North Carolina State University Athletics
Cotchery Hopes to go from Catching to Coaching
7/28/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
July 29, 2003
By Tony Haynes
Raleigh, N.C.-Ask Jerricho Cotchery what he wants to do when his playing days are over at NC State and his answer might surprise you. Sure, the All-ACC receiver has NFL aspirations, but he's already pondering a life beyond football. Well, sort of. Actually, the rising senior from Birmingham, Alabama has been visualizing a career in coaching for as long as he can remember. Long before he emerged as one of the nation's most dangerous and reliable pass catchers, Cotchery was perfectly content with his dream of becoming a high school coach someday.
"I want to be a high school head coach or an assistant coach," Cotchery said recently. "I always wanted to coach. That's been one of my goals for a while. I'm trying to make sure I finish my degree next spring."
But Cotchery's coaching plans may be put on hold, especially if his production this season either matches or surpasses the numbers he put up last year. How can the NFL scouts and general managers not notice a guy who goes out and tallies 1,192 receiving yards on 67 catches as Cotchery did in 2002? Of all the great receivers that have played at NC State-and there have been quite a few-only Torry Holt has totaled more receptions or more yards in a single season.
And for those who question his overall speed, consider the fact that 71 of Cotchery's 114 career receptions have resulted in first downs and that 28 of those grabs have gone for 20 yards or more in just two full-time seasons.
There is almost a quiet consistency to Cotchery's game that has created the perception among some that he's neither flashy enough nor fast enough to be a big-time threat. The two major schools from his home state-Alabama and Auburn-showed spotty interest, even when a talented young player from their own backyard was catching 39 passes for 1,008 yards and 13 touchdowns in his senior year at Philips High School.
"Auburn was after me until the last week of the season," Cotchery recalls. "I went to the Alabama-Auburn game and I didn't get any attention. The coaches didn't even talk to me. I guess that was the cancellation of that relationship."
Others, like Alabama-Birmingham, Southern Mississippi and Middle Tennessee State, did stay in touch. But on that same afternoon that he received the cold shoulder from Auburn and Alabama, Cotchery met another young prospect that was also taking a visit that day. His name was Philip Rivers.
Little did they know at the time that they would later make up one of the most lethal quarterback-receiver tandems in all of college football.
"NC State was the first school to contact me," said Cotchery, whose initial recruitment was handled by former Wolfpack coach Mike O'Cain's staff. "They were there before Alabama, before Auburn, before any school. I started a relationship with coach [Joe] Pate and he helped get me here."
Rivers also credits Pate with maintaining his interest in NC State, even after O'Cain and his staff were relieved of their duties at the conclusion of the 1999 campaign. Luckily for the Wolfpack, Pate was one of the coaches that then athletics director Les Robinson retained to stay in touch with recruits while he continued his search for a new head coach. After keeping Rivers and Cotchery in the fold, Pate was later offered a staff position by Chuck Amato, the man Robinson pegged to succeed O'Cain.
The rest, they say, is history.
"Being underrated my whole life has motivated me a lot," said Cotchery, who has caught at least one pass in 27 consecutive games. "You try to take that hard working attitude and try to become the best player you can be."
In a move that has certainly been mutually beneficial to both parties, Cotchery's decision to join the Wolfpack has come at a great time. With Amato in charge, NC State appears to be on the verge of joining an elite group of schools that set a realistic goal of winning championships every year.
"Winning is what it's all about," said Cotchery, who has experienced 26 victories and two bowl triumphs during his NC State career. "In high school we had some terrible teams. I hadn't been on a lot of winning teams until I came here. When you start losing a lot, you can get that loser's mentality. Once I got that good feeling of winning here, I didn't want to lose anymore."
Perhaps it's no coincidence that he sounds just like a coach.
