Rashard Malick Higgins (born October 7, 1994), nicknamed "Hollywood", is an

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 ...

wide receiver 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 ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). 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 ...

Colorado State Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a public land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University System. Colorado State University is classified among "R1: ...

Early years

Higgins attended Mesquite High School in

Mesquite, Texas Mesquite is a suburban city located east of the city of Dallas, Texas, in the United States. Most of the city is located in Dallas County, though a small portion extends into Kaufman County. As of 2019 census estimates, the population was 140 ...

, where he was a three-sport athlete in football, basketball and track. He played as a wide receiver for the Mesquite

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

team. As a senior, he had 69 receptions for 1,136 yards 10

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether Rush (gridiron football), running, Forward pass, passing, returning a Kickoff (gridiron football), kickoff or Punt (gridiron football), punt, or recovering a Turno ...

. Higgins was a two-star recruit by

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

. He was a starter on the Mesquite

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

team, where he averaged 17 points per game. He also excelled in

track & field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

at Mesquite. At the 2013 District Meet, he took fourth in the

200-meter dash The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

with a time of 22.76 seconds, while also placing seventh in the

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

with a leap of 6.68 meters (21 ft, 8 in). He posted a personal-best time of 53.48 seconds in the

400-meter dash The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is on ...

at the 2012 Rockin R Relays, where he finished fifth.

College career

As a true freshman at

Colorado State University Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a public land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University System. Colorado State University is classified among "R1: ...

in 2013, Higgins started all 14 games. He finished the season with a school freshman record 68 receptions, which went for 837 yards and six touchdowns. As a sophomore in 2014, Higgins was a finalist for the

Biletnikoff Award The Fred Biletnikoff Award is presented annually to the most outstanding receiver in American college football by the Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation, Inc. (TQCF), an independent not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. The award was creat ...

. * 2015 MW Preseason Offensive Player of the Year * Finalist, 2014 Biletnikoff Award * 2014 consensus All-American * Led nation in receiving yards (1,750) and receiving touchdowns (17) in 2014 * Ranked first in nation in yards-per-catch (18.2) among players with 65+ receptions * Has 12 career games with 100 or more yards * In just two seasons, has caught 164 passes for 2,587 yards and 23 touchdowns * Named 2014 Male College Athlete of the Year by Colorado State Hall of Fame

Professional career

Cleveland Browns

Rashard Higgins and Ricardo Louis (36373145215) Higgins Crop

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 ( ...

drafted Higgins in the fifth round with the 172nd overall pick in the

2016 NFL Draft The 2016 NFL Draft was the 81st annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft beg ...

. On May 13, he signed a four-year contract worth about $2.52 million, which included a signing bonus worth about $184,000. He had six receptions for 77 yards in his rookie season. On September 3, 2017, Higgins was waived by the Browns and was signed to the practice squad the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on September 16, 2017. On September 17, in the Week 2 game against the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

, he had a career-best seven receptions for 95 yards in the 24–10 loss. In the final game of the 2017 season, Higgins caught his first two career touchdown passes – both from

DeShone Kizer DeShone Allen Kizer (born January 3, 1996) is an American football quarterback who has played in the National Football League (NFL) for four seasons. He played college football at Notre Dame and was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the secon ...

. Overall, in the 2017 season, he finished with 27 receptions for 312 receiving yards and two touchdowns. In 2018, Higgins further improved himself snatching 39 receptions for 572 yards and four touchdowns. On March 4, 2019, the Browns tendered Higgins, who was set to become a restricted free agent. He caught his first touchdown of the season against the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

in Week 10, a seven-yard pass from

Baker Mayfield Baker Reagan Mayfield (born April 14, 1995) is an American football quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). Following a stint with Texas Tech, Mayfield played college football at Oklahoma, where he won the Hei ...

that would prove to be the game-winner. The Browns re-signed Higgins on May 8, 2020. In Week 7 of the 2020 season, he had his first 100-yard game with six receptions for 110 receiving yards in a 37-34 victory over the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

. He was placed on the reserve/

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list by the Browns on December 26, 2020, and activated on December 31. Higgins became an unrestricted free agent following the 2020 season. On March 19, 2021, Higgins re-signed with the Browns on a one-year deal.

Carolina Panthers

On March 16, 2022, Higgins signed a one-year contract with the

NFL career statistics

References

External links

Cleveland Browns bioColorado State Rams bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Higgins, Rashard 1994 births Living people African-American players of American football All-American college football players American football wide receivers Cleveland Browns players Colorado State Rams football players Mesquite High School (Texas) alumni Players of American football from Dallas 21st-century African-American sportspeople Carolina Panthers players