The way Jerricho Cotchery sees it, he owes Philip Rivers one.
Cotchery, the Jets receiver, and Rivers, the Chargers quarterback, starred together at North Carolina State and also were high school rivals growing up in Alabama.
The two meet again on Sunday in San Diego when the Jets play the Chargers in the AFC divisional playoff game.
“It is a little weird, because we’re very familiar with each other and the chemistry we had at N.C. State was unbelievable,” Cotchery said yesterday. “I still owe him from high school, though, because he knocked me out in the second round of the playoffs my senior year, and that still hurts. I still remember that and I’m sure he still remembers that as well. I’m trying to get some payback for that.”
Indeed, Rivers’ Athens High defeated Cotchery’s Phillips High in football. Rivers, who played quarterback and safety, actually picked off a pass intended for Cotchery in that game.
Cotchery did have some success against Rivers when the two played high school basketball together; Cotchery shut down Rivers in the postseason in his junior year.
On Sunday, he’d like to see his Jets defense do that again.
At N.C. State, Cotchery caught 21 of Rivers’ 95 career touchdown passes.
“Me and Philip still talk on a regular basis; I spoke to him [Sunday] when he congratulated me on our win. We wished each other both well.”
Rivers, in an interview last year, said of Cotchery, “He was the go-to guy my whole time [at N.C. State] and one of my all-time favorite teammates and guys.”
With a number of Jets players coming out with criticism of their former head coach, Eric Mangini, Cotchery and Nick Mangold had complimentary words for Mangini.
“I enjoyed playing for Mangini, and a lot of other guys did, too,” Cotchery said. “You had only a few guys that didn’t like it.”
Said Mangold, “The biggest difference between [Rex Ryan and Mangini] is Rex wearing his emotions and intensity on his sleeves, whereas Eric kept most of that inside. Both are amazingly smart people and coaches and good guys to be around.”