Kenyatta Cornelius Lucas (born January 23, 1979) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

. He was drafted by the Seahawks in the second round of the

2001 NFL Draft The 2001 NFL Draft was the 66th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible professional football players. The draft, which is officially referred to as the "NFL Player Selection Meeting," was held at the ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

. In

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

he was the NFC co-leader in interceptions. Lucas has also played for the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

Early years

Lucas attended East Side High School in Cleveland, Mississippi, where he garnered first-team all-district honors at wide receiver and

kick returner A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another positio ...

and all-county recognition at wide receiver and cornerback playing alongside former

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

offensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

Floyd "Pork Chop" Womack. He was selected the district

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

of the year as a freshman and named the team's most outstanding player as a junior and most valuable player as a senior. Lucas also

lettered Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...

four times in

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

, finishing with a .395 career

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

. He graduated from East Side in 1997.

College career

Lucas began playing at the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment. ...

as a wide receiver before moving to

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

late in his sophomore season. He finished his college career with 87

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking u ...

, seven

interception In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...

s and 33

passes defensed In American football, a pass deflected, also known as a pass deflection, a pass defended, a pass , a pass knockdown, or a pass breakup, is an incomplete pass that is caused by a defensive player. This is done by slapping or blocking the ball with ...

defense Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense industr ...

; in addition, he totaled 23

catches Catch may refer to: In sports * Catch (game), children's game * Catch (baseball), a maneuver in baseball * Catch (cricket), a mode of dismissal in cricket * Catch or reception (gridiron football) * Catch, part of a rowing stroke In music * Cat ...

for 292 yards and one

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

and four carries for 73 yards on offense. Lucas returned 20 kickoffs for 383 yards and one punt for 17 yards, had nine tackles and blocked two punts on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

Professional career

First stint with Seahawks

Lucas was drafted by the

in the second round of the

. He started in his first game as a rookie against the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

, managing to deflect a crucial late game pass that allowed Seattle to preserve their lead and win the game. Lucas would go on to continue his defensive prowess by recording his first NFL interception against the esteemed

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

Doug Flutie Douglas Richard Flutie (born October 23, 1962) is an American former football quarterback whose professional career spanned 21 seasons. He played 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), eight seasons in the Canadian Football League (CF ...

. During the

2002 NFL season The 2002 NFL season was the 83rd regular season of the National Football League. The league went back to an even number of teams with the addition of the Houston Texans; the league has remained static with 32 teams since. The clubs were real ...

, Lucas earned nationwide attention after recording two interceptions against

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

quarterback

Michael Vick Michael Dwayne Vick (born June 26, 1980) is a former American football quarterback. Regarded as having transformed the quarterback position with his rushing abilities, he is the NFL leader in quarterback rushing yards and was the league's firs ...

, earning him the NFL's "

NFC NFC may refer to: Psychology * Need for cognition, in psychology * Need for closure, social psychological term Sports * NFC Championship Game, the National Football Conference Championship Game * NCAA Football Championship (Philippines) * Nati ...

Defensive Player of the Week" award. After an impressive display of athletic ability, Lucas finished the season with a career-high 82 tackles. During the

2004 NFL season The 2004 NFL season was the 85th regular season of the National Football League. With New England as the defending league champions, regular season play was held from September 9, 2004 to January 2, 2005. Hurricanes forced the rescheduling o ...

, Lucas again earned the title of "NFC Defensive Player of the Week" after recording two interceptions against

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994. The arr ...

' quarterback

Marc Bulger Marc Robert Bulger (; born April 5, 1977) is a retired American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for eleven seasons, primarily with the St. Louis Rams. He was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the sixth r ...

. He would finish the season with six interceptions, including one which was returned for his first NFL

Carolina Panthers

Lucas was signed by the Panthers prior to the

2005 NFL season The 2005 NFL season was the 86th regular season of the National Football League. Regular season play was held from September 8, 2005 to January 1, 2006. The regular season also saw the first ever regular season game played outside the United ...

as an

unrestricted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

. He started fifteen games in his first season with the Panthers, and once more closed the season with six interceptions. Lucas would continue his superb work in the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

, recording two interceptions in three games, although he ended that season with a loss in the

NFC Championship The NFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the National Football Conference (NFC) and one of the two semi-final playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football league in the world. ...

against his old team, the eventual 2005 NFC Champion

. During training camp for the 2008 season, Lucas was involved in an altercation with Panthers star receiver

Steve Smith Stephen, Steve, Stevie, or Steven Smith may refer to: Academics * Steve Smith (political scientist) (born 1952), British international relations theorist and senior university manager * Stephen Smith (journalist) (born 1956), American journalist, ...

. Smith blackened Lucas' eye and broke his nose during the scuffle. Ken Lucas was praised by numerous people for forgiving Smith completely. Lucas was released by the Panthers on March 11, 2009 to clear about $2.3 million in

salary cap In professional sports, a salary cap (or wage cap) is an agreement or rule that places a limit on the amount of money that a team can spend on players' salaries. It exists as a per-player limit or a total limit for the team's roster, or both. Sever ...

space.Panthers Release Lucas
Yahoo Sports, March 11, 2009

Second stint with Seahawks

After four seasons in Carolina, Lucas re-signed with the

on April 27, 2009.

References

External links

Seattle Seahawks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lucas, Ken 1979 births Living people People from Cleveland, Mississippi American football wide receivers American football cornerbacks Ole Miss Rebels football players Seattle Seahawks players Carolina Panthers players