Clifton Eugene Abraham Jr. (born December 9, 1971) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

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 ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for three seasons. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Florida State Seminoles The Florida State Seminoles are the athletic teams representing Florida State University (FSU) located in Tallahassee, Florida. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I, prima ...

, earning

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honors in 1994. He played professionally for the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

and

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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

of the NFL. Abraham also played for the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

Early life

Abraham was born in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

.National Football League, Historical Players
Clifton Abraham
Retrieved February 7, 2012. He attended David W. Carter High School in Dallas,databaseFootball.com, Players, . Retrieved February 7, 2012. where he played for the Carter Cowboys

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

team.

College career

While attending Florida State University, Abraham played for the

Florida State Seminoles football The Florida State Seminoles football team represents Florida State University (variously Florida State or FSU) in the sport of American football. The Florida State Seminoles, Seminoles compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FB ...

team from 1991 to 1994. As a junior, he received honorable mention All-American recognition from

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in 1993. As a senior in 1994, he was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American, having received first-team honors from the

American Football Coaches Association The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) is an association of over 11,000 American football coaches and staff on all levels. According to its constitution, some of the main goals of the American Football Coaches Association are to "mainta ...

, the

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, ''

College Football News ''College Football News'' (''CFN'') is a magazine and website published by College Football News, Inc., headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. News coverage includes scores, statistics, rankings, and reports on college football games. Analysis incl ...

'', ''

The Sporting News ''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...

'',

and the Walter Camp Foundation.

Professional career

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Abraham in the fifth round (143rd overall pick) of the 1995 NFL Draft,. He played for the Buccaneers for a single season in . He also played for the

in and the

in . In three NFL seasons, he appeared in nine regular season games. Abraham was later signed by the

of the

, and he played for that organization for three seasons from 1998 to 1999 and 2001. Appearing in a total of 21 games, Abraham recorded 58 tackles, 13 pass deflections, two interceptions for 48 yards, and one fumble recovery. He was most successful in 1998 when he played in only 10 games but made 35 tackles. He finished his professional football career with the Los Angeles Xtreme of the XFL in 2001.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abraham, Clifton 1971 births Living people All-American college football players Carolina Panthers players Chicago Bears players Florida State Seminoles football players Los Angeles Xtreme players Toronto Argonauts players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Players of American football from Dallas Players of Canadian football from Dallas American football defensive backs Canadian football defensive backs