INDIANAPOLIS — Jets coach Aaron Glenn is here at the NFL Scouting Combine getting to know the players in this year’s draft.
But there’s one player here who Glenn has known since the day he was born — Clemson safety R.J. Mickens.
Mickens is the son of Ray Mickens, who played with Glenn at Texas A&M and then with the Jets.
The two former cornerbacks remain close, and now Mickens’ son is projected as a Day 3 pick in this year’s draft.
Could he end up with the Jets and Glenn?
“That would be really cool to play for the Jets, just knowing that [my dad] played there,” R.J. Mickens said Thursday. “That city is a great city, a great fan base and just a great organization. It would be really cool.”
Mickens said he had not met with the team yet when he spoke to reporters Thursday, but if he does, Glenn won’t have to do much digging to get to know him.
“He’s a really genuine person,” Mickens said of Glenn. “He’s a great role model and a great leader, a great man. He’s really special, and he’s going to do great things there.
“I was just so excited to see him get that job. That’s huge for him and his family. We kind of grew up with their family. My dad obviously played with him, so that’s just a great relationship.”
Fans of the Jets in the late ’90s watched Glenn and Mickens star in the defensive backfield under coach Bill Parcells and defensive coordinator Bill Belichick.
They younger Mickens said he has not seen a lot of his father’s game film.
“I don’t watch a lot of film of him. It’s kind of hard to get it,” he joked.
Ray Mickens spent eight of his 10 NFL seasons with the Jets after they took him in the third round in 1996.
“My dad’s helped me so much,” R.J. Mickens said. “Just being a former DB, knowing how DBs think, teaching me defensive schematics, everything’s just been huge and being able to tap into that resource whenever I want has been amazing.”