Tee Higgins

Tamaurice William "Tee" Higgins (born January 18, 1999) is an American football wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Clemson, where he won the 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship as a sophomore, and was selected by the Bengals with the first pick in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft.

Tee Higgins
refer to caption
Higgins with the Bengals in 2020
No. 5 – Cincinnati Bengals
Position:Wide receiver
Personal information
Born: (1999-01-18) January 18, 1999
Oak Ridge, Tennessee, U.S.
Height:6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:219 lb (99 kg)
Career information
High school:Oak Ridge (Oak Ridge)
College:Clemson (2017–2019)
NFL Draft:2020 / Round: 2 / Pick: 33
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 6, 2023
Receptions:229
Receiving yards:3,177
Receiving touchdowns:21
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Early years

Higgins attended Oak Ridge High School in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.[1] As a senior, he had 68 receptions for 1,044 yards and 18 touchdowns.[2] A five star recruit, Higgins originally committed to the University of Tennessee to play college football before changing to Clemson University.[3]

Higgins also played basketball in high school and was offered scholarships to play college basketball by numerous schools.[4]

College career

As a freshman at Clemson in 2017, Higgins played in 13 games and had 17 receptions for 345 yards and two touchdowns.[5][6][7]

Higgins entered his sophomore season in 2018 as a starter.[8] In the College Football Playoff National Championship, he had three receptions for 81 yards in the 44–16 victory over Alabama.[9] He finished with 59 receptions for 936 receiving yards and 12 receiving touchdowns.[10]

In his junior season, Higgins had 1,167 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns as his team finished with a 14–1 record, making it all the way to the National Championship, which Clemson lost to LSU by a score of 42–25. Higgins had a 36-yard rushing touchdown and caught 3 passes for 52 yards in the game.[11][12] Higgins decided to forgo his final year of eligibility and declare for the 2020 NFL Draft.[13]

College statistics
Season GP Receiving Rushing
RecYdsAvgTDAttYdsAvgTD
2017 71734520.32000.00
2018 155993615.912000.00
2019 15591,16719.81313636.01
Career371352,44818.12713636.01

Professional career
Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeightArm lengthHand span40-yard dash10-yard split20-yard split20-yard shuttleVertical jumpBroad jumpWonderlic
6 ft 3+5⁄8 in
(1.92 m)		 216 lb
(98 kg)		 34+1⁄8 in
(0.87 m)		 9+1⁄4 in
(0.23 m)		4.59 s1.66 s2.72 s4.53 s31.0 in
(0.79 m)		10 ft 3 in
(3.12 m)		11
All values from NFL Combine/Pro Day[14][15][16]

In the 2020 NFL Draft, Higgins was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the second round with the 33rd overall pick.[17] On July 28, 2020, Higgins signed his rookie deal, a four-year contract worth $8.6 million.[18]

2020
See also: 2020 Cincinnati Bengals season

Higgins made his NFL debut in Week 1 of the 2020 season against the Los Angeles Chargers.[19] In Week 2, he recorded his first three professional receptions for 35 yards against the Cleveland Browns on Thursday Night Football.[20] In Week 3, against the Philadelphia Eagles, Higgins had five receptions for 40 yards and his first two professional receiving touchdowns in the 23–23 tie.[21] In Week 6 against the Indianapolis Colts, he had six receptions for 125 receiving yards in the 31–27 loss.[22] In Week 10 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, he had seven receptions for 115 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown during the 36–10 loss.[23]

Higgins finished his rookie season with 67 receptions for 908 yards and six receiving touchdowns.[24] His 67 catches tied a Bengals rookie record set by Cris Collinsworth in 1981.[25] The record would end up being broken the following year by rookie wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase, with 81 receptions.[26] His 908 receiving yards ranked him third among all rookie receivers in 2020.[27]

2021
See also: 2021 Cincinnati Bengals season

In Week 12, against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Higgins had six receptions for 114 receiving yards and a touchdown in the 41–10 victory.[28] In the following game, he had nine receptions for 138 yards and a touchdown in the 41–22 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.[29] In Week 16, against the Baltimore Ravens, he had 12 receptions for 194 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns in the 41–21 victory.[30] Higgins finished the 2021 regular season with 74 receptions for 1,091 yards and six receiving touchdowns in 14 games played, improving upon his rookie season.[31] In the Divisional Round against the Tennessee Titans, Higgins recorded 7 receptions for 96 yards in the 19–16 win.[32] In the AFC Championship Game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Higgins caught six passes for 103 yards, leading the Bengals in receiving yards in the 27–24 overtime win to advance to Super Bowl LVI.[33]

