GAFFNEY, S.C. – Head Coach Mike Furrey and the Limestone University football team have announced that former NFL wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery has joined the coaching staff and will mentor the team’s receiving corps. Cotchery was recently an assistant wide receivers coach with the Carolina Panthers.

Cotchery, a two-time All-ACC selection during his time at North Carolina State, played 12 seasons in the NFL with the New York Jets, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Carolina Panthers. He wrapped up a stellar career following Super Bowl 50 with the Panthers with 524 career receptions for 6,623 yards and 34 TDs.

“We definitely hit a homerun with Coach Cotchery joining our program,” said Furrey. “With his experience playing at such a high level, and the time he spent coaching on Ron Rivera’s staff with the Carolina Panthers, Jerricho has much to teach these young men about football and, more importantly, about life.”

Prior to joining the Saints, Cotchery spent three seasons as the assistant wide receivers coach with the Carolina Panthers. He was brought on Ron Rivera’s staff in 2017 and worked with a receiving corps that included Kelvin Benjamin, Devin Funchess, and Curtis Samuel while also working with Christian McCaffery and Greg Olson. The Panthers posted an 11-5 record that season, earning a wild card berth.

In 2018, Cotchery would help mentor Panthers rookie D.J. Moore who tallied 55 catches for 788 yards that season before exploding for 87 receptions for 1,175 yards and four touchdowns the following year.

Before trading his helmet for a headset, Cotchery was one of the elite receivers in the NFL during a 12-year career that spanned from his rookie season with the New York Jets in 2004 to Super Bowl 50 with the Carolina Panthers in 2015. During that span, he played in 175 career games while making 89 starts.

He started in 16 games in two seasons with the Panthers, recording 87 catches for 1,065 yards and four touchdowns from Cam Newton, but his best years came as a member of the New York Jets. Between 2006 and 2009, Cotchery would haul in at least 55 catches for over 800 yards in each of those four years. During the 2007 campaign, he registered career highs in both receptions (82) and yardage (1,130).

Cotchery signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2011 and set a career high with 10 touchdown receptions during the 2013 season. He made five postseason appearances – two with the Jets, one with the Steelers, and two with the Panthers – and played in both the AFC Championship Game (2009) and the NFC Championship Game (2015). He played in Super Bowl 50 while a member of the Carolina Panthers.

A 2004 fourth-round draft pick, Cotchery holds four postseason franchise records with the Jets, including playoff receptions (30), yards per reception in a playoff game (25), total return yards (294), and most 100-yard receiving games (2). He had 100 yards and a touchdown in a wildcard loss to the New England Patriots in 2006 and a 100-yard game in the 2009 AFC Championship Game at the Indianapolis Colts.

Cotchery was a standout at NC State, earning All-ACC honors in 2002 and 2003 following a pair of 1,000-yard seasons. He broke Torry Holt’s record in career receptions and 15 100-yard games while he and Holt are the only two receivers in Wolfpack history to record two seasons with over 1,000 yards. He finished his college career with 200 catches for 3,119 yards and 21 touchdown receptions over 48 games.

“I am very grateful and excited to be joining Coach Furrey’s excellent coaching staff here at Limestone University,” said Cotchery. “I share not only Coach Furrey’s passion for the game of football, but also in helping to develop young men.”

Cotchery graduated from NC State with a bachelor’s in Sport Management.