Defensive back, Wake Forest, 2016–19
Essang Bassey
- Number
- No. 21
- Height
- 5′10″
- Weight
- 190 lb
- Class (2019)
- Senior
- Hometown
- Columbus, GA
- Born
- Aug 12, 1998, in Columbus, Georgia
Wikipedia readers: about 272 a month over the past year
Essang Bassey played defensive back at Wake Forest (2016–19).
Career highs
12tackles, career highat Syracuse, 2017Defense
| Season | Team | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Int | PD | Hur |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Wake Forest | 19 | 16 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 2017 | Wake Forest | 69 | 48 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 0 |
| 2018 | Wake Forest | 74 | 53 | 2.5 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 0 |
| 2019 | Wake Forest | 60 | 41 | 2.5 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 0 |
| Career | 222 | 158 | 11.5 | 1 | 5 | 44 | 0 | |
Season lines from CollegeFootballData, regular season and bowls. A dash: the source has no number for that season (often an FCS season), and career totals count only the numbers on file.
On the roster
| Season | Team | No. | Pos | Class | Ht | Wt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Wake Forest | 21 | DB | Fr. | ||
| 2017 | Wake Forest | 21 | DB | So. | ||
| 2018 | Wake Forest | 21 | DB | Jr. | ||
| 2019 | Wake Forest | 21 | DB | Sr. | 5′10″ | 190 |
As each season’s roster listed the player (CollegeFootballData). Classes before the latest listing are counted back from it; “Yr 1” is the year on file where that count can’t place a season he played (a redshirt, transfer or 2020 year); height and weight as last listed.
Game by game
2019 Wake Forest 13 games, 60 tackles, 1 INT
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Int | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 30 | vs. Utah State | W 38–35 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 6 | at Rice | W 41–21 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Sep 13 | vs. North Carolina | W 24–18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Sep 21 | vs. Elon | W 49–7 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Sep 28 | at Boston College | W 27–24 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Oct 12 | vs. Louisville | L 59–62 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 19 | vs. Florida State | W 22–20 | 7 | 5 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Nov 2 | vs. NC State | W 44–10 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Nov 9 | at Virginia Tech | L 17–36 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 16 | at Clemson | L 3–52 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 23 | vs. Duke | W 39–27 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Nov 30 | at Syracuse | L 30–39 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Dec 27 ✦ | vs. Michigan State | L 21–27 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
2018 Wake Forest 13 games, 74 tackles, 1 sack, 1 INT
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Int | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 30 | at Tulane | W 23–17 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Sep 8 | vs. Towson | W 51–20 | 7 | 6 | 0.5 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Sep 13 | vs.Boston College | L 34–41 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 22 | vs. Notre Dame | L 27–56 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Sep 29 | vs.Rice | W 56–24 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Oct 6 | vs.Clemson | L 3–63 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 20 | atFlorida State | L 17–38 | 4 | 3 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 27 | atLouisville | W 56–35 | 10 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Nov 3 | vs.Syracuse | L 24–41 | 8 | 7 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Nov 8 | atNC State | W 27–23 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 17 | vs. Pittsburgh | L 13–34 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Nov 24 | atDuke | W 59–7 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Dec 22 ✦ | vs. Memphis | W 37–34 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
2017 Wake Forest 12 games, 69 tackles, 3 INT
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Int | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 31 | vs. Presbyterian | W 51–7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Sep 9 | atBoston College | W 34–10 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Sep 16 | vs.Utah State | W 46–10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Sep 23 | at App State | W 20–19 | 7 | 5 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Sep 30 | vs.Florida State | L 19–26 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Oct 7 | atClemson | L 14–28 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Oct 21 | at Georgia Tech | L 24–38 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 28 | vs.Louisville | W 42–32 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Nov 11 | atSyracuse | W 64–43 | 12 | 8 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Nov 18 | vs.NC State | W 30–24 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Nov 25 | vs.Duke | L 23–31 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Dec 29 ✦ | vs. Texas A&M | W 55–52 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
2016 Wake Forest 9 games, 19 tackles
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Int | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 10 | atDuke | W 24–14 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 17 | vs. Delaware | W 38–21 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 24 | at Indiana | W 33–28 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 15 | atFlorida State | L 6–17 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Oct 29 | vs. Army | L 13–21 | 3 | 2 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Nov 5 | vs. Virginia | W 27–20 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 12 | atLouisville | L 12–44 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 19 | vs.Clemson | L 13–35 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dec 27 ✦ | vs. Temple | W 34–26 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Box scores from CollegeFootballData, 2004 on. ✦ postseason; ★ a career high on file.
Before the draft
Played in the 2020 Senior Bowl (North team, won 34–17).
| Drill | Combine 2020 |
|---|---|
| Height | 5′9⅜″ |
| Weight | 191 lb |
| Arm length | 31″ |
| Hand size | 7⅞″ |
| 40-yard dash | 4.46 s |
| 10-yard split | 1.53 sW |
| Vertical jump | 39½″ |
| Broad jump | 10′8″ |
| Bench press | 12 reps |
| 3-cone drill | 6.95 s |
| 20-yard shuttle | 4.13 s |
Unmarked: Combine and pro day results compiled by array-carpenter (nfl-draft-data); W: Pre-draft measurables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Rosters and honors: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
In the NFL
4 seasons, 30 games with a stat; latest team: Los Angeles Chargers.
| Season | Team | G | Tkl | Sacks | Int |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Denver Broncos | 10 | 23 | 0 | 1 |
| 2021 | Los Angeles Chargers | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | Denver Broncos | 9 | 13 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | Los Angeles Chargers | 10 | 21 | 0 | 0 |
| NFL career | 30 | 58 | 0 | 1 | |
Regular seasons, from nflverse (CC BY 4.0). G counts games in which the player recorded a stat.
Other pro football
| Years | League | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | CFL | BC Lions * |
Leagues other than the NFL, from the infobox of his Wikipedia article (CC BY-SA), as it names the teams. * Off-season roster or practice squad only.
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