Ray Mickens facts for kids

Ray Mickens, born on January 4, 1973, is a former professional American football player. He played as a cornerback, which is a defensive position in football. Ray became a professional player in the National Football League (NFL) after being recognized as an All-American at Texas A&M University. His last team was the New England Patriots.

After his NFL career, Ray Mickens became a business owner. He co-owns M2 Concepts, a company that works with food, drinks, and retail.

Early Life and College Football

High School Achievements

Ray Mickens grew up in El Paso, Texas. He went to Andress High School. During the 1990 and 1991 football seasons, he was a top running back and earned Division 1-5A All-State honors. His high school team played against the Midland Lee Rebels football team to win the Regional Championship.

Playing for Texas A&M

Ray Mickens played football for Texas A&M University. He was also a fast runner on their track and field team. He became known as one of the best cornerbacks in college football.

During his junior and senior years, he was named an All-American and an All-Southwest Conference player. In his senior year, he caught four interceptions and broke up three other passes. Even though he was not the biggest player, he was good at stopping runs, making 59 tackles that year. He was also one of the best punt returners in the country, averaging 11.7 yards per return.

In his final college game, the Alamo Bowl against Michigan, he played a key role. He successfully defended against Michigan's receivers, even switching positions to cover their best players. Throughout his college career at Texas A&M, he made 162 tackles and caught nine interceptions. He started the last 34 games of his college career. He finished fourth on Texas A&M's all-time list for passes defended.

Ray Mickens in the NFL

Joining the New York Jets

The New York Jets picked Ray Mickens in the third round of the 1996 NFL draft. He played for the Jets from 1996 to 2004. For his first eight seasons in the NFL, Ray only missed two games. However, he missed the entire 2004 NFL season because of a serious knee injury called a torn ACL.

Ray Mickens became known as one of the best "nickel backs" in the NFL. A nickel back is a defensive player who comes onto the field when the offense uses more wide receivers. He was also a very good starter when needed. In his first eight seasons, he played in 126 games and started 36 of them. During this time, he made 365 tackles, defended 79 passes, caught 11 interceptions, forced four fumbles, and made six sacks.

Moving to Other Teams

After being released by the Jets, Ray Mickens signed a one-year contract with the Cleveland Browns in 2005. He played in all 16 games that season, starting three. He recorded 33 tackles and defended 16 passes for the Browns.

On May 31, 2006, Ray Mickens signed with the Jets again. However, he was later released when teams had to reduce their rosters to 53 players before the regular season began. In December 2006, he was signed by the New England Patriots. He played an important role in their journey to the division championship game that season. He became a free agent on March 3, 2007.

Personal Life and Family

Ray Mickens' brother, Fred Williams, also played professional football for the 1993 Houston Oilers.

In 1999, Ray Mickens won the Madden Bowl, which is a video game competition featuring the Madden NFL game.

His son, R.J. Mickens, also played college football as a safety for the Clemson Tigers. R.J. Mickens was drafted by the Los Angeles Chargers in the 2025 NFL Draft.