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Don't be against Raymond

Brown University product gets a chance to show his stuff in opener vs. Browns

Wednesday, August 06, 2008

HEMPSTEAD, L.I. -- Jets rookie wide receiver Paul Raymond was born in Haiti. He moved to the United States when he was 14 months old and was raised by his mother in the drug-infested neighborhood of Liberty City in Miami.

Somehow, he escaped the pitfalls of the inner city and found his way to Brown University, where he earned a degree in Business Economics and graduated with a 3.5 GPA. Armed with an Ivy League education, Raymond had what appeared to be an easy path to the American Dream.

So, what does he do? He bypasses a possible career on Wall Street to sign with the Jets as an undrafted rookie free agent.

"No. 1, I love football more than anything," he said, smiling. "I'd rather be doing this than sitting in an office. Two, the economy isn't that great right now so it may not be as easy to get a job these days."

Raymond, 5-foot-10, 170 pounds, will get his big chance tomorrow night in the Jets' preseason opener at Cleveland. He'll not only be battling the Browns but the stigma that comes with coming from an Ivy League school.

"I've felt it (the stigma) a little. I'm short and I come from the Ivy League," he said. "But once I did a couple of things on the field I starting feeling a lot more comfortable."

Raymond (1,800 yards and eight TDs on 116 receptions at Brown) is facing tough competition at wide receiver, but he has beaten the odds before.