R. J. Mickens
{{Short description|American football player (born 2001)}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name = R. J. Mickens
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| number = 41
| current_team = Los Angeles Chargers
| position = Safety
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|2001|7|10}}
| birth_place =
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 0
| weight_lb = 199
| high_school = Carroll (Southlake, Texas)
| college = Clemson (2020–2024)
| draftyear = 2025
| draftround = 6
| draftpick = 214
| pastteams =
- Los Angeles Chargers ({{nfly|2025}}–present)
| status = Unsigned draft pick
| pfr = MickRJ00
| pfrexec =
}}
R. J. Mickens (born July 10, 2001) is an American football safety for the Los Angeles Chargers. Mickens was selected by the Chargers in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL draft.
Early life
Mickens attended Carroll High School in Southlake, Texas, where he played both sides of the ball on the football team. On offense he rushed for 39 yards and two touchdowns, while also bringing in 61 receptions for 1,092 yards and 14 touchdowns. On defense Mickens notched 211 tackles with six going for a loss, two sacks, 32 pass deflections, eight interceptions, two fumble recoveries, and eight forced fumbles.{{cite web |title=Rj Mickens Football Stats |url=https://www.maxpreps.com/tx/southlake/southlake-carroll-dragons/athletes/rj-mickens/football/stats/?careerid=01bohej854j77 |website=MaxPreps.com |access-date=17 September 2023}} {{better source needed|date=December 2024}} He committed to play college football at the University of Clemson over others schools such as Alabama, Ohio State, Oklahoma, and Texas A&M.{{cite web |last1=Bloomquist |first1=Brett |title=RJ Mickens, son of former Texas A&M star Ray Mickens, follows heart to Clemson |url=https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/sports/college/clemson/2019/12/17/rj-mickens-son-former-texas-a-m-star-ray-mickens-sign-clemson-football-recruit-signing-day/2673897001/ |website=Greenville Online |date=17 December 2019 |access-date=17 September 2023}}
College career
As a freshman in 2020, Mickens had one tackle.{{cite web |title=R.J. Mickens College Stats |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/rj-mickens-1.html |website=Sports Reference |access-date=December 18, 2024}} In week 2 of the 2021 season, he had his first career interceptions, as helped Clemson beat South Carolina State.{{cite web |last1=Cubit |first1=Alexis |title=Five things we learned about Clemson in Tigers' home win over SC State |url=https://www.thestate.com/sports/college/acc/clemson-university/article254175633.html |website=The State |access-date=17 September 2023}} Mickens finished the 2021 season with 29 tackles with 0.5 tackle being for a loss, and two interceptions.{{cite web |title=R.J. Mickens 2021 Game Logs |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/rj-mickens-1/gamelog/2021/ |website=Sports Reference |access-date=17 September 2023}} In the 2022 regular season finale, he had a big goal line tackle and an interception, but he was ejected due to targeting in the third quarter, as the Tigers fell to their rival South Carolina.{{cite web |last1=Shanesy |first1=Todd |title=Clemson football's RJ Mickens ejected for targeting penalty against South Carolina |url=https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/sports/college/clemson/2022/11/26/clemson-footballs-rj-mickens-ejected-for-targeting-vs-south-carolina/69670154007/ |website=Greenville Online News |date=26 November 2022 |access-date=17 September 2023}} Mickens finished the 2022 season with 48 tackles with three going for a loss, two pass deflections, and three interceptions. He was named Preseason Third-Team All-American by Pro Football Focus for the 2023 season.{{cite web |title=2023 PFF College Preseason All-America Team: USC QB Caleb Williams, Ohio State WR Marvin Harrison Jr. and more |url=https://www.pff.com/news/college-football-2023-preseason-all-america-team-caleb-williams-marvin-harrison-jr |website=PFF |date=August 21, 2023 |access-date=17 September 2023}}
