Hakeem Nicks

Hakeem Nicks (born January 14, 1988) is an American football wide receiver for the New York Giants of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Giants in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He played college football at North Carolina.

Early years
Nicks was born in Charlotte, North Carolina. He attended Independence High School (Charlotte, North Carolina). Playing football there, he was rated as one of the Top 10 Players in North Carolina by SuperPrep and Rivals.com. He was also named the Charlotte Observer Offensive Player of the Year and was also selected to the North Carolina Associated Press All-State team. He never lost a game in high school, and completed his senior year with MVP honors at the 4-AA state championship game. In the game, he posted eight catches for 205 yards and two touchdowns (one for 11 and another for 80 yards). He posted 93 catches for 1,819 yards and 20 touchdowns in his senior year.

Freshman year
During his freshman season, Nicks started all 11 games in which he played, missing one game due to an ankle sprain. Nicks led the team and set UNC single-season records for receptions and receiving yards by a freshman. Ranked third in the ACC in receiving yards per game and eighth in receptions per game.

Sophomore year
Nicks improved dramatically in his sophomore season, setting a single-season school record with 74 catches for 958 receiving yards along with five touchdowns. His single-season receiving yards were the third most in school history. Nicks finished second in the ACC with 79.8 receiving yards per game and third with 6.17 catches per game. Has made at least one catch in 22 of 23 games played and caught at least two passes in each game his sophomore season.

Junior year
Nicks was honored as a First-team All-ACC selection at wide receiver. By the completion of his Junior season, Nicks set 14 school records at UNC, including career receptions (181), career receiving yards (2,580) and career touchdowns (21). During his last season, Nicks tallied 68 catches for school records of 1,222 yards and 12 touchdowns. The 68 receptions tied for third most in a season in school history. Nicks led the ACC and ranked 12th nationally with 94.0 receiving yards per game. Nicks caught at least one pass in 26 straight games and had a catch in 35 of 36 career games. He set the UNC single-season receiving yardage record and became North Carolina's first 1,000-yard receiver.

Nicks ended his career at UNC in the 2008 Meineke Car Care Bowl where caught eight passes for a bowl record of 217 yards, with three going for touchdowns of 73, 66 and 25 yards, in a game against West Virginia. One of his other catches in that game was offered a candidate for the "Greatest Catch of the Year."

Four years after he had left North Carolina, Nicks was found guilty of academic fraud during the 2008 school year. His record setting season will remain in the media guide, but the school said they will place an asterisk by his records. Nicks was found to have received some jewelry and money during his years at Carolina.

College statistics summary
* school record ** vacated from school record books

Source: Hakeem Nicks - Career Statistics, North Carolina Tar Heels, 2009

2009 NFL Draft
Considered to be one of the top wide receivers available in the 2009 NFL Draft, Nicks drew comparisons to Hines Ward and Anquan Boldin. Butch Davis, Nicks' coach at North Carolina, went even further, comparing him to Hall of Famer Michael Irvin. The New York Giants, in need to replace wide-out Plaxico Burress, selected Nicks in the first round, 29th overall. Nicks was the 5th receiver taken in the draft, and one out of 6 taken in the first round alone. Nicks, along with Percy Harvin, is widely regarded as the most successful receiver taken in the 2009 draft thus far.

New York Giants
On August 1, 2009, Nicks signed a five-year, $12.54 million contract. The deal includes a $6.5 million signing bonus. During training camp, Nicks tied for a starting position with the Giants other receivers, most notably Domenik Hixon and Steve Smith and Hakeem Nicks had the best overall average of all these wide receivers with a 16.0 average.

Nicks made his first career NFL reception on September 13, 2009 against the Washington Redskins on WR screen pass for 11 yards.
 * 2009

On October 4, 2009 against the Kansas City Chiefs, Nicks recorded his first touchdown reception on a 54 yard screen pass. For the next four games, Nicks would score a touchdown pass in each, becoming the first Giants rookie to score touchdowns in four consecutive games since Bob Gaiters, who scored in five straight games in 1961. On the strength of that feat, Nicks was named the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Month.

Nicks ended the season starting in the #2 wide receiver spot opposite Steve Smith after an injury to Domenik Hixon in week 2 and outperforming Mario Manningham as of week 14.

Nicks recorded his first 3-touchdown game against the Carolina Panthers during week 1 of the 2010 NFL season, catching a total of 4 passes for 75 yards in a winning effort. During week five, when New York visited Houston, Nicks exploited the NFL's 29th ranked secondary and more specifically Texans rookie cornerback Kareem Jackson as he reeled in career highs with 12 catches for 130 yards. In addition, Nicks caught two touchdown passes on the day from quarterback Eli Manning. Nicks was inactive for the final game of the season in Washington due to a broken toe in his left foot.
 * 2010

ESPN.com analyst K. C. Joyner stated he believes Nicks has the potential to become the NFL's best wide receiver in part because of his superior route-running.

In 2011, Nicks had his second straight 1,000 + yard receiving season. He caught 76 passes for 1,192 yards (15.7 yards per catch average) and 7 touchdowns.
 * 2011

The Giants moved on to the playoffs in the 2011 season where Hakeem Nicks played an essential role throughout the entire postseason. In the wild card round against the Atlanta Falcons, Nicks recorded 6 receptions for 115 yards and 2 touchdowns. The following week against the top seeded Green Bay Packers, Nicks hauled in 7 catches for 165 yards and 2 touchdowns, including a 37 yard Hail Mary reception at the end of the first half. In Super Bowl XLVI between the New York Giants and New England Patriots, Nicks was the leading receiver for the game with 10 receptions for 109 yards to help secure a New York Giants victory.

Regular Season Statistics
Source: 

Playoff Statistics
Source: 

Personal life
Nicks is the son of Robert Nicks, Jr. and Lisa Mason. He has two brothers, Anwar and Aleef. He has a daughter, Harmony.