Colorado football safety Carter Stoutmire’s life has been “a lot less stressful” ever since he signed a national letter of intent with the team. The son of the former NFL DB Omar Stoutmire who had played for the Dallas Cowboys, Cleveland Browns, New York Jets, New York Giants, and Washington Redskins, is all set to play for Deion Sanders’ Colorado again this fall.

“Coach Mathis is actually my godfather, so that’s something special right there,” Carter Stoutmire, who has found a familiar atmosphere at Colorado only had good things to say about the coaches. “I would say it is helpful having Coach Prime and Coach Mathis there at Colorado because they’ll create a family atmosphere. Especially going somewhere new to live, it is going to be nice to have that security knowing that you are going to have people that are in your corner.” Here’s what you need to know about the Stoutmire family.

Carter Stoutmire comes from a football family

The 5’11, 205 lbs native of Plano, Texas, was born with football in his blood. Carter’s father, Omar Stoutmire, was drafted by the Cowboys in the 1997 NFL Draft. Omar’s football career took off when he accepted a football scholarship from Fresno State University, where he became a starter at strong safety in his freshman year. Papa Stoutmire also received Super Prep All-American, All-Moore League, All-City, and Fresno State’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors in his senior year of high school.

Omar Stoutmire attended Long Beach Polytechnic High School, where he played as a defensive back and tight end. As a talented strong safety at Fresno State University, Omar racked up 93 tackles, including 2 for a loss, snagged 2 interceptions, broke up 2 passes, forced 2 fumbles, recovered 2 more, and even got a sack and a quarterback pressure. The father of the Colorado safety made his name as a promising strong safety with a standout performance of 20 tackles against Utah State University. In his senior year at FSU, he had several notable games, including 11 tackles against Auburn, 15 against Wyoming, and 12 against Colorado. By the end of his college career, he held school records for both career tackles (458) and most tackles in a single season (198).

Omar had an incredible NFL career after being selected in the seventh round of the 1997 NFL Draft. He continued to play as a strong safety and free safety for the Dallas Cowboys, Cleveland Browns, New York Jets, New York Giants, and Washington Redskins.

Carter’s mom, Sheila Stoutmire, is a USATF-certified personal wellness coach. Sheila, who now coaches sprints at Long Beach Poly High School in California, was a five-time All-American track athlete at Louisiana State University, where she won four team National Championships.

Carter’s father has connections with Colorado coaches

In fact, the NFL veteran leveraged his connections to help Carter secure his place as a safety at Colorado. The DB from Plano, Texas, Prestonwood Christian had verbally committed to Arizona for six and a half months before he joined Colorado after an unofficial visit the weekend before his signing.

Stoutmire Senior played with new Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders for two seasons with the Cowboys, in 1998 and 1999. The duo has remained ‘tight’ over the years. Even Colorado’s new cornerbacks coach Kevin Mathis is buddies with Omar and the Stoutmire family. Mathis and Stoutmire were teammates in Dallas.