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 . College career . 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 . < nowiki > * < / nowiki > school record < nowiki > * * < / nowiki > vacated from school record books Source : Hakeem Nicks - Career Statistics , " North Carolina Tar Heels " , 2009 Professional career . 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 . 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 . 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 . " 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 . 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 .