=College statistics=
| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center; | |||||||||
| rowspan="2" | Year
! rowspan="2" | Team ! rowspan="2" | Class ! rowspan="2" | {{abbr|GP|Games played}} ! colspan="5" | Tackles ! colspan="5" | Interceptions ! colspan="2" | Fumbles | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| {{abbr|Solo|Solo Tackles}} | {{abbr|Ast|Assisted tackles}} | {{abbr|Tot|Total tackles}} | {{abbr|Loss|Tackles for Loss}} | {{abbr|Sk|Sacks}}
! {{abbr|Int|Interceptions}} | {{abbr|Yds|Interception Reutrn Yards}} | {{abbr|Avg|Interception Return Yards Per Interception}} | {{abbr|TD|Interception Return Touchdowns}} | {{abbr|PD|Passes defended}}
! {{abbr|FF|Fumbled Forced}} | {{abbr|FR|Fumbles Recovered}} |
| colspan="16" style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Clemson Tigers|color=white}}"| Clemson Tigers | |||||||||
| 2020 | Clemson | FR
| 1 | 1 || 0 || 1 || 0.0 || 0.0 | 0 || 0 || 0.0 || 0 || 0 | 0 || 0 | |||||||
| 2021 | Clemson | SO
| 13 | 13 || 16 || 29 || 0.5 || 0.0 | 2 || 37 || 18.5 || 0 || 0 | 0 || 0 | |||||||
| 2022 | Clemson | JR
| 13 | 26 || 22 || 48 || 3.0 || 0.0 | 3 || 0 || 0.0 || 0 || 2 | 0 || 0 | |||||||
| 2023 | Clemson | SR
| 11 | 28 || 14 || 42 || 4.0 || 0.0 | 0 || 0 || 0.0 || 0 || 3 | 0 || 1 | |||||||
| 2024 | Clemson | SR
| 13 | 44 || 31 || 75 || 6.0 || 0.0 | 2 || 6 || 3.0 || 0 || 7 | 0 || 0 | |||||||
| colspan="3"|[https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/rj-mickens-1.html Career]
! 60 ! 112 | 84 | 196 | 14.0 | 0.0
! 7 | 43 | 6.1 | 0 | 12
! 1 | 0 |
Professional career
{{NFL predraft
| height ft = 6
| height in = 0
| weight = 199
| dash = 4.49
| ten split = 1.55
| twenty split = 2.65
| vertical = 41.5
| broad ft = 10
| broad in = 1
| bench = 17
| arm span = 32 1/4
| hand span = 8 7/8
| note = All values from NFL Combine/Pro Day{{Cite web |url=https://www.nfl.com/prospects/r-j-mickens/32004d49-4374-6634-c2be-3d6de9c1ffad |title=R.J. Mickens Draft and Combine Prospect Profile |website=NFL.com |access-date=February 28, 2025}}{{Cite web |url=https://clemsontigers.com/clemson-2025-pro-day/ |title=Clemson 2025 Pro Day Results |website=ClemsonTigers.com |access-date=March 25, 2025}}{{Cite web |url=https://draftscout.com/dsprofile.php?PlayerId=1041436&DraftYear=2025 |title=R.J. Mickens College Football Profile |website=DraftScout.com |access-date=February 28, 2025}}
}}
Mickens was selected 214th overall in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL draft by the Los Angeles Chargers.{{cite web |last1=Navarro |first1=Omar |title=Chargers Select Clemson Safety R.J. Mickens in Round 6 of 2025 NFL Draft |url=https://www.chargers.com/news/rj-mickens-clemson-safety-round-6-nfl-draft |website=chargers.com |access-date=30 April 2025}}
Personal life
He is the son of former NFL cornerback Ray Mickens.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://clemsontigers.com/sports/football/roster/r-j-mickens/ Clemson Tigers bio]
{{Los Angeles Chargers 2025 NFL draft picks}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mickens, R. J.}}
Category:Players of American football from Southlake, Texas
Category:American football safeties
Category:Carroll Senior High School alumni