David Famiyekyi Yankey (born January 18, 1992) is an Australian-American former professional player of American football who was an offensive guard in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Stanford Cardinal, twice earning consensus All-American honors. He was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the fifth round of the 2014 NFL draft.

David Yankey
refer to caption
Yankey with Stanford in 2013
No. 61, 66
Position:Offensive guard
Personal information
Born: (1992-01-18) 18 January 1992 (age 32)
Sydney, Australia
Height:6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Weight:315 lb (143 kg)
Career information
High school:Centennial (Roswell, Georgia, U.S.)
College:Stanford
NFL draft:2014 / round: 5 / pick: 145
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Games played:6
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Early life

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Yankey attended Centennial High School in Roswell, Georgia, where he earned four varsity letters playing as an offensive lineman for head coach Jeff Measor. He was a three-time All-region selection. As a senior, he earned honorable mention All-state honors. He also earned Centennial's Excalibur Award, an award that honors excellence in athletics, character, and leadership.

Regarded as a three-star recruit by Rivals.com, Yankey was ranked as the No. 47 offensive tackle in his class, while Scout.com rated him as the 44th best offensive tackle in the nation.[1]

College career

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Yankey attended Stanford University, where he played for coach Jim Harbaugh and coach David Shaw's Stanford Cardinal football teams from 2010 to 2013. He was a consensus All-American in 2012 and 2013. He announced on January 13, 2014, that he would enter the 2014 NFL draft.[2]

Professional career

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Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 6 in
(1.98 m)
315 lb
(143 kg)
34 in
(0.86 m)
9 12 in
(0.24 m)
5.48 s 1.86 s 3.13 s 4.69 s 7.81 s 30 in
(0.76 m)
8 ft 7 in
(2.62 m)
25 reps
All values from NFL Combine and Pro Day[3]

Minnesota Vikings

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Yankey was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the fifth round (145th overall) of the 2014 NFL draft.[4]

On September 5, 2015, he was waived by the Vikings and was signed to the practice squad the next day.[5][6]

Carolina Panthers

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The Carolina Panthers signed Yankey to a futures contract on January 12, 2016.[7] On September 3, 2016, he was waived by the Panthers as part of final roster cuts.[8] The next day he was signed to the Panthers' practice squad.[9] He was promoted to the active roster on November 25, 2016.[10]

On September 1, 2017, Yankey was placed on injured reserve.[11]

Personal life

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Yankey was born in Sydney, Australia to David and Darina Yankey. He retained his Australian citizenship after his family moved to Roswell, Georgia when he was eight.[12] He became a U.S. citzen in 2014.[13]

References

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  1. ^ "Yahoo Sports: Rivals.com Ranking – Rivals.com offensive tackles 2010". yahoo.com.
  2. ^ "Stanford guard David Yankey will enter NFL draft". ESPN.com.
  3. ^ "*David Yankey – Stanford, OG : 2014 NFL Draft Scout External News". nfldraftscout.com. Archived from the original on June 14, 2015. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
  4. ^ James Brady. "NFL Draft results 2014: David Yankey selected by Minnesota Vikings". SBNation.com. Vox Media.
  5. ^ "Vikings Announce Roster Moves, Set 53-Man Roster". Vikings.com. September 5, 2015. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved April 16, 2017.
  6. ^ "Vikings Sign 9 Players To Practice Squad". Vikings.com. September 6, 2015. Archived from the original on August 6, 2017. Retrieved April 16, 2017.
  7. ^ "Panthers sign seventh to future contract". Panthers.com. January 12, 2016. Archived from the original on January 15, 2016. Retrieved January 25, 2016.
  8. ^ Henson, Max. "Panthers trim roster to 53". Panthers.com. Archived from the original on January 3, 2018.
  9. ^ Henson, Max. "Panthers establish practice squad". Panthers.com. Archived from the original on August 14, 2017.
  10. ^ "Michael Oher placed on injured reserve". Panthers.com. November 25, 2016. Archived from the original on September 2, 2017.
  11. ^ Strickland, Bryan (September 1, 2017). "Panthers reduce roster to 77". Panthers.com. Archived from the original on September 20, 2017.
  12. ^ "NFL's Minnesota Vikings draft Australian giant David Yankey". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney. May 11, 2014. Retrieved March 21, 2015.
  13. ^ Goessling, Ben (July 29, 2014). "Long journey leads Yankey to Vikings". ESPN. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
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