North Carolina State University Athletics
Behind The Scenes With Tony Haynes
10/17/2001 12:00:00 AM | Pack Athletics
Oct. 17, 2001
By Tony Haynes
During the era that bridged the gap between Lou Gehrig's tragic fall and Joe Dimaggio's meteoric rise, the New York Yankees had an outfielder named Tommy Henrich. By no means was Henrich as talented or as famous as some of his high-profile teammates, but for a guy who finished with a career batting average of .282, he got a lot of mileage out of being reliable.
"Old Reliable" they called him in New York. In a city that splashed an inordinate amount of glorification on those who were extraordinary, Henrich became famous for his consistency, dependability and, of course, reliability.
Consistency, dependability and reliability. Those are the same words Jerricho Cotchery's NC State teammates and coaches always seem to use when talking about the Pack's sophomore receiver.
"He's kind of the sleeper of the bunch, he's not the one that was most talked about going into the season, but he's one that I knew about all along," said Wolfpack quarterback Philip Rivers. "He's a winner, he knows what to do, he makes good catches and he's smart. He has all those intangibles you like in a wide receiver. He's really starting to come on and become a big-play guy."
Cotchery isn't as quick as Torry Holt nor is he as big and fast as Koren Robinson. But lately, he sure has found a way to separate himself from opposing defensive backs who are supposed to be faster than he is. And those hands, those massive hands. When he makes a catch, Cotchery swallows up a football the same way a blue whale swallows a goldfish.
Division one receivers that don't run 4.4 seconds in the 40-yard dash always get stereotyped. They're either called possession receivers or overachievers. Yet in NC State's last two games, Jerricho Cotchery has been fast enough to make the same kind of huge plays that are normally reserved for those 4.4 guys. Remember the reverse that went for 34 yards at Wake Forest on October 6? And how about those two fade routes that went for touchdowns in the first quarter of last week's game against Clemson?
"He's sneaky fast," Rivers said. "If you line him up in the 40, he's probably not the guy who will be up front, but he can run. He's got game speed and he's a good route runner."
There are an awful lot of very fast people who can make your head spin when they're running in track shoes and shorts, but what can they do in football pads?
"The game is football, it's not a track meet," said NC State coach Chuck Amato. "I think that the media and the general public are now starting to realize what a dependable receiver he is. He's just a good football player that makes things happen. He's a blue-collar guy who comes to work and by the end of the day you look at his stats and say, 'holy smokes, look what he did.'"
Those statistics are starting to look pretty impressive. Cotchery has been on the receiving end of six of Rivers' last 14 passes of 20+ yards, including all three in the Pack's win over the Deacons. Cotchery, a 6-1, 195 pound sophomore from Birmingham, Alabama, now has 18 receptions for 248 yards this season.
Said Amato: "There's a coach that I worked with for many years who said 'the best ability is dependability.' "Number 82 (Cotchery) is dependable."
Dependable and reliable. Just like old reliable himself.
