Rayshaun Kizer (born February 3, 1985) is an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

coach who is the

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator (DC) is a coach responsible for a gridiron football team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, offensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's coaching structure, wit ...

of the Tucson Sugar Skulls of the

Indoor Football League The Indoor Football League (IFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional indoor American football league in the United States. The league comprises 14 teams, divided equally between the Eastern Conference (EC) and Western Conference ...

(IFL). He was the former head coach and defensive coordinator of the Massachusetts Pirates of the

(IFL) and of the

Omaha Beef The Omaha Beef are a professional indoor American football, indoor football team based in Omaha, Nebraska. The Beef plays their home games at Liberty First Credit Union Arena in nearby Ralston, Nebraska, Ralston. The Beef competes in the National ...

Champions Indoor Football Champions Indoor Football (CIF) was a professional indoor American football minor league created in 2014 out of the merger between the Champions Professional Indoor Football League (CPIFL) and Lone Star Football League (LSFL), plus one team fr ...

(CIF). He is also a former

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 ...

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 ...

, and

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

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 ...

. He played his college football at

Walsh University Walsh University is a Private university, private Catholic university in North Canton, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1960 by the Brothers of Christian Instruction as a liberal arts college, it enrolls approximately 2,100 students as of 2023. ...

and graduated with his bachelor's degree in Computer Science. He has been a member of the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

of the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: ''Les Alouettes de Montréal'') are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has disbanded twice and been re-established thrice. The Alouettes compe ...

and

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home game ...

of the

Orlando Predators The Orlando Predators were a professional arena football team based in Orlando, Florida and member of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team was most recently owned by Orlando Predators LLC, a company owned by David A. Siegel, and played it ...

Philadelphia Soul Philadelphia soul, sometimes called Philly soul, the Philadelphia sound, Phillysound, or The Sound of Philadelphia (TSOP), is a genre of late 1960s–1970s soul music characterized by funk influences and lush string and horn arrangements. The ...

Arizona Rattlers The Arizona Rattlers are a professional indoor American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area that competes in the Indoor Football League (IFL). The Rattlers were founded in 1992 as an expansion team in the Arena Football League ...

New Orleans VooDoo The New Orleans VooDoo were a professional arena football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They were members of the Arena Football League from 2004 to 2015. The VooDoo were the second team to play in the Arena Football League and play in ...

Los Angeles KISS The Los Angeles Kiss (stylized as LA KISS) were a professional arena football team based in Anaheim, California, and members of the Arena Football League (AFL). The Kiss joined the AFL as an expansion team after Los Angeles' previous franchise ( ...

and

Cleveland Gladiators The Cleveland Gladiators were an arena football team based in Cleveland, Ohio, and members of the Arena Football League (AFL). The Gladiators played their home games at Quicken Loans Arena, which they shared with the Cleveland Cavaliers of the ...

of the

and

Green Bay Blizzard The Green Bay Blizzard are a professional indoor football team based in the Green Bay metropolitan area that competes in the Indoor Football League (IFL). The franchise was founded in 2003. The Blizzard began play in the IFL in 2010, after hav ...

of the Arena Football 2. He also served as the assistant head coach, defensive coordinator and special teams coach of the Bismarck Bucks of the IFL.

Early life and college

Kizer attended Euclid High School in

Euclid, Ohio Euclid is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. Located on the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is an Inner suburb, inner ring suburb of Cleveland. The population was 49,692 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the fo ...

. He played for the

Cavaliers from 2003 to 2006. He recorded 14 interceptions for the Cavaliers, returning 5 for touchdowns. He was named first-team

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 ...

and first-team All-Conference his senior year. He was also named second-team All-Conference as a junior and first-team All-Conference as a sophomore. He was inducted into the school's Wall of Fame as part of the class of 2015.

Professional career

New York Jets

Kizer signed with the

on May 15, 2007, after going undrafted in the

2007 NFL draft The 2007 NFL draft was the 72nd annual meeting of National Football League franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 28 and April 29, 2007. The draf ...

. He was released by the Jets on August 27, 2007.

Montreal Alouettes (first stint)

Kizer was signed by the

on September 11, 2007. He was released by the Alouettes on October 7, 2008.

Green Bay Blizzard

Kizer played for the

of the

af2 The AF2 (often styled as af2, and short for arenafootball2) was the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like its parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football r ...

during the 2009 season. He played in 17 games for the Blizzard, recording 65 tackles, 4 interceptions, 15 pass break-ups, one forced fumble, and 2 fumble recoveries. He was awarded Defensive Player of the Week honors in the American Conference Finals Game after sealing the victory with a game-ending interception.

