Editing Randall Gay

{{Short description|American football player (born 1982)}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name          = Randall Gay
| image         = Randall Gay in 2011.jpg
| image_size    =
| caption       = Gay practices with the Saints in 2011
| number        = 21, 20
| position      = [[Cornerback]]
| birth_date    = {{Birth date and age|1982|5|5}}
| birth_place   = [[Baton Rouge, Louisiana]], U.S.
| death_date    = 
| death_place   = 
| height_ft     = 5
| height_in     = 11
| weight_lbs    = 190
| high_school   = [[Brusly High School|Brusly]] {{nowrap|([[Brusly, Louisiana]])}}
| college       = [[LSU Tigers football|LSU]]
| undraftedyear = 2004
| pastteams     =
* [[New England Patriots]] ({{NFL Year|2004}}–{{NFL Year|2007}})
* [[New Orleans Saints]] ({{NFL Year|2008}}–{{NFL Year|2010}})
| highlights    =
* 2× [[Super Bowl]] champion ([[Super Bowl XXXIX|XXXIX]], [[Super Bowl XLIV|XLIV]])
* [[BCS National Championship Game|BCS national champion]] ([[2004 BCS National Championship Game|2003]])
| statlabel1    = [[Tackle (football move)|Total tackles]]
| statvalue1    = 180
| statlabel2    = [[Quarterback sack|Sacks]]
| statvalue2    = 2.0
| statlabel3    = [[Fumble|Forced fumbles]]
| statvalue3    = 1
| statlabel4    = [[Fumble|Fumble recoveries]]
| statvalue4    = 3
| statlabel5    = [[Interceptions]]
| statvalue5    = 6
| statlabel6    = [[Touchdown|Defensive touchdowns]]
| statvalue6    = 2
| pfr           = GayxRa20 
}}

'''Randall Jerome Gay Jr.''' (born May 5, 1982) is an American former professional [[American football|football]] player who was a [[cornerback]] in the [[National Football League]] (NFL). He played [[college football]] for the [[LSU Tigers football|LSU Tigers]]. He was signed by the [[New England Patriots]] as an [[undrafted free agent]] in 2004.

Gay also played for the [[New Orleans Saints]].  He played on a [[Super Bowl]] winning team with both the Patriots and the Saints, and is also noted for being one of the two Louisianan-born (other being former LSU and Saints teammate, Devery Henderson) having won a championship at both the college and pro level for teams of Louisiana, his home state.

==Early life==
At Brusly High School in [[Brusly, Louisiana]], Randall Gay was a four-year [[varsity letter|letterman]] in football. He also lettered in [[powerlifting|weight lifting]] (three years) and [[track and field|track]] (one year). He was a first-team All-Metro selection, and a first-team All-District selection in football during his last two years of high school. As a senior, in only eight games, he rushed for 1,067 yards and 13 touchdowns, caught three touchdown passes, and returned two punts for touchdowns.

==College career==
He played [[college football]] at [[Louisiana State University]]. He won a [[BCS National Championship]] with the [[LSU Tigers football|Tigers]] in [[2003 LSU Tigers football team|2003]] as a [[nickel back]].

==Professional career==

===New England Patriots===
On April 29, [[2004 New England Patriots season|2004]], he was signed by the Patriots shortly after the [[NFL draft]] as an [[undrafted free agent]].  His rookie year, Gay beat out cornerback [[Christian Morton]], the Patriots' 7th-round draft pick, for a place on the roster. Later in the season, Gay was placed into the starting lineup because of injuries to veterans [[Ty Law]] and [[Tyrone Poole]]. Gay's rookie season concluded with a victory in [[Super Bowl XXXIX]], in which he started opposite [[Asante Samuel]] where he was the leading tackler with 11 solo tackles. Gay was involved in several low level controversies as a Patriot: He failed to make a full contribution in [[2005 New England Patriots season|2005]] and [[2006 New England Patriots season|2006]], due to injuries that landed him on [[injured reserve]]. This led to some long running criticisms from the tough vocal New England fans and repeated questions about him on the region's talk shows and in the papers. Hence, after failing to deliver up to expectations of [[New England Patriots]] fans in both the 2005 and 2006 seasons,  before the 2007 training camp, Gay was quoted as saying:<ref>{{cite web |url=http://patriots.bostonherald.com/patriots/view.bg?articleid%3D192721 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070408041918/http://patriots.bostonherald.com/patriots/view.bg?articleid=192721 |archive-date=April 8, 2007 |title=Gay keeps his head up |first=John |last=Tomase |date=April 4, 2007 |website=[[Boston Herald]] |language=en |access-date=16 August 2023}}</ref>

{{blockquote|You know how it is, It's like, 'Oh man, you're still getting a paycheck?' and 'Two years in a row!?!' That's the kind of stuff you really don't want to hear, because in your heart you want to be back out there.

