Florida A&M's Nunnally Closes Gap on Jerry Rice
Senior Rattler Receiver Now At 280; Rice Dead Ahead At 301

By ALVIN HOLLINS, SID
Contact: (850) 599-3200 or famusportsinfo@aol.com

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Florida A&M's star receiver Jacquay Nunnally continued his chase of his boyhood idol - future NFL Hall of Famer Jerry Rice - Saturday, making eight (8) catches for a modest 70 yards.

For a youngster who led NCAA Division 1-AA in receiving in 1998 (93 regular season catches for over 1,300 yards) that might seem a pittance.

For a talented youngster, armed with the confidence of a Top Gun pilot, that might seem like an off day.

But for the Miami-born Jacquay Nunnally, Saturday was just eight catches closer to the top of the NCAA Division One and 1-AA receiving charts, where the mercurial Jerry Rice (of Mississippi Valley State fame, 1981-84) sits as king with a daunting 301 career grabs.

Nunnally, now has 280 regular season catches (the NCAA does not count postseason - Nunnally has 39 more of those in the 1-AA playoffs since 1997) putting him second all-time in Division 1-AA behind Rice.

The former Edison High School all-stater, who nearly went to crosstown Florida State as a defensive back, is the state's most prolific receiver with those aforementioned 280 grabs, having long ago outdistanced the likes of FSU's Ron Sellers (212), Cincinnati Bengal rookie Peter Warrick (207) and Kez McCorvey (187), with nary at Florida Gator or even a Miami Hurricane in sight at all.

Nunnally has four (4) games remaining in the regular season - a season which started with such promise at 5-0, but thanks to injuries and an stagnant offense which has lost its' former 40-point per game output, dropping the Rattlers to 5-2.

Still, the two-time Division 1-AA All-America boosted his 2000 season numbers to 58 receptions for 666 yards and five (5) TDs, leaving him 21 shy of the biggest catch of his career - Jerry Rice.

What Nunnally has accomplished in his career - 280 catches, 3,823 yards, 34 TDs - is even more amazing when you consider he has caught passes from six (6) different starting quarterbacks, unlike his idol Rice, whose battery mate Willie Totten was his main man during his illustrious collegiate Hall of Fame career.

How does Nunnally feel about actually catching Rice in the statistics game? "If I am able to reach that record, I'll like to think that I was able to play on his level as well."

FAMU travels to Norfolk, Va. this Saturday to face Norfolk State at 12 noon on HTS, NUE-TV, Sunshine Network and DirectTV.

The Rattlers' remaining schedule has them at home (Oct. 28) for homecoming against Hampton (Va.) University (3:00); at Southern University in Baton Rouge, La. (Nov. 4 - 6:30 p.m. CST) and facing archrival Bethune-Cookman (Nov. 18) in the Florida Classic at Citrus Bowl Stadium (4:00).

Front Page

Newsroom Index