Raymond "Ray-Ray" McCloud III (born October 15, 1996) 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 and

return specialist 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 position ...

for the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

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 ...

at Clemson.

Early years

McCloud attended

Sickles High School Walter L. Sickles High School is a public high school in Citrus Park, Florida, Citrus Park, Florida, United States. Constructed in 1997, it was named for the superintendent of Hillsborough County Public Schools from 1989 to 1996. Academics As of 2 ...

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

and played on the Gryphons

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

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

. As a senior, he rushed for 1,933 yards and 17 touchdowns. For his high school career, he had 5,765 rushing yards and 58 touchdowns. He committed to play football for the

Clemson Tigers The Clemson Tigers are the athletic teams that represent Clemson University, located in Clemson, South Carolina. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) ...

in July 2014, choosing them over the likes of

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...

, and

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

College career

As a freshman in 2015, McCloud played in 12 games, catching 29 passes for 251 yards and one touchdown. He missed three games due to a knee injury. In 2016, as a sophomore, McCloud played in 14 of Clemson's 15 games, missing one due to an ankle injury. In those 14 games, he tallied 49 receptions for 472 yards and two touchdowns, helping Clemson win the National Championship. As a junior in 2017, McCloud played in all 14 of Clemson's games, tallying 49 receptions for 503 yards and one touchdown. He also returned 25 punts for 303 yards and one touchdown. After the season, he declared for the

2018 NFL Draft The 2018 NFL Draft was the 83rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2018 NFL season. The draft was held on April 26–28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas; it was the first draft ...

Collegiate statistics

Professional career

Buffalo Bills

McCloud was drafted by 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 the sixth round with the 187th overall pick in the

. In Week 3, in a 27–6 victory over the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

, he made his first professional reception and had a 13-yard punt return. On August 31, 2019, McCloud was waived by the Bills.

Carolina Panthers

On September 1, 2019, McCloud was claimed off waivers by 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 ...

. He was waived on October 15, 2019.

Buffalo Bills (second stint)

On October 17, 2019, McCloud was signed to the Buffalo Bills practice squad. In addition to serving as a wide receiver, McCloud served as the

scout team The following terms are used in American football, both conventional and indoor. Some of these terms are also in use in Canadian football; for a list of terms unique to that code, see ''Glossary of Canadian football''. 0–9 ...

quarterback, emulating the style of mobile quarterbacks the Bills face that week. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Bills on January 6, 2020. He was waived on July 27, 2020.

Pittsburgh Steelers

On August 21, 2020, McCloud signed with the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

. McCloud signed a one-year contract extension with the Steelers on March 11, 2021. McCloud became the Steelers' primary return specialist, returning 28 kickoffs for 646 yards and 29 punts with an average of 10.7 yards. He was named by ''

Pro Football Focus Pro Football Focus (also written as ProFootballFocus, and often referred to by its initials, PFF) is a sports analytics company that focuses on thorough analysis of the National Football League (NFL) and NCAA Division-I football in the United Sta ...

'' on its All-Pro roster as a second-team return specialist. In

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

, McCloud led the NFL in total punt-return yards gained.

San Francisco 49ers

On March 22, 2022, McCloud signed a two-year contract with the

References

External links

Pittsburgh Steelers bioBuffalo Bills bioClemson Tigers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCloud, Ray-Ray 1996 births Living people Players of American football from Tampa, Florida American football wide receivers Clemson Tigers football players Buffalo Bills players Carolina Panthers players Pittsburgh Steelers players San Francisco 49ers players