Ex-ASU football coach faces DUI and reckless driving charge in Oregon

A former Arizona State football assistant coach is facing serious allegations stemming from a traffic incident in Oregon in April.

Ra’Shaad Samples, 31, has been charged with DUI and reckless driving, according to a report in the Oregonian/OregonLive. Both are Class A misdemeanors.

He also reportedly gave a false name, that of DeSean Jackson, a former wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles.

Samples coached at ASU just one year, being brought in by head coach Kenny Dillingham when he took the head position in 2023. Samples served as wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator before joining Dan Lanning’s staff at Oregon as assistant head coach and running backs coach.

Hines Ward was hired to replace Samples.

Samples reportedly backed his 2026 Ford F-150 into a parked Dodge Ram near the intersection of Willamette and West Broadway streets in Eugene at 2 a.m. That vehicle belonged to Eugene resident Steven James Young.

A dashcam video obtained by the outlet shows Samples driving off.

Young can be seen in the video examining the damage to his vehicle before pulling out of the parking lot and following Samples down Olive Street and 7th Avenue. Meanwhile, Samples’ truck can be seen driving in the middle of two lanes down the road.

In pulling over to discuss the hit, Samples ran a red light.

A field sobriety test was not conducted at the scene when Samples reportedly tried to shake hands and offer Young $1,000 to walk away. While Samples later asked him over text message not to report the incident and offered payment up to $2,500 and football tickets, Young sent his dashcam video to Lanning.

Samples had a court date scheduled for July 25. He has another at 9:15 a.m. on Aug. 25.

Oregon started fall camp on Aug. 5.

Samples’ social media profiles still reflect his position at Oregon, and the school still lists him on its website as serving in that position.