I can say this, I'm the most anxious person for training camp. I'm about the only one here that's ready for it to come.}}

Gay returned in 2007 and played primarily as a nickel back and a backup safety.  He did start several games, including the AFC Divisional Game against the [[Jacksonville Jaguars]]. Gay intercepted a career-high three passes while playing in every game of the 2007 season en route to a perfect regular season that ended with the Patriots' defeat at the hands of the [[New York Giants]] in [[Super Bowl XLII]].

===New Orleans Saints===
On March 2, 2008, Gay signed a four-year, $17.8 million contract with the [[New Orleans Saints]]. The deal included a $3.75 million signing bonus and $6.9 million in guaranteed money.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.espn.com/nfl/news/story?id=3273625|title=Roundup: Ex-Pats CB Gay reportedly agrees to contract with Saints|publisher=ESPN|access-date=March 2, 2008|date=March 2, 2008}}</ref> He was a member of the Saints' [[2009 New Orleans Saints season|2009]] [[Super Bowl XLIV]] Championship team.  Gay suffered a concussion early in the [[2010 New Orleans Saints season|2010 season]] that eventually led to him being placed on [[injured reserve]] on October 20, 2010.<ref>James Varney, [http://www.nola.com/saints/index.ssf/2010/10/new_orleans_saints_place_cb_ra.html "New Orleans Saints place CB Randall Gay on injured reserve for 2010"], ''[[Times-Picayune]]'', October 20, 2010.</ref>

Gay was released by New Orleans on July 28, 2011, and retired thereafter.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.houmatoday.com/article/20120721/articles/120729913?p=1&tc=pg|title=Gay shifts attention to retired life|website=HoumaToday.com|access-date=March 25, 2016}}</ref>  In 2012, he was a named plaintiff in one of the [[NFL concussion lawsuit|lawsuits]] filed by former players against the NFL regarding the league's history of players suffering [[concussion]]s.<ref>[http://www.wwltv.com/story/sports/nfl/saints/2014/09/03/14532106/ "Ex-Saints CB Randall Gay sues NFL"], [[Associated Press]] at [[WWL-TV]], July 19, 2012.</ref>

==NFL career statistics==
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
! colspan="2"| Legend
|-
| '''Bold'''
| Career high
|}

===Regular season===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
!rowspan="2"| Year
!rowspan="2"| Team
!colspan="2"| Games
!colspan="5"| Tackles
!colspan="5"| Interceptions
!colspan="4"| Fumbles
|-
! GP !! GS !! Cmb !! Solo !! Ast !! Sck !! TFL !! Int !! Yds !! TD !! Lng !! PD !! FF !! FR !! Yds !! TD
|-
! [[2004 NFL season|2004]] !! [[2004 New England Patriots season|NWE]]
| 15 || 9 || 34 || 29 || '''5''' || 0.0 || 1 || 2 || 23 || 0 || 13 || 6 || 0 || '''2''' || '''41''' || '''1'''
|-
! [[2005 NFL season|2005]] !! [[2005 New England Patriots season|NWE]]
| 5 || 2 || 12 || 10 || 2 || 0.0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
! [[2006 NFL season|2006]] !! [[2006 New England Patriots season|NWE]]
| 3 || 0 || 2 || 2 || 0 || 0.0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
! [[2007 NFL season|2007]] !! [[2007 New England Patriots season|NWE]]
| '''16''' || 3 || 37 || 32 || '''5''' || 0.0 || 1 || '''3''' || '''52''' || 0 || '''31''' || 7 || '''1''' || 1 || 15 || '''1'''
|-
! [[2008 NFL season|2008]] !! [[2008 New Orleans Saints season|NOR]]
| 14 || '''13''' || '''53''' || '''49''' || 4 || '''1.0''' || '''3''' || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || '''15''' || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
! [[2009 NFL season|2009]] !! [[2009 New Orleans Saints season|NOR]]
| 14 || 7 || 37 || 32 || '''5''' || '''1.0''' || 2 || 1 || 25 || 0 || 25 || 5 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
! [[2010 NFL season|2010]] !! [[2010 New Orleans Saints season|NOR]]
| 4 || 0 || 5 || 3 || 2 || 0.0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
! colspan="2"| !! 71 !! 34 !! 180 !! 157 !! 23 !! 2.0 !! 7 !! 6 !! 100 !! 0 !! 31 !! 34 !! 1 !! 3 !! 56 !! 2
|}

