Rashean Jamil Mathis ( ; born August 27, 1980) 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

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

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). 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

Bethune–Cookman Wildcats The Bethune–Cookman Wildcats are the athletic teams that represent Bethune–Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Florida. Bethune-Cookman is a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference and participates in NCAA Division I Football Champio ...

, and was selected by the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

in the second round of the

2003 NFL draft The 2003 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League (NFL) teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936 NF ...

. He also played for 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) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

. Mathis is regarded as one of the best defensive players in Jaguars history.

Early life

Mathis attended Englewood High School in Jacksonville at the same time as Brett Myers of the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

, and was a letterman in football. In football, he was a second team All-State, All-Conference, and an All-City honoree. Central Florida Community College and Indian River Community Colleges offered him scholarships to play center field.

College career

Mathis enrolled at Bethune-Cookman University where he played for the

Bethune–Cookman Wildcats football The Bethune–Cookman Wildcats football team represents Bethune–Cookman University in the sport of college football. The Wildcats compete in the NCAA Division I, Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) of the National Collegiate Athl ...

team. He did not receive any scholarship offers from larger schools because he broke his leg during high school. He recorded 14 interceptions during his senior season, which is the FCS record for the most interceptions in a single season. He also holds the career interceptions record for all Division I football divisions, with 31 in his collegiate career. In 2002, he won the Buck Buchanan Award, awarded yearly to the most outstanding defensive player in the FCS.

Professional career

Pre-draft

Mathis attended the

NFL Scouting Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foot ...

and performed all of the combine and positional drills. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Mathis was projected to be a second or third round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked as the top free safety prospect by DraftScout.com and was ranked as the second best safety by NFL analyst

Mike Mayock Michael Francis Mayock Sr. (born August 14, 1958) is an American former professional football executive and player in the National Football League (NFL). He played as a safety with the New York Giants. After his playing career, he was a draft ...

Jacksonville Jaguars

The

selected Mathis in the second round (39th overall) of the

. Mathis was the second safety selected in 2003, behind Marcus Trufant (11th overall). He was also the eighth defensive back drafted in 2003 and was the first player selected from Bethune-Cookman since Antwuan Wyatt was drafted in

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

. Mathis also became the third highest draft pick from Bethune-Cookman, behind defensive tackle Booker Reese (32nd overall,

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

) and defensive back Terry Williams (37th overall, 1988). On July 24, 2003, the Jacksonville Jaguars signed Mathis to a four-year, $3.17 million contract. Mathis entered training camp slated as a starting safety. Head coach

Jack Del Rio Jack Louis Del Rio Jr. (born April 4, 1963) is an American professional football coach and former linebacker who is the head coach of the Paris Musketeers of the European League of Football (ELF). He played college football for the USC Trojans ...

named Mathis the starting free safety to begin the regular season, alongside strong safety Donovan Darius. He made his professional regular season debut and first career start in the Jacksonville Jaguars' season-opener at 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

and made two combined tackles, a pass deflection, and his first career interception off a pass by quarterback Jake Delhomme in their 24–23 loss. In Week 6, Mathis was converted to cornerback due to injuries to Jason Craft and Kiwaukee Thomas. In Week 10, he collected a season-high nine solo tackles during a 28–23 victory against the Indianapolis Colts. He started in all 16 games in

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

and made a career-high 81 combined tackles (71 solo), nine pass deflections, and two interceptions. Mathis entered training camp slated as the No. 1 starting cornerback after Fernando Bryant departed in free agency. Head coach Jack Del Rio named Mathis and Dewayne Washington the starting cornerbacks to begin the regular season. He had his most productive year in 2006, collecting eight interceptions (tied for third in the league) and being voted to the

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

where he started alongside Champ Bailey. He and John Henderson were the only Jaguars on the team to attend the Pro Bowl that year. On August 24, 2005, the Jacksonville Jaguars signed Mathis to a five-year, $25.50 million contract extension that includes $9.40 million guaranteed. Mathis had his most significant game as a professional on January 5, 2008, in an AFC Wild Card playoff game against 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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

. He had two interceptions, returning one for a touchdown. On December 1, 2008, Mathis sustained a knee injury against the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

and was put on the injured reserve list, ending his season. On November 16, 2009, Mathis injured his groin while breaking up a pass in a win over the New York Jets. He would only play in one other game during the 2009 season, missing the rest because of the lingering injury. On November 13, 2011, Mathis tore his ACL against the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

, ending his season. On March 8, 2012, Mathis agreed on a one-year, $5 million contract with the Jaguars. On March 5, 2013, the Jaguars announced they would not offer Mathis a new contract.

Detroit Lions

On August 17, 2013, Mathis signed a one-year contract with the

. He re-signed with the Lions on April 14, 2014. On March 19, 2015, the Lions re-signed Mathis to a two-year, $3.5 million contract. On February 16, 2016, Mathis announced his retirement. On April 13, 2016, Mathis signed a one-day contract to retire as a member of the

Jaguars franchise records

* Most career interceptions: 30 * Most career interception return yards: 512 * Most career passes defended: 104

NFL statistics

Key * GP: games played * COMB: combined tackles * TOTAL: total tackles * AST: assisted tackles * SACK: sacks * FF: forced fumbles * FR: fumble recoveries * FR YDS: fumble return yards * INT: interceptions * IR YDS: interception return yards * AVG IR: average interception return * LNG: longest interception return * TD: interceptions returned for touchdown * PD: passes defensed

In the media

In 2006, Mathis appeared as a celebrity contestant on Wheel of Fortune during ''NFL Players Week''.

References

External links

Detroit Lions bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mathis, Rashean 1980 births Living people Engelwood High School (Florida) alumni Players of American football from Jacksonville, Florida American football cornerbacks American football safeties Bethune–Cookman Wildcats football players Jacksonville Jaguars players Detroit Lions players American Conference Pro Bowl players