Orlando Predators

Kizer played for the

from 2010 to 2011. He led the Arena Football League in interceptions with 12 his rookie year in 2010, earning first-team

All-Arena An All-Arena Team, an all-star team consisting of the best players of their position was selected every season in the Arena Football League (AFL). Teams * 1987 All-Arena Team, 1987 * 1988 All-Arena Team, 1988 * 1989 All-Arena Team, 1989 * 1990 Al ...

honors. He set a new AFL record when he recorded 16 interceptions during the 2011 season. Kizer was also named first-team

for the second consecutive year.

Montreal Alouettes (second stint)

Kizer was signed to the practice squad of the Alouettes on September 27, 2011. He was released by the Alouettes on October 6, 2011.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Kizer was signed to the practice squad of the

on October 15, 2011. He was released by the Tiger-Cats on November 2, 2011.

Philadelphia Soul

Kizer signed with the

on November 22, 2011. He earned second-team All-Arena honors after recording 82 tackles and 9 interceptions in 18 games with the Soul in 2013. He was named second-team All-Arena for the second consecutive year after collecting 101.5 tackles and 9 interceptions in 18 games in 2014.

Arizona Rattlers

On January 7, 2015, Kizer was assigned to the

New Orleans VooDoo

On March 23, 2015, Kizer, was traded to the

in exchange for future considerations.

Los Angeles KISS

On May 25, 2015, Kizer was traded to the

for future considerations. He earned second-team All-Arena honors for the third consecutive year after recording 87.5 tackles and five interceptions in 2015. He became a free agent after the 2015 season. On November 6, 2015, Kizer was assigned to the KISS for the 2016 season. Kizer suffered a season ending ankle injury that kept him out for most of the 2016 season.

Qingdao Clipper

Kizer was selected by the Qingdao Clipper in the fourth round of the 2016 CAFL Draft.

Cleveland Gladiators

On January 9, 2017, Kizer was assigned to the

Georgia Doom

In March 2018, Kizer was assigned to the Georgia Doom.

Coaching career

Bismarck Bucks

In January 2019, Kizer was assigned to the Bismarck Bucks of the

(IFL) as the assistant head coach, defensive coordinator and special teams coach.

Massachusetts Pirates

In March 2020, Kizer was assigned to the Massachusetts Pirates of the

National Arena League The National Arena League (NAL) is a professional indoor football league that began play in 2017. As of the end of the 2024 season, the league consisted of five teams. A team's typical payroll budget is $600,000 per season, but as of the 2022 ...

as the defensive coordinator. Due to COVID in 2020 the Massachusetts Pirates season was cancelled. Following the next season in 2021, Kizer returned to the Pirates as the assistant head coach and defensive coordinator. They won the 2021 United Bowl against the Arizona Rattlers. Winners of 11 straight games that season and Kizer was the only assistant coach to receive votes for coach of the year. He also had the #1 Defense in the league that season holding opponents to 31.7 PPG. In January 2022, Kizer was promoted to head coach of the Pirates. He had a successful first season as a head coach with an 11–5 record but lost the first round of the playoffs at home against the

Quad City Steamwheelers The Quad City Steamwheelers were a professional arena football team. They were a charter member of the AF2 and played their home games at iWireless Center in Moline, Illinois. The team was founded on September 1, 1999, when the Quad Cities was ...

Omaha Beef

In January 2022, Kizer was assigned to the

of the

as the head coach. In his first season as the Beef head coach, he was the first head coach in CIF history to ever have an undefeated season. They also won the 2023 CIF Championship against the Salina Liberty 50-30. Also as the defensive coordinator of this team, Kizer had the best defense in CIF history holding teams to a record-setting 20.8 PPG and only 142.8 YPG for the entire season. Despite this Kizer would not return to the Beef for their 2024 season, as he resigned as head coach on December 18, 2023 and was replaced by Mike Tatum.

Tucson Sugar Skulls

In December 2023, Kizer was assigned to the Tucson Sugar Skulls of the IFL as the defensive coordinator.

Head coaching record

References

External links

Stats Crew profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kizer, Rayshaun Living people 1985 births American football defensive backs Canadian football defensive backs Walsh Cavaliers football players New York Jets players Montreal Alouettes players Green Bay Blizzard players Orlando Predators players Philadelphia Soul players Arizona Rattlers players New Orleans VooDoo players Los Angeles Kiss players Cleveland Gladiators players Qingdao Clipper players Players of American football from Euclid, Ohio Georgia Doom players Players of Canadian football from Ohio Indoor Football League coaches National Arena League coaches Champions Indoor Football coaches