Montoute was born on February 2, 1961, in Trinidad.[1] He is one of only five National Football League (NFL) players from Trinidad and Tobago as well as the first.[2] He is of Indian descent and his name, Sankar, refers to the Hindu god of destruction Shiva.[3] His father died when he was young and his mother moved the family to New York City to live with relatives.[3]
As a senior, Montoute led both the football and basketball teams to state championship appearances and won a state track championship as a member of the 800m relay team.[5] He was the team captain in basketball and set a school record for career rebounds, being named all-conference, all-county, all-state, all-tournament and the team MVP.[6][7] He also won all-state and all-conference honors in football that year.[6] Montoute was named the school's most valuable athlete in May 1979.[6] He accepted a scholarship offer to play college football for the Wisconsin Badgers after he graduated from high school.[5]
College career
Montoute began his freshman year at Wisconsin on the scout team before being promoted to second-string free safety near the end of the 1979 season.[8] He then was a backup linebacker for the Badgers in 1980, but missed a portion of the season due to injury.[9]
Following two seasons with the Wisconsin football team, Montoute transferred to Saint Leo University in Florida to play for the basketball team, which was led by his former high school coach Gary Richert.[5] He started three years with the NCAA Division II-level Saint Leo Lions, being a top defender and rebounder while playing forward.[10][11] He was among the Sunshine State Conference leaders in scoring and rebounding as a junior, with averages of 11 points and eight rebounds per game, and was named second-team All-South for his performance.[11][12] He scored less points as a senior in 1983–84 but still led the team in rebounding, finishing his collegiate career in the school's top 10 in that category.[5][4] He graduated from Saint Leo's with a bachelor's degree in marketing.[4]
Professional career
Despite having been out of football for the prior three years, Montoute signed with the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs following the 1984 NFL draft to play linebacker.[10][13] He was injured in preseason camp and placed on injured reserve prior to the 1984 season, on August 13, 1984, later being released on August 29.[14][15][16] On December 11, 1984, he signed a free agent contract with the Tampa Bay Bandits of the United States Football League (USFL).[16] After competing for a roster spot with the Bandits, Montoute was placed on the inactive squad to begin the 1985 season.[17][18] He later was activated and recorded his first USFL start against the Orlando Renegades on June 1, 1985.[19] He became a free agent in August 1986 when the USFL folded.[20]
Montoute signed with the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League (CFL) for the 1987 season.[21] He was placed on the practice roster on July 2, to open the season, but was later released on July 7.[22][23] He later said that joining the Eskimos was a mistake: "I made a bad choice. I should have waited around for a better offer, but I was so anxious to get the show on the road. Once I got up there, I didn't like the brand of football, I was cold, and homesick."[4] Following his release, he returned to Florida and decided to take a job with the local sheriff's department.[4]
After being released by the Buccaneers, Montoute became a police officer.[26] He had an offer to sign with the Buccaneers again in 1988, but declined it to stay at his job.[26] He rose to the position of major, overseeing homeland security for the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.[26] In addition to being in command of about 75 officers in his department, he also supervised the 50 officers tasked with securing Buccaneers games.[26] Montoute married and had two sons who worked with him in the county sheriff's office.[4][26]
Notes
^Montoute played only basketball at Saint Leo, as they do not have a football team.