Ten years ago, the Jets took Jerricho Cotchery in the fourth round of the NFL Draft, fulfilling his dream of playing pro football. Now, Cotchery is trying to help others achieve the same goal.
Cotchery, who played seven seasons for the Jets and has spent the past three with the Steelers, is working as an instructor at TEST Football Academy in Martinsville, N.J., helping draft prospects prepare for next month’s combine and their individual workouts after that.
“I’ve always enjoyed that part of it, the teaching part and helping someone develop,” the 31-year-old Cotchery said. “I just always enjoyed that part of it. When this opportunity came about, I definitely wanted to be a part of it because this is something I enjoy doing.”
Cotchery became a fan favorite with the Jets, but asked for his release before the 2011 season. The Jets complied and Cotchery went to PIttsburgh. He had been a role player in his first two seasons there, but this past year he had a career-high 10 touchdowns and had his most receptions (46) and receiving yards (602) since 2009.
“I had an opportunity to play a lot more this year with Mike Wallace going down to Miami,” Cotchery said. “I was able to move back into my natural position in the slot, and I was able to play a little bit more and had some opportunities to make plays and by the grace of God I made those plays. It was a lot of fun to make some plays for the offense and for us to turn it around in the second half of the season and play well as an offense. We had a lot of young guys that stepped up. That’s given the organization reason to be excited for the future.”
The question now is whether Cotchery will be a part of that future. He will be a free agent in March. Cotchery said he has not yet thought about free agency. The Jets desperately need help at wide receiver, but likely won’t go after Cotchery because they are trying to get younger at the position.
The Jets have struggled at wide receiver since Cotchery left in 2011, and it was the weakest position on the team last year.
“They had some unfortunate stuff happen to them, especially with [Santonio Holmes] getting hurt,” Cotchery said. “That hurt them a lot because he had great chemistry with [Mark] Sanchez [in 2010]. You could tell he was never completely healthy this year. [Jeremy] Kerley being hurt this year, I think overall they were a healthy team, but I think the injuries at wide receiver cost them a little bit on offense.”
Cotchery, who kept his family in New Jersey even after he went to the Steelers, said he still follows the Jets closely and was thrilled the team was able to finish strong and save coach Rex Ryan’s job.
Now, Cotchery is spending his days working on drills with the college wide receivers, tight ends and running backs they will see at the combine and preparing them for the questions they’ll face in interviews with team executives.
“Jerricho brings a unique combination of a current NFL pro’s perspective as well as being an athlete who has been through the TEST Football Academy system,” TEST CEO Kevin Dunn said. “We are blessed to have him on our staff.”
The prospects Cotchery is working with include LSU wide receiver Kadron Boone, Boston College tight end Mike Naples and Fordham running back Carlton Koonce.
Cotchery hopes his experiences from the past 10 years can help these players play alongside or against him next year.
“What I wanted to do now is offer the wisdom and knowledge I have about the process and try to help these guys be as prepared as they can before the combine and interviews that come up,” Cotchery said. “I just want them to have great comfort level where they’re able to let their skill set take over when they work out and let their personality come out when they’re interviewing.”