Ray Mickens

NFL player


Color=#0d254c
fontcolor=#d6d6d6
DateOfBirth=birth date and age|1973|1|4
Birthplace=Frankfurt, Germany
Position=Cornerback
College=Texas A&M
DraftedYear=1996
DraftedRound=3 / Pick 62
Databasefootball=MICKERAY01
NFL=3953
years=1996-2004
2005
2006
teams=New York Jets
Cleveland Browns
New England Patriots

Ray Mickens (born January 4, 1973 in Frankfurt, Germany) is an American football cornerback who is currently a free agent. He most recently played for the New England Patriots of the National Football League. Mickens and his wife, Nicole, have a daughter, Kamray, and two sons, Ray Jr and Preston. His brother Fred Williams played for the former Houston Oilers.

High school and college

Mickens grew up in El Paso, Texas, where he attended Andress High School and was a Division 1-5A All-State running back in the 1990, 1991 football seasons. While in high school, he played against the Odessa Permian High School football team that was highlighted in the film "Friday Night Lights".

Mickens played football and was a sprinter on the track and field team at Texas A&M University. He was one of the top coverage cornerbacks in the country and was an All-American and All-Southwest Conference player in both his junior and senior years. He had four interceptions and broke up three other passes during his senior year. In spite of his relatively diminutive size, Mickens also handled run support well with 59 total tackles. He was also among the top punt returners in the nation that year with a 11.7 yard average. In the last game of his career, an Alamo Bowl victory against Michigan, he shut down the Wolverine receivers, switching positions when necessary to stop the “hot” receiver. For his career, he had 162 tackles and nine interceptions for Texas A&M. He started the final 34 games of his college career and finished his career 4th on A&M's all-time passes defended list.

NFL

Mickens was drafted in the third-round by the New York Jets in the 1996 NFL Draft. He played for the Jets from 1996 to 2004. Mickens only sat out two games in his first eight NFL seasons before missing the 2004 season because of a torn ACL. He built a reputation as one of the top nickel backs in the NFL and also a very capable starter. He played in 126 games with 36 starts over the course of his first eight seasons while registering 365 tackles, 79 passes defended, 11 INT, four forced fumbles and six sacks. Mickens was released by the Jets when they acquired Ty Law, after he commented to a reporter that the signing of Law would be great for the organization. He signed a one year contract with the Browns as a free agent prior to the 2005 season and played in all 16 games, starting three, and recording 33 tackles and 16 passes defended. [cite news|url=http://www.elpasotimes.com/sports/ci_10533953|title=Ex-El Paso, NFL star Mickens to lead parade]

Mickens signed with the Jets once again on May 31, 2006, but was eventually waived when rosters were reduced to the 53 men following the last pre-season game. He was signed by the New England Patriots in September 2006 and was a prominent player in the their run to the division championship. He filed for free agency on March 3, 2007.

References

External links

*http://www.nfl.com/players/playerpage/3953
*http://www.patriots.com/team/index.cfm?ac=playerbio&bio=32392