Randy Montez McMichael (born June 28, 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 wit ...
tight end
The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense (sports), offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide ...
in the
National Football He was drafted by the
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pl ...
in the fourth round of the
2002 NFL Draft
The 2002 NFL draft was the 67th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually sinc ...
. He played
college football at
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to t ...
.
Early years
McMichael was named to the ''
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...
''s Top 50 in the state of
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to t ...
at
Peach County High School
Peach County High School is a public high school located in Fort Valley, Georgia, United States. The school is part of the Peach County School District, which serves Peach County.
Mission Statement: To graduate college and career ready students ...
in
Fort Valley, Georgia
Fort Valley is a city in and the county seat of Peach County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 8,780.
The city is in the Warner Robins metropolitan area and the Macon–Warner Robins combined statisti ...
. He was voted the team’s best offensive lineman as a senior, and also lettered in
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
and
track during his prep career.
College career
McMichael was a three-year letterman at Georgia from 1999 to 2001. He missed all but one game in 1997 with a thumb injury, and missed all of 1998 with a knee injury.
In 1999, he caught 34 passes for 357 yards and three touchdowns, earning First-team Freshman
All-America
The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...
honors from
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 pr ...
and
SEC coaches. As a sophomore in 2000, McMichael hauled in 32 passes for 475 yards and a score, earning an honorable mention All-conference selection. He was a First-team All-SEC selection by the
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. n ...
and SEC coaches in his final year of 2001 when he started nine of the ten games in which he appeared and had 24 receptions for 281 yards and a touchdown.
McMichael started 21 of the 33 games in which he played during his career and caught 90 passes for 1,213 yards and five touchdowns. He finished ranked ninth in school history for career receiving yards.
Professional career
Pre-draft figures
Miami Dolphins
McMichael was selected in the fourth round (114th overall) in the
2002 NFL Draft
The 2002 NFL draft was the 67th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually sinc ...
by the Miami Dolphins. The pick used by Dolphins to select him was originally acquired from 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 deal that sent
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 handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball,
and block. The ...
Ricky Williams
Errick Miron (born Errick Lynne Williams Jr.; May 21, 1977) is an American former football running back who played 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) and one season in the Canadian Football League (CFL).
After playing baseball ...
to the
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pl ...
.
McMichael made his
NFL
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 maj ...
debut in a starting role against the
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at For ...
on September 8, when he tied for team-lead with four receptions and led the team with 73 yards. He also scored his first NFL
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 Americ ...
in the game, hauling in a
Jay Fiedler
Jay Brian Fiedler (born December 29, 1971) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played 76 games at quarterback in the NFL, starting 60, and threw 69 touchdowns. He was inducted into the National Jew ...
pass from 16 yards out in the second quarter.
He started all 16 games in his rookie season, catching 39 passes for 485 yards and four touchdowns. His four receiving scores led the team, while his reception and yardage figures both were third. He became the first Dolphins rookie tight end ever to start every regular season contest. No Dolphins tight end had produced as many stats as McMichael had since
Troy Drayton
Troy Anthony Drayton (born June 29, 1970 in Steelton, Pennsylvania) is a former professional American football tight end from 1993 to 2001. He played in 9 seasons in the National Football League, mainly for the Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams and th ...
in 1997 (39 receptions, 558 yards, 4 touchdowns). McMichael's four touchdown catches were the third-highest figure by a Dolphins rookie at any position, and the most by a tight end, surpassing
Ferrell Edmunds, who had three in 1988. McMichael had a reception in 15 of 16 games. Of his 39 catches, five went for 25 yards or longer – third-most on the team, trailing only
James McKnight (9) and
Chris Chambers (7).
Although he was the eighth tight end taken in the 2002 NFL Draft, McMichael’s receiving totals ranked second among all NFL rookie tight ends in 2002, trailing only the
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...
’
Jeremy Shockey – the 14th overall pick in the draft. McMichael’s touchdown total was also the most of any rookie tight end in the league in 2002.
McMichael emerged as one of the top receiving tight ends in the league in his second NFL season, starting all 16 games and finishing with 49 receptions for 598 yards and two touchdowns. He added another touchdown on a fumble recovery. McMichael ranked third on the team in receptions and second in receiving yards. He led or shared the team-lead in receiving four times during the course of the season, while topping the team in receiving yards on five occasions. Of his 49 receptions, five went for 25 yards or longer (second-most on the team) trailing only Chris Chambers (8). He had a reception in all but one game. He ranked fourth among
AFC
AFC may stand for:
Organizations
* Action for Children, a UK children's charity
* AFC Enterprises, the franchisor of Popeye's Chicken and Biscuits
* Africa Finance Corporation, a pan-African multilateral development finance institution
* A ...
tight ends in both receptions and receiving yards.
McMichael had his most productive game of the season and one of the top receiving days ever by a Dolphins tight end against the
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
on October 19, when he caught eight passes for 102 yards. His eight receptions tied a team record for a tight end at the time, achieved three times previously, most recently by
Keith Jackson
Keith Max Jackson (October 18, 1928 – January 12, 2018) was an American sports commentator, journalist, author, and radio personality, known for his career with ABC Sports (1966–2006). While he covered a variety of sports over his caree ...
who did it in a Divisional Playoff game on January 8, 1995 at the
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 ...
.