===Playoffs===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
!rowspan="2"| Year
!rowspan="2"| Team
!colspan="2"| Games
!colspan="5"| Tackles
!colspan="5"| Interceptions
!colspan="4"| Fumbles
|-
! GP !! GS !! Cmb !! Solo !! Ast !! Sck !! TFL !! Int !! Yds !! TD !! Lng !! PD !! FF !! FR !! Yds !! TD
|-
! [[2004 NFL season|2004]] !! [[2004 New England Patriots season|NWE]]
| '''3''' || '''3''' || 7 || 5 || '''2''' || 0.0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
! [[2007 NFL season|2007]] !! [[2007 New England Patriots season|NWE]]
| '''3''' || 1 || 8 || 7 || 1 || 0.0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || '''2''' || 1 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
! [[2009 NFL season|2009]] !! [[2009 New Orleans Saints season|NOR]]
| '''3''' || 1 || '''17''' || '''17''' || 0 || 0.0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || '''2''' || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
! colspan="2"| !! 9 !! 5 !! 32 !! 29 !! 3 !! 0.0 !! 0 !! 0 !! 0 !! 0 !! 0 !! 2 !! 3 !! 0 !! 0 !! 0
|}

==Personal life==
* Gay majored in marketing at [[Louisiana State University|LSU]].
* Gay played both cornerback and safety, as he did against the [[Indianapolis Colts]] in [[2005 New England Patriots season|2005]].
* After [[Super Bowl XXXIX]], one of Gay's college professors attempted to order a replica jersey of her former student. The [[NFL Shop]] denied her request because the word "Gay" was on a blacklist of words considered related to drugs, sex, or gangs.<ref>{{cite web | last=Duncan | first=Jeff | title=NFL objected to selling jerseys to 'Gay' fans | website=SFGATE | date=2005-03-04 | url=https://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/NFL-objected-to-selling-jerseys-to-Gay-fans-2725936.php | access-date=2025-05-18}}</ref> After the incident was reported in the press, "Gay" was removed from the banned name list because it is the actual name of an NFL player.<ref>Michael O'Keeffe, [http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/sports/gay-nfl-league-jerseys-article-1.562920 "'Gay' now OK with NFL but league allows little else on jerseys"], ''[[New York Daily News]]'', March 4, 2005.</ref>
* Randall and his wife, Desha, have two sons.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.neworleanssaints.com/team/roster/Randall-Gay/7152bfd0-4d2a-4019-86a7-c35695e54031|title=New Orleans Saints: Randall Gay|website=neworleanssaints.com}}</ref>  After Gay's retirement, he and Desha decided to go to law school together. In 2015, they both graduated from [[Southern University Law Center]] in Baton Rouge.<ref>Mark Ballard, [http://theadvocate.com/news/opinion/12319043-125/former-lsu-saints-player-randall "Former LSU, Saints player Randall Gay among the graduates from Southern Law Center"], ''[[The Advocate (Louisiana)|The Advocate]]'', May 10, 2015.</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071009133536/http://www.patriots.com/team/index.cfm?ac=playerbio&bio=28564 New England Patriots bio]
* [http://neworleanssaints.com/Team/Roster/People/Randall%20Gay.aspx New Orleans Saints bio]

{{2003 LSU Tigers football navbox}}
{{Super Bowl XXXIX}}
{{Super Bowl XLIV}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gay, Randall}}
[[Category:1982 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Baton Rouge, Louisiana]]
[[Category:People from West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana]]
[[Category:American football cornerbacks]]
[[Category:LSU Tigers football players]]
[[Category:New England Patriots players]]
[[Category:New Orleans Saints players]]