North Carolina State University Athletics
Jerricho Cotchery Honored as 2021 ACC Legend
11/9/2021 10:00:00 AM | Football
RALEIGH, N.C. - Former Wolfpack and NFL standout wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery will be honored as NC State's 2021 ACC Legend. Cotchery and the rest of this year's Legends Class will be honored on Friday, Dec. 3 at the ACC Football Honors
Event at the Blumenthal Arts Center's Booth Playhouse. He will also be recognized during the on-field pregame festivities at the Subway ACC Football Championship Game the following night.
Cotchery finished his career as the leading receiver in NC State history*, breaking the mark set by Torry Holt between 1995-98. Cotchery tallied 200 career receptions, while his yardage total and TD reception marks rank second only to Holt (3,119 yards and 21 TDs).
At the time, Cotchery and FSU's Peter Warrick are the only two receivers in ACC history to record 200 career receptions and 3,000 career receiving yards. His reception total now ranks 23rd in league history while his receiving yards mark is 9th. He is still tied for third in ACC history with 15 100-yard receiving games (an NC State record).
He played in 49 games for the Wolfpack, catching a pass in 39 consecutive games to set a school record.
Cotchery, who earned his degree in sport management, was a fourth-round pick of the New York Jets in the 2004 NFL Draft, Cotchery played six seasons with the Jets as a wide receiver and special teams specialist.
In 2006 as a starter for the Jets, he had 82 regular season catches (tied for 16th in the NFL) and 961 yards (twenty-second). In 2007, he led the in receptions (82), yards (1,130), receiving touchdowns (2) and yards-per-catch average (13.8)
He spent the 2011 and 2012 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers and then finished his career by playing two seasons with the Carolina Panthers (2014-15), where he competed in Super Bowl 50. He played in 175 NFL games, starting 89, tallying 524 receptions for 6,623 yards and 34 touchdowns.
From 2017-20, he served as an assistant coach for the Panthers.
Cotchery graduated from Phillips High School in Birmingham, where he played wide receiver and defensive back and was named to the all-state team after his junior and senior years. He lettered in football and basketball in all four years of high school.
*Cotchery's record was broken in 2017 by Jaylen Samuels and then in 2021 by Emeka Emezie (fifth year).
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