Randall Gay

Infobox NFLactive
name=Randall Gay

---

width=
Caption=
currentteam=New Orleans Saints
currentnumber=20
currentpositionplain=Cornerback
birthdate=birth date and age|1982|5|5
birthplace=Baton Rouge, Louisiana
heightft=5
heightin=11
weight=190
debutyear=2004
debutteam=New England Patriots
college=Louisiana State
undraftedyear=2004
pastteams=
* New England Patriots (2004-2007)
* New Orleans Saints (2008-present)
status=Active
highlights=
* Super Bowl XXXIX champion
statweek=17
statseason=2007
statlabel1=Tackles
statvalue1=86
statlabel2=Sacks
statvalue2=0.0
statlabel3=Interception
statvalue3=5
nfl=GAY363730

Randall "Blue" Jerome Gay, Jr. (born May 5, 1982 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana) is an American football cornerback for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. He was originally signed by the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 2004. He played college football at Louisiana State.

Early years

At Brusly High School in Brusly, Louisiana, Randall Gay was a four-year letterman in football. He also lettered in weight lifting (three years) and track (one year). He was a first team All-Metro selection, and a first team All-District selection in football during his last two years of high school. As a senior, in only eight games, he rushed for 1,067 yards and 13 touchdowns, caught three touchdown passes, and returned two punts for touchdowns.

College career

He played college football at LSU. He won a BCS National Championship in 2003 with LSU as a nickel back.

Professional career

New England Patriots

On April 29, 2004, he was signed by the Patriots shortly after the NFL draft as an undrafted free agent. His rookie year, Gay beat out cornerback Christian Morton, the Patriots' 7th-round draft pick, for a place on the roster. Later in the season, Gay was placed into the starting lineup because of injuries to veterans Ty Law and Tyrone Poole. Gay's rookie season concluded with a victory in Super Bowl XXXIX, in which he started opposite Asante Samuel where he was the leading tackler with 11 solo tackles. Gay was involved in several low level controversies as a Patriot: He failed to make a full contribution in 2005 and 2006, due to injuries that landed him on injured reserve. This led to some long running criticisms from the tough vocal New England fans and repeated questions about him on the regions talk shows and in the papers. Hence, after failing to deliver up to expectations of New England Patriots fans in both the 2005 and 2006 seasons, before the 2007 training camp, Gay was quoted as saying: [http://patriots.bostonherald.com/patriots/view.bg?articleid=192721]

“You know how it is, It’s like, ‘Oh man, you’re still getting a paycheck?’ and ‘Two years in a row!?!’ That’s the kind of stuff you really don’t want to hear, because in your heart you want to be back out there.”

“I can say this, I’m the most anxious person for training camp. I’m about the only one here that’s ready for it to come.”

"Blue" Gay returned in 2007 and played primarily as a nickel back and a backup safety. He did start several games, including the AFC Divisional Game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Gay intercepted a career high three passes while playing in every game of the 2007 season.

New Orleans Saints

On March 2, 2008, Gay signed a four-year, $17.8 million contract with the New Orleans Saints. The deal included a $3.75 million signing bonus and $6.9 million in guaranteed money. [cite news|url=http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3273625|title=Roundup: Ex-Pats CB Gay reportedly agrees to contract with Saints|publisher=ESPN|accessdate=2008-03-02|date=2008-03-02]

Personal

♦ He majored in marketing at LSU.

♦ Gay has the ability to play both cornerback and safety, as he did against the Indianapolis Colts in 2005.

♦ After the Super Bowl XXXIX victory, one of his former professors attempted to order a replica jersey containing his name and had her request denied because his name was considered objectionable [Article about controversy, 3 April 2005, [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2005/03/04/SPG3LBKG2P1.DTL http://www.sfgate.com] ] as the NFL prohibits custom jerseys with names that refer to drugs, sex, or gangs. Subsequently, as a result of the press controversy, "Gay" was removed from the banned name list because it is the actual name of an NFL player.

References

External links

* [http://www.patriots.com/team/index.cfm?ac=playerbio&bio=28564 New England Patriots bio]
* [http://neworleanssaints.com/Team/Roster/People/Randall%20Gay.aspx New Orleans Saints bio]