R.J. Mickens: S · Clemson · #9.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
R.J. Mickens
Hits like a linebacker and still takes the ball away. Fifth year in the same secondary at Clemson. One game to point at: 10 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss against Pittsburgh — Week 12, 2024.
Play style
Hits like a linebacker and still takes the ball away.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
68 tackles. 7 passes defended. 2 interceptions. 5.5 TFL.
Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
TigerNet Oct 31
Heavy Oct 29
The Clemson Insider Oct 28Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Game log · Week-by-week
2024 season · 11 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 3-34vs No. 1 Georgia | 5 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 | |
| Wk 4 | W 59-35vs NC State | 7 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 40-14vs Stanford | 10 | 3 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 10 tackles |
| Wk 6 | W 29-13@ Florida State | 5 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 49-14@ Wake Forest | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | W 48-31vs Virginia | 5 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | L 21-33vs Louisville | 4 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | W 24-14@ Virginia Tech | 5 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 2 | |
| Wk 12 | W 24-20@ Pittsburgh | 10 | 8 | 2.5 | 0.0 | — | 1 | 2.5 TFL |
| Wk 14 | L 14-17vs No. 16 South Carolina | 6 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Bowl | L 24-38@ No. 4 Texas | 8 | 5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Total | 68 | 40 | 5.5 | 0.0 | 2 | 7 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
10%7 pass breakupsInterceptions
2interceptionsTackle volume
68tackles this seasonTFL rate
8%6 TFL68 tackles · 5.5 for loss · 7 pass breakups · 2 interceptions.
5 seasons under Dabo Swinney — 50-16 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2024 season · 11 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 6.4 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| Road5g | 6.2 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 0.8 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 6.3 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 6.0 | 0.9 | 0.0 | 0.8 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Dabo Swinney
Pass share
53.0%
527 pass / 467 run
Plays / game
71.0
14 games
Team sack rate
4.2%
565 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2024
68 tackles in 11 games, more tackles a game than most FBS defensive backs who play every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Former four-star. Now #45 at the position.
How it ended
Five seasons at Clemson, 173 tackles — drafted at #214 overall by the Los Angeles Chargers.
Four or fewer games in the first season, then ten or more.
Coaching lineage · 2020–2024
1 coachPlayed every college season under Dabo Swinney.
Next stop · NFL
Los Angeles ChargersEntering 2nd NFL season
Los Angeles ChargersEntering 2nd NFL season