For the third straight year, McMichael started all 16 games. He was one of only two Dolphins offensive players to open every game in 2004, with offensive lineman
Seth McKinney being the other. McMichael put together the most prolific receiving season of any tight end in Dolphins history, leading the team with 73 receptions while his 791 receiving yards ranked second, trailing only Chris Chambers, who registered 898 yards. He also scored four touchdowns on the season and had a two-point conversion to his credit. He had five receptions for 25 yards or longer on the season, tied with
Marty Booker
Marty Montez Booker (born July 31, 1976) is a former American football wide receiver who played for eleven seasons in the National Football League (NFL). After playing college football for Louisiana-Monroe, he was drafted by the Chicago Bears ...
for second on the squad, trailing only Chambers, who had six. Overall, McMichael led the Dolphins in receptions eight times and in receiving yards on seven occasions over the course of the season. His reception total ranked 13th in the AFC. He tied for fourth in the AFC with 24 third-down receptions. His 73 receptions and 791 receiving yards both represent single-season standards for a Dolphins tight end, as he surpassed the previous marks set by Keith Jackson in 1994. For his performance during the season, McMichael was a first-alternate for the AFC
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 ...
squad.
In 2005, McMichael started 16 games for the fourth straight year to open his career. He ended 2005 having opened 64 consecutive contests. On the year, he caught 60 passes for 582 yards and five touchdowns. His reception total and five receiving scores ranked second on the squad, while his yardage figure was third. All three figures placed him fourth among AFC tight ends. His reception figure was the second-highest single-season total by a Dolphins tight end, while his five receiving scores tied for fourth and marked a personal single-season best. McMichael led the team in receptions on six occasions and in receiving yardage once. He had a touchdown reception in each of the first four games of the season -the only player in the NFL to achieve this feat in 2005.
On October 7, 2005, McMichael signed a four-year contract extension with the Dolphins to keep him with the team through the 2009 season. The four-year extension was worth slightly more than $18 million in "new money" and includes $8.92 million in bonuses. On average, it ranked slightly behind the deal signed by fellow tight end
Todd Heap of 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 it ...
around the same time.
The Dolphins' offense struggled as a whole in 2006, and like Chris Chambers, McMichael was not consistently and often utilized by
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 ...
Joey Harrington
John Joseph Harrington Jr. (born October 21, 1978) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons, primarily with the Detroit Lions. He played college football at Oregon, where he w ...
. For the season, McMichael finished second on the team in receptions with 62 catches for 640 yards and three touchdowns. In a three-game span (from October 8 through October 22) he totaled 21 catches for 233 yards. He finished fifth among AFC tight ends in receptions and was sixth in receiving yards. He led the team in receptions five times and in reception yardage four times during the season.
For the fifth straight year, McMichael started all 16 games of the season. Through 2006, McMichael played 80 career games without ever missing a start. At season's end, McMichael was already the team's all-time leading tight end in receptions and receiving yards, and ranked third in touchdowns.
The Dolphins released McMichael on March 5, 2007, in lieu of paying him a $3 million bonus due the following week.
St. Louis Rams
On March 8, 2007, the
St. Louis Rams signed McMichael to a three-year, $11 million deal that includes a $3 million signing bonus. The deal reunited McMichael with
Scott Linehan, the Dolphins' 2005 offensive coordinator and then head coach of the Rams. McMichael suffered a season-ending right tibia injury against Buffalo on September 8, 2008, and missed the rest of the
2008 NFL season
The 2008 NFL season was the 89th regular season of the National Football League, themed with the slogan "Believe in Now."
Super Bowl XLIII, the league's championship game, was at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, on February 1, 2009, ...
, after posting 11 catches for 139 yards. The
2009 NFL season
The 2009 NFL season was the 90th season in the history of the National Football League (NFL). The 50th anniversary of the original eight charter members of the American Football League was celebrated during this season.
The preseason started ...
he played all 16 games, finishing with 34 catches for 332 yards and 1 touchdown.
San Diego Chargers
After his signing with the team in 2009, McMichael was mostly known for his blocking ability. On November 7, 2010, McMichael got his first start in two years due to star tight end
Antonio Gates being injured in a game against the
Houston Texans he caught two catches that went for touchdowns, San Diego went on to win 29-23.
On March 12, 2013, McMichael was cut by the Chargers.
NFL career statistics
Dolphins franchise records
* Most career receiving yards by a tight end — 3,096
* Most career receptions by a tight end — 283
Radio career
In May 2019, Randy McMichael began co-hosting a midday program with
Andy Bunker on sports-talk "92.9 The Game"
WZGC
WZGC (92.9 FM) – branded 92-9 The Game – is a commercial sports radio station licensed to serve Atlanta, Georgia, covering the Atlanta metropolitan area. Owned by Audacy, Inc., WZGC is the Atlanta affiliate for CBS Sports Radio; the flag ...
in
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...
. He also hosts the station's Saturday morning ''College Game Time'' program.
[http://www.talkers.com May 20, 2019]
Personal life
Married to Dannah McMichael in 2017. McMichael has six children: Sierra, Isaiah, Kai, Samson, Sebastian and Shawn
References
External links
The Randy McMichael Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:McMichael, Randy
1979 births
Living people
People from Griffin, Georgia
American football tight ends
Georgia Bulldogs football players
Miami Dolphins players
St. Louis Rams players
San Diego Chargers players
People from Fort Valley, Georgia