In Super Bowl LVI, Higgins scored the Bengals' first touchdown of the game, a 6-yard pass from Joe Mixon.[34] On the first play from scrimmage of the second half, Higgins scored a 75-yard touchdown pass, his second touchdown of the game.[35] Higgins finished the game catching four passes for 100 yards, the most receiving yards by a player on either team in the 23–20 loss.[36]

2022
See also: 2022 Cincinnati Bengals season

In Week 1 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Higgins left the game in the second quarter with a concussion.[37] In Week 4 against the Miami Dolphins, Higgins had seven receptions for 124 yards, including a touchdown.[38] In Week 11, against the Pittsburgh Steelers, he had nine receptions for 148 receiving yards in the 37–30 victory.[39] In the following game against the Tennessee Titans, he had seven receptions for 114 yards and a touchdown in the 20–16 victory.[40] In Week 16 against the New England Patriots, he had eight receptions for 128 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown in the 22–18 victory.[41]

In a Week 17 game against the Buffalo Bills, after making a catch near midfield, Higgins was tackled by Damar Hamlin. After the play, Hamlin stood up but immediately collapsed; it was later determined that the impact of the play caused commotio cordis. First responders initiated CPR and administered defibrillation on the field. The game was ultimately postponed and cancelled.[42][43][44] Higgins, distraught and guilt-ridden by his involvement in the play that caused Hamlin to collapse, kept in touch with the latter and his family as he recovered and exchanged prayers with them.[45] Following the incident, donations to a charity Higgins supported increased rapidly in support of Hamlin.[46][47][48]

Higgins finished the 2022 season with 74 receptions for 1,029 receiving yards and seven receiving touchdowns.[49] He had six receptions for 83 yards and a touchdown in the 23–20 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship.[50]

2023
See also: 2023 Cincinnati Bengals season

Higgins announced in September 2021 that he would be switching his jersey number from No. 85 back to No. 5, his old college number.[51] Higgins stated that he often saw on social media that many users were nicknaming him "Ochocinco 2.0" (in reference to former Bengals receiver Chad Johnson), with Higgins stating "I don't want to be a 2.0. [I want] to be Tee Higgins 1.0 and make a name for myself [in] this organization". However, he was unable to change his number in time for the 2022 season, instead with the change taking effect in 2023.[52]

In Week 2 against the Baltimore Ravens, Higgins would have a two-touchdown game, with 8 receptions for 89 yards in the 27–24 loss.

Higgins suffered a rib injury in Week 4 against the Tennessee Titans, and was ruled out for the remainder of that game, as well as the following week against the Arizona Cardinals.[53]

NFL career statistics
Legend
Bold Career high

Regular season
Year Team Games Receiving Rushing Fumbles
GPGSTgtRecYdsAvgLngTDAttYdsAvgLngTDFumLost
2020CIN 16141086790813.66765285.613011
2021CIN 1414110741,09114.7546—————11
2022CIN 1614109741,02913.9597—————00
2023 CIN 5 5 36 14 149 10.6 20 2 — — — — — 0 0
Career50463592273,15713.267215285.613022

Postseason
Year Team Games Receiving Fumbles
GPGSTgtRecYdsAvgLngTDFumLost
2021CIN 43301830917.275200
2022CIN 33211314811.427100
Career76513145714.775300

References
  1. Kreager, Tom (January 13, 2020). "Tee Higgins: 3 things to know about Clemson receiver before national championship". The Tennessean. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
  2. Keepfer, Scott (August 24, 2017). "Tee time: Clemson freshman receiver could have big impact". The Greenville News. Gannett. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  3. Thomas, Chris (July 4, 2016). "Tee Higgins commits to Clemson after naming Tennessee leader in May". Knoxville News Sentinel. Gannett. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  4. Raynor, Grace (March 29, 2018). "Choosing football over basketball, Clemson's Tee Higgins looking to take next step". The Post and Courier. Evening Post Industries. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  5. "Tee Higgins 2017 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  6. Louis-Jacques, Marcel (August 9, 2018). "Why Clemson WR Tee Higgins feels ready to take the next step this football season". The Anderson Independent-Mail. Gannett. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  7. Raynor, Grace (August 7, 2018). "Clemson's Tee Higgins transforms himself into key wide receiver". The Post and Courier. Evening Post Industries. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  8. Raynor, Grace (July 12, 2018). "Clemson football Top 10: Tee Higgins next elite wide receiver in line". The Post and Courier. Evening Post Industries. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  9. "College Football Championship – Clemson vs Alabama Box Score, January 7, 2019". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  10. "Tee Higgins 2018 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  11. "Tee Higgins 2019 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
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  13. Gordon, Grant (January 15, 2020). "Clemson WR Tee Higgins declares for 2020 draft". NFL.com. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
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