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Antwine Perez
	Perez makes a tackle against Navy's Darius Staten in 2010
No. 2
Position:	Safety
Personal information
Born:	April 10, 1988 (age 36); Westville Grove, New Jersey, U.S.
Height:	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:	210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High school:	Camden (NJ) Woodrow Wilson
College:	USC (2006); Maryland (2008–2010)

Antwine Perez (born April 10, 1988) is a former American college football player. He played as a free safety for the University of Maryland Terrapins. He played one season for the University of Southern California Trojans, before transferring. He was one of the most sought-after college recruits in the nation and received scholarship offers from over 40 schools.

Early life

He was born on April 10, 1988^[1] in the Westville Grove area of Westville, New Jersey, to parents Phyllis and Lewis Perez. He attended Woodrow Wilson High School in Camden, where he played high school football as a quarterback and defensive back. As a junior, he recorded 1,763 passing yards and 15 touchdowns, ten rushing touchdowns, 58 tackles, seven interceptions, and four forced fumbles. As a senior in 2005, he recorded 82 tackles, 10 deflections, seven interceptions, four forced fumbles, and three fumble recoveries.^[2]

He was named a Parade All-American, USA Today first-team All-American, EA Sports first-team All-American,^[3] SuperPrep All-American, PrepStar All-American, all-conference quarterback, all-conference defensive back, and first-team all-state player. Perez was honored as The Philadelphia Inquirer South Jersey Defensive Most Valuable Player, SuperPrep All-Northeast Defensive MVP, PrepStar All-Eastern, and Gatorade New Jersey Player of the Year. He was named to the SuperPrep Elite 50, PrepStar Dream Team, and the ESPN 150.^[2]

Perez was one of the most highly recruited players in the nation, and received in excess of forty scholarship offers.^[4] Scout.com rated him as a five-star prospect and fifth-ranked defensive back, while Rivals.com rated him as a four-star prospect and the second-ranked defensive back.^[5]^[6] At least 47 programs offered Perez, including USC, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Penn State, and Tennessee.^[7]

College career

Perez graduated from high school a semester early and enrolled at the University of Southern California. As a true freshman in 2006, he saw action in seven games, primarily in a special teams role. Perez made brief appearances as a reserve free safety against Arkansas, Stanford, and Oregon.^[2] Perez decided to transfer to the University of Maryland with the hope of earning more playing time and to be closer to home.^[8] He was required by NCAA transfer rules to sit out for one season.^[2]

In 2008, he saw action in all 13 games including two starts as a free safety. He also served in a special teams role^[2] and at linebacker due to the injury of Adrian Moten, the back-up for Moise Fokou.^[9] He made his first career start in the upset win against California, where he replaced injured starter Terrell Skinner and recorded three tackles.^[2]

CBS Sports considers him the eighth-ranked free safety prospect for the 2011 NFL draft,^[10] while College Football News projected him as a possible fourth round selection if he had chosen to enter the 2010 NFL draft.^[11]

During the 2010 season against Duke, Perez intercepted one pass and delivered a hard hit to break up another critical pass late in the game, which preserved a Maryland victory, 21–16.^[12] At Boston College, Perez had two interceptions and forced a fumble to help Maryland to a 24–21 win. For his performance, he was named the Jim Thorpe Defensive Back of the Week.^[13]