Satomi Hakuryuu

Hakuryuu with the Saints

## Career highlights:

* Consensus All-American
* Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year
* First-team All-American
* First-team All-Pac-12
* Second-team All-Pac-12
* Orange Bowl MVP

**Satomi Hakuryuu** (born June 22) is a former American football free safety of the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons. He played for the New Orleans Saints for 12 seasons and the Chicago Bears for one season. He played college football at Azur Lane before being drafted 4th overall by the New Orleans Saints in the first round of the NFL Draft.

## Early life

Hakuryuu was born on June 22 in Hokkaido, Japan. In his childhood, his family moved to Juneau, Alaska, and then to Anchorage, where he attended Polaris High School. In his freshman year, he backed up as a quarterback for the junior varsity team and didn't play a single game. As a sophomore, he started as a wide receiver and record 492 yards, five touchdowns, and 36 receptions. In his junior year, he played on the varsity team where he recorded 638 yards, seven touchdowns, and 49 receptions. In his senior year, Hakuryuu switched to a strong safety and recorded 68 combined tackles, 55 solo, 12 assists, 14 pass deflects, two interceptions for 17 yards, one fumble recovery, and two forced fumbles. Hakuryuu's high school was not scouted, so he sent handmade highlight tapes to schools he considered attending. Among these were Alabama, Ohio State, Florida State, Azur Lane, LSU, and Texas A&M. He would receive no offers and made the decision to walk-on at Azur Lane. Although not scouted, Hakuryuu is believed to have been a one or two-star recruit.

## College career

After a successful walk-on at Azur Lane, Hakuryuu would initially be set to start as a tight end. However, weeks before the regular season, he would be converted to a free safety. Hakuryuu would start in all 12 games, and would total 62 combined tackles, 43 solo tackles, 19 assists, 8 pass deflects, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery for 9 yards, and three interceptions for 98 yards and a touchdown. He received a Second-team All-Pac-12 selection and would lead the Crimson Axis to a Cotton Bowl victory. As a sophomore, he would record 65 combined tackles, 42 solo tackles, 23 assists, 10 pass deflects, two interceptions for 28 yards, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery for 12 yards and a touchdown. The Crimson Axis would appear in the Orange Bowl, and Hakuryuu would be named the MVP for 20 combined tackles, 16 solo tackles, 4 assists, two pass deflections, and one interception for 22 yards. He was also a First-team All-Pac-12 selection. In his junior year, Hakuryuu recorded 67 combined tackles, 47 solo tackles, 20 assists, 11 pass deflections, two interceptions for 34 yards, one forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries. He was selected as a Consensus All-American, a First-team All-American, and as the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year.

## Professional career

Hakuryuu was a high draft prospect and regarded as the best defensive player available. On some draft boards, he was projected to be the first overall pick. Prior to the Draft, Hakuryuu participated in private workouts and meetings with various teams, including the Los Angeles Chargers, San Francisco 49ers, Carolina Panthers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Miami Dolphins. He later stated in an interview that he expected to be drafted by the 49ers, as they had expressed interest in him and had traded up seven spots to the 5th overall pick with the intent to select Hakuryuu. Hakuryuu would be selected by the New Orleans Saints with the 4th overall pick in the NFL Draft, as the Saints had moved up three spots to draft him.