Carl Nicks, Jr. (born May 14, 1985) 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 wi ...

player who was a guard in 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) for six seasons. He played college football for the

University of Nebraska A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

, and was drafted by the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

in the fifth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He also played for the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...

College career

Nicks graduated from

North Salinas High School North Salinas High School is a public high school established in Salinas, California. It is one of five primary high schools of the Salinas Union High School District. The school was founded in 1959 as the second high school in the system to rel ...

in Salinas, California in 2003. Before transferring to Nebraska, Nicks played at

New Mexico State New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public land-grant research university based primarily in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest public institution of higher education in New Mexico and one of the state's tw ...

and then at Hartnell College, a community college in Salinas. Following the 2005 season at Hartnell, Nicks was rated the No. 7 junior college prospect from the state of California by JCGridiron.com. During his time at Nebraska, Nicks was known for his problems on and off the field, but in 2010, Nicks returned to Lincoln to apologize to head coach Bo Pelini for his behavior during his time at Nebraska.

Professional career

New Orleans Saints

In his rookie season, he replaced Jamar Nesbit in the starting lineup after Nesbit violated the league substance abuse policy. His play exceeded expectations and Nicks finished his rookie year playing in all 16 games and starting 13. After starting all 16 games in 2009 and the Saints three post-season games, he went into the 2010 season as the starting left guard. He was named to the

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

in 2010 and 2011 and was a first-team

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...

selection in 2011. Nicks gave a profanity-laced radio interview after the Saints win in

Super Bowl XLIV Super Bowl XLIV was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champions New Orleans Saints and the American Football Conference (AFC) champions Indianapolis Colts to decide the National Football League (NFL) champ ...

in which he excitedly shouted "I'm going to mother-fucking Disneyland!" as the Saints left the field after winning the game.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Nicks signed a five-year, $47.5 million contract with the

on March 14, 2012. On October 30, 2012, Nicks was placed on injured reserve with a toe problem requiring surgery. He had not missed a game since joining the NFL. Before the season began in 2013, Nicks and

kicker Kicker or The Kicker may refer to: Sports * Placekicker, a position in American and Canadian football * ''Kicker'' (sports magazine), in Germany * Kicker, the German colloquial term for an association football player * Kicker, the word used i ...

Lawrence Tynes Lawrence James Henry Tynes (born May 3, 1978) is a Scottish-born former American football placekicker. After playing soccer for Milton High School a coach suggested he try out for the football team as a kicker. He played college football at Troy ...

were diagnosed with methicillin-resistant ''Staphylococcus aureus'', causing him to miss week one of the season. On July 25, 2014 the Buccaneers and Nicks mutually agreed to part ways, ending his tenure with the team. After signing as an unrestricted free agent during the 2012 offseason, Nicks played in nine games for the Buccaneers over the past two seasons. Health issues, including a

methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus Methicillin-resistant ''Staphylococcus aureus'' (MRSA) is a group of Gram-positive bacteria that are genetically distinct from other strains of '' Staphylococcus aureus''. MRSA is responsible for several difficult-to-treat infections in human ...

infection, forced his early retirement. He was inducted into the New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame on October 29, 2017.

References

External links

Nebraska Cornhuskers bioNFL Draft Player ProfileNew Orleans Saints bioTampa Bay Buccaneers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicks, Carl 1985 births Living people Players of American football from San Francisco Sportspeople from Salinas, California American football offensive guards American football offensive tackles New Mexico State Aggies football players Nebraska Cornhuskers football players New Orleans Saints players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Hartnell Panthers football players National Conference Pro Bowl players