 Amano in 2008 | |||||||||
| No. 64, 54 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Center | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | (1982-03-01)March 1, 1982 (age 43) Manila, Philippines | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 300 lb (136 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | San Diego (CA) Rancho Bernardo | ||||||||
| College: | Southeast Missouri State | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2004: 7th round, 239th pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Eugene Philip Amano (born March 1, 1982) is a Filipino former professionalAmerican football player for theTennessee Titans from 2004 to 2013 as both acenter andguard, he replaced eight timeAll-Pro selectionKevin Mawae as starting center in 2010. Amano is one of three NFL players to be born in the Philippines, along withTim Tebow andFred Jones.[1]
He attendedRancho Bernardo High School inSan Diego, California, where he was an all-conference performer as anoffensive anddefensive lineman during his senior season and alsolettered inbasketball andtrack.
Late into his senior year, Amano had no scholarship offers and planned to walk-on to either theUniversity of New Mexico orSan Diego State University. But when SE Missouri State called one of his high school coaches about players on his team, he sold the recruiters on Amano. The recruiters acquired a tape of Amano and immediately offered him a scholarship.
He attendedSoutheast Missouri State University. As a senior, he won theDivision I-AADave Rimington Trophy, given annually to topcenter incollege football at each level of competition. Amano was also named first-teamAll-American by theAmerican Football Coaches Association,The NFL Draft Report andFootball Gazette.
Projected to go undrafted bySports Illustrated, who labeled him as "a solid practice-squad prospect,"[2] Amano was ranked as the No. 20 center available in the2004 NFL draft.[3] He was eventually selected in the seventh round, 239th overall, by the Titans.[4] He was the seventh of nine centers selected in this draft, and also the first offensive lineman selected from Southeast Missouri State sinceDan Peiffer in1973.[5]
For his first four NFL seasons, Amano served primarily as a reserve at both center and guard. In 2008, he replaced left guardJacob Bell in the starting lineup, and went on to start 31 games at that position. In 2009, Amano was a member of an offensive line that blocked for the NFL's second-best rushing attack (162.0 yards per game) allowed just 16 sacks, the second fewest in the NFL.
On February 17, 2010, he signed a five-year, $26.25 million contract with $10.5 million guaranteed.[6] Amano was moved to center to replace a retiringKevin Mawae.[7]
Amano was released by the Titans in 2013 after missing the entire 2012 season due to a torn triceps injury.[8]
After retiring from football, Eugene Amano and his brother Fred Amano purchased four existing L&L Hawaiian Barbecue franchises in their home town of San Diego[9] and have since opened more franchises for the restaurant chain including one inCool Springs, Tennessee, near Nashville.[10]
Amano is married to Frances Santos. The couple splits time betweenNashville, Tennessee, andSan Diego, California. Amano developed The Amano Family Foundation to benefit inner-city youth ofNational City, California.[11]
