Background and career
Raymond Louis Buchanan (born September 29, 1971), nicknamed "Big Play Ray," is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected in the third round of the 1993 NFL draft by the Indianapolis Colts with the 65th overall pick. Buchanan later played for seven seasons with the Atlanta Falcons, appearing in Super Bowl XXXIII, and one season with the Oakland Raiders. He played college football for the Louisville Cardinals.
Ray Buchanan attended Proviso East High School in Maywood, Illinois, where he was a four-year letterman in football as a wide receiver, running back and safety. As a senior, Buchanan won Illinois state championships in two track and field events, the long jump and the triple jump.
As a freshman, Buchanan arrived at the University of Louisville expecting to continue to play running back and wide receiver, but reluctantly switched to defensive back. He played all four seasons under head coach Howard Schnellenberger. During his sophomore season, Buchanan helped Louisville finish the 1990 season with a 10–1–1 record where they went on to defeat Alabama 34–7 in the 1991 Fiesta Bowl. Buchanan was voted the Fiesta Bowl Defensive MVP. His best statistical season in college was as a junior in 1991, collecting a career-high 108 combined tackles (66 solo) and eight interceptions to earn an All-American honorable mention. During his senior season, he was named Second-Team All-American in 1992, amassing 95 combined tackles (55 solo), four interceptions, and 10 pass breakups.
He was considered as one of the top defensive backs in the 1993 NFL Draft, but drew slight concerns over his lack of size. According to the Chicago Tribune, the teams that showed the most serious interest into Buchanan were the Atlanta Falcons, Seattle Seahawks, Dallas Cowboys, and Washington Redskins. NFL draft analysts projected Buchanan to be a late first to early to mid second-round pick in the 1993 NFL Draft.
The Indianapolis Colts selected Buchanan in the third round (65th overall) of the 1993 NFL draft. The Colts traded their third- (73rd overall) and fifth-round picks (127th overall) in the 1993 NFL Draft to the Los Angeles Rams in return for the third-round pick (65th overall) they used to immediately select Buchanan. He was the eighth cornerback drafted in 1993. On July 26, 1993, the Colts signed Buchanan to a three–year, $660,000 rookie contract that included a signing bonus of $285,000. On September 5, 1993, Buchanan made his professional regular season debut in the Indianapolis Colts' home-opener against the Miami Dolphins and recorded one solo tackle as they lost 20–24. On October 31, 1993, Buchanan made one solo tackle, a pass deflection, and had his first career interception off a pass thrown by Scott Secules as they defeated the New England Patriots 6–9. Head coach Ted Marchibroda named Buchanan the starting free safety entering Week 14, replacing John Baylor. On December 5, 1993, Buchanan earned his first career start and recorded five combined tackles (four solo), set a season-high with two pass deflections, and intercepted a pass attempt by Boomer Esiason during a 9–6 win at the New York Jets. In Week 16, he set a season-high with 13 combined tackles (10 solo), had one pass deflection, and intercepted a pass by Bubby Brister during a 20–10 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. He finished his rookie season with 59 combined tackles (45 solo), seven pass deflections, and four interceptions in 16 games and five starts.
On January 8, 1994, the Indianapolis Colts hired Bill Tobin as general manager. Defensive coordinator Rick Venturi would be fired three days later and replaced by Vince Tobin. Head coach Ted Marchibroda planned to move Buchanan back to cornerback after he transitioned to free safety to replace starter John Baylor, but opted to cancel the plan after starting strong safety Jason Belser exercised a holdout and refused to attend training camp until his contract was resolved. He subsequently retained Buchanan as the starting free safety to begin the season and paired him with Jason Belser. On September 4, 1994, Buchanan started in the Colts' home-opener against the Houston Oilers and recorded three combined tackles (two solo), one pass deflection, and intercepted a pass by Cody Carlson as they won 21–45. In Week 3, Buchanan set a season-high with 13 combined tackles (seven solo) and made two pass deflections during a 21–31 loss at the Pittsburgh Steelers. On November 6, 1994, Buchanan recorded eight combined tackles (seven solo), a pass deflection, and returned an interception for the first touchdown of his career during a 21–22 upset loss at the Miami Dolphins. With 7:41 remaining in the fourth quarter as the Colts led 14–12, Buchanan intercepted a pass Dan Marino attempted to throw to wide receiver Mark Ingram and returned it 28–yards for a touchdown to lead 21–12 after the PAT. Marino would lead a 10-point, fourth-quarter comeback to lead the Dolphins to a 21–22 win against the Colts. Entering Week 12, defensive coordinator Vince Tobin moved Buchanan from starting free safety to starting cornerback after demoting Damon Watts. Watts became the starter after replacing Ashley Ambrose after the first three games. Buchanan remained a starting cornerback for the last five games, with David Tate taking over at free safety, and had the most successful run of his career. In Week 12, Buchanan earned his first start as a cornerback and recorded four solo tackles, three pass deflections, and sealed the Colts' 17–13 victory at the Cincinnati Bengals by intercepting a pass by Jeff Blake to wide receiver Darnay Holmes in the endzone with less than 30 seconds remaining in the game. On December 4, 1994, Buchanan made nine combined tackles (eight solo), one pass deflection, one sack, had his second pick-six of the season, and sealed the Colts' victory by recovering an onside kick attempt by John Kasay with 4:10 remaining in their 31–19 win at the Seattle Seahawks. His pick-six occurred after he intercepted a pass by Rick Mirer to wide receiver Kelvin Martin and returned it 37 yards for a touchdown and he also recorded his first career sack on Dan McGwire for a six–yard loss. On December 11, 1994, Buchanan made seven combined tackles (five solo), three pass deflections, set a season-high with two interceptions on passes thrown by Drew Bledsoe, and returned an interception on a pass Bledsoe threw to wide receiver Michael Timpson for a 90–yard touchdown during a 13–28 loss at the New England Patriots. This marked his sixth interception in the last five consecutive games. In Week 17, he recorded nine combined tackles (seven solo), set a season-high with four pass deflections, and picked off a pass Frank Reich attempted to throw to wide receiver Andre Reed as the Colts defeated the Buffalo Bills 9–10. He started all 16 games throughout the 1994 NFL season and set a career-high with 100 combined tackles (76 solo), 23 pass deflections, eight interceptions, and three touchdowns. He also recorded a fumble recovery and one sack.
