North Carolina State University Athletics
Tony Haynes: `Bama Boys Ready to Ride Off Into Sunset
12/17/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Dec. 17, 2003
By Tony Haynes
They can remember it like it was yesterday: a high school basketball battle between Philip Rivers' Athens team and Birmingham's Phillips High School featuring Jerricho Cotchery. As the story goes, Rivers was on fire before Phillips' defensive specialist - Cotchery - cooled him off. Rivals then, little did they know that they would later make-up one of the most lethal passing combinations in ACC football history. When NC State battles Kansas in the Mazda Tangerine Bowl next Monday, it will truly be the end of an era, the last time - more than likely - that Rivers will be throwing passes to Cotchery.
In scooping up just about all of the ACC's major passing records during a brilliant college career, Rivers - and deservedly so - has been the driving force behind most of the national attention the NC State football program has received over the last four years. Perhaps overshadowed to a certain degree, Cotchery has quietly gone about his business without much fanfare, putting up big-time numbers that rival those of some of the top receivers in college football.
Labeled "Old Reliable" by Wolfpack coach Chuck Amato during a sophomore campaign in which he made 41 receptions for 483 yards and four touchdowns, Cotchery moved beyond that moderate moniker the last two seasons, making a total of 140 catches for 2,390 yards and 16 touchdowns.
Everyone knows about Torry Holt, the former NC State receiver who is probably the best pass-catcher in the NFL right now. Incredibly, however, Cotchery will eclipse Holt's school record for career catches with just five grabs in the Tangerine Bowl.
Yet, even though he's been named first-team All-ACC two years in a row, there's the unjust perception that Cotchery is nothing more than a 'Steady-Eddie,' a possession receiver who makes tough catches in traffic, but doesn't really scare the daylights out of opposing defenses.
Those who have played against him would probably disagree.
While an admirer of more celebrated receivers like Larry Fitzgerald of Pittsburgh, Southern Cal's Mike Williams and Roy Williams of Texas, the modest Cotchery now knows he doesn't have to take a backseat to anyone.
"As a competitor, you're watching on TV and people on Sportscenter go crazy over a catch and I'll say 'I could make that catch.'" Cotchery said. "I feel like I'm as good as any receiver in the nation. Unfortunately, those people have been winning more games. Phil could have won a lot more awards if we could have helped him win more games."
The reality is that Cotchery did all he could to help Rivers, and Rivers did everything within his power to make NC State a better team and a stronger program. But football is indeed a team sport and no two players, no matter how good they are, can control every bounce, every penalty and every injury.
We all know that Rivers slipped to 7th in the Heisman race only because his team finished 7-5. But perhaps he should be judged another way.
"Take Philip Rivers off this football team the last four years and you might cut the wins in half...and that's being conservative," Amato said.
Rivers has been more than just an MVP; he's been a model representative of his university and a great teammate who has always placed team goals ahead of his own personal aspirations. And his amazing partnership with Cotchery has produced big plays and thrills that Pack fans will remember for a lifetime.
It should also be noted that NC State's 'Alabama Connection' clicked in the biggest games and on the brightest stages. Just ask traditional powerhouses Notre Dame, Ohio State and Florida State, who saw Rivers and Cotchery shred their proud defenses to the tune of 24 completions for 306 yards and five touchdowns over the last 12 months.
Now it comes down to this: the second leading passer in NCAA history will get a chance to play pitch and catch with his favorite target one more time. One more time for Rivers to make a slight gesture or eye contact and Cotchery will no exactly what he means; one more time for a scrambling Rivers to throw to an area of the field, knowing that Cotchery will adjust his route in order to meet the ball before it hits the ground.
Then, when the Florida Citrus Bowl clock hits zero sometime Monday night, it will be over.
"I can't imagine myself having a better relationship with a quarterback than I've had with Phil," Cotchery said. "It's going to be crazy to know that it's going to be your last game and the last time you'll be able to walk off the field with your quarterback. They'll have to drag me off the field because I'll probably be hanging on to his ankles."
They'll both be hanging on to some great memories and they'll remember them as if they happened just yesterday. Just like the memory of that night on the basketball court deep in the heart of Alabama.
