2017 Football Roster
Essang Bassey
- Height:
- 5-10
- Weight:
- 185
- Class:
- Sophomore
- Hometown:
- Columbus, GA
- High School:
- Columbus
Bassey Post-Career Bio
Elected a team captain for the 2019 season ... Enters his senior season tied with OT Jake Benzinger for the team lead with 26 consecutive starts ... Leads all defensive players with 28 career starts along with Amari Henderson ... Starts the 2019 campaign with 34 career pass break-ups, the fifth-most in school history ... His four career interceptions are the most among active Demon Deacons ... Ranks eighth in career passes defended (PBU and interceptions) with 38 ... Has started each of the last two bowl games for the Demon Deacons.
2018 (Junior)
Named second team All-ACC ... Started all 13 games and finished third on the team with 1,095 plays from scrimmage ... Third on the team with 74 total tackles ... Led the Deacs with 93 snaps against NC State (11/8) ... Led the team in pass break-ups for the second straight year with 15 including three vs. Tulane (8/30) ... Had a season-high 10 tackles in a win over Louisville (10/27) ... Added eight stops each against Boston College (9/13) and Syracuse (11/3) ... Recorded an interception against Towson (9/8) ... Scored his second career touchdown with a 51-yard fumble return against Rice (9/29) ... His five pass break-ups vs. Syracuse (11/3) are the second-most in a game by a Deacon in school history.
2017 (Sophomore)
Honorable mention All-ACC ... Tied the school record with 19 passes defended (16 PBU, 3 interceptions) ... Was second in the ACC in passes defended ... Finished 39th in the ACC in tackles per game with 5.8 ... Led the club with 1,178 total snaps ... His 121 total plays against Syracuse were the most by a Deacon in any game in 2017 ... Started all 13 games at cornerback and saw action on kickoff coverage team ... Had nine tackles and a game-high three pass break-ups in the Belk Bowl ... Named to ESPN’s All-ACC Bowl team ... Set Wake Forest bowl game record with three pass break-ups in the Belk Bowl ... Against NC State (11/18) had eight tackles, a tackle for loss, two pass break-ups and a game-sealing interception in the end zone ... Led Wake Forest with 12 tackles at Syracuse (11/11) ... Had an end zone interception of Lamar Jackson vs. Louisville (10/28) ... Led the team with 10 tackles vs. the Cardinals ... Had two tackles for loss, two pass break-ups and five tackles vs. Appalachian State (9/16) ... Had his first career interception and turned it into a 30-yard pick-six just before the half at Boston College (9/9) to give the Deacons a 21-7 lead ... Named the ACC Defensive Back of the Week for his efforts ... Finished the game with five tackles ... Earned honorable mention player of the week honors from the Jim Thorpe Award ... Earned his second varsity letter.
2016 (Freshman)
Played in all 13 games as a true freshman ... Saw action at corner and on special teams ... Earned first career start vs. Florida State (10/15) in place of the injured Amari Henderson ... Was second on the team with a career-high eight tackles vs. the Seminoles ... Forced a fumble in the Military Bowl win over Temple.
High School
Team captain and First Team all-state Class 5-A by the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Georgia Sports Writers Association ... Three-star recruit by 247Sports, Rivals and ESPN ... All-Bi-City Athlete of the Year by the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer in 2015 ... As a senior, had 50 tackles, six tackles for loss, an interception and three fumble recoveries ... Rushed for 536 yards and two touchdowns ... Had 21 receptions for 577 yards and four touchdowns ... Averaged nearly 30 yards per kickoff return ... Helped the Blue Devils to the 5-A state playoffs in 2015 ... Had 31 tackles, 10 pass break-ups and five interceptions as a junior ... On offense, made 39 receptions for 503 yards and four touchdowns ... Earned All-Bi-City status in 2014 ... Four-year letterman for Coach Phil Marino.
Personal
Son of Edet and Umo Bassey ... Born August 12, 1998 ... Posted a 3.7 GPA in high school ... Participated in food drives at Columbus High ... Economics major.
