commitment toUniversity of Washington in January 2014 after initially committing toVanderbilt.[2] He spent hisfreshman year as a redshirt, and did not see any playing time. He was named the team's 2014 scout squadMVP. He lost a training camp battle for the starting quarterback position,[3] but made his college debut againstBoise State in2015. He played in a total of eight games in 2015, completing 10-of-24 passes for 124 yards.[1]
As asophomore in 2016, Carta-Samuels completed 9-of-13 pass attempts for 104 yards and three touchdowns. He appeared in nine total games, and also made a brief appearance in the2017 Peach Bowl, in a 7–24 loss againstAlabama. Against number 7 rankedStanford, Carta-Samuels led a late scoring drive that contributed to Washington's victory. He appeared in eight games as a junior, throwing ten passes, with eight being completed, for 82 yards. He also caught a pass in their win over theOregon State Beavers.[4] He announced intentions to transfer in December 2017.[5]
Though he initially transferred toUCLA,[6] Carta-Samuels changed toColorado State University (CSU) in March 2018.[7] He beat out Justice McCoy and Colin Hill in training camp to earn the CSU starting quarterback position.[8] In the season opener againstHawaii, Carta-Samuels passed for 537 yards and five touchdowns in the loss. The 537 passing yards set the all-time school record, as no other player had even thrown for 500 yards previously.[1] AgainstColorado, he started the game by completing 7-of-8 pass attempts. A week later, in a win overArkansas, Carta-Samuels completed 32-of-47 pass attempts, going for 389 yards and two touchdowns. He was benched by coachMike Bobo in a loss versusFCSIllinois State,[8] but regained the starting position for their game againstSan Jose State. He threw four touchdowns versus the San Jose State Spartans, marking the 14th time a CSU quarterback threw four in one game. He was again benched in favor of Colin Hill following the eighth game of the season. After Hill was injured in the season finale, Carta-Samuels came in and went 6-for-9 passing, with one touchdown in his final career collegiate game.[1]
Carta-Samuels finished the 2018 season going 183-for-298 on pass attempts, throwing for 2,261 yards and 19 touchdowns. He also threw 9 interceptions. His longest completion of the season was on a 69-yard pass toPreston Williams against Hawaii in week one.[1]
After going unselected in the2019 NFL draft, Carta-Samuels was signed by theBC Lions of theCanadian Football League (NFL) in November 2019.[9] The CFL cancelled its2020 season, and Carta-Samuels was released.[10]
In April 2021, Carta-Samuels was signed by theDresden Monarchs of theGerman Football League (GFL).[11] He led the team to their first ever league championship, being namedGerman Bowl XLIIMVP in a 28–19 victory over theSchwäbisch Hall Unicorns.[12]
His brotherAustyn Carta-Samuels played quarterback forVanderbilt andWyoming.[13] In the2022 German Football League Austyn replaced his brother as the Dresden Monarchs starting Quarterback,[14][15] but got injured in the first match of the season and was subsequently replaced.[16][17] His father, James Samuels, played atUtah State, as did his uncle. His sister Gabby played volleyball forColorado.[1]