NFL alumnus Terance Mathis will be the first offensive player from New Mexico State University to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame during ceremonies in Las Vegas on December 5.
As proud as he is to represent his college alma mater in the Hall of Fame, his collegiate career did not have a real strong start.
“During my first semester at New Mexico State,” Mathis recalls, “I was really homesick, and I used to call my mom in Georgia collect almost every day. After a while, she finally said: ‘Stop calling me collect. You’re wasting my money. Get it together and grow up.’”
Fortunately, for all concerned, young Terance did “grow up” and his collegiate football career blossomed. The Detroit native who grew up in Stone Mountain (GA) is the only player in his school’s history with at least 250 receptions, 4,000 receiving yards, and 6,000 all-purpose yards. Those are not bad statistics for a player whom many college coaches on the recruiting trail believed would be a good fit at defensive back.
“I think New Mexico was where I was supposed to be,” Mathis said recently. “I received letters when I was in high school from a lot of colleges around the country. A lot of them looked at me as a defensive back. I didn’t see myself playing in the SEC at that time at my size as a defensive back, especially when all through high school I had been as offensive guy.”
While NFL statistics are not a factor in any player’s College Hall of Fame selection, Mathis’ stats are impressive, nonetheless. During his 13-year career with the Jets, Falcons and Steelers, he had 689 receptions, for 8,800 yards and 63 touchdowns.
“I’ve said it many times,” says the 56-year-old Mathis. “I couldn’t have earned this Hall of Fame selection by myself. There have been so many people in my life—family-wise, friends-wise, teammates-wise. My teammates were phenomenal. They made sure I played at a high level. Moreover, I felt like I owed them to play at a high level because they expected it from me.”
We at NFL Alumni are proud of Terance Mathis who now lives in Atlanta. He has given back to his Georgia community by coaching young men in both high school and college. He is very much worthy of his College Football Hall of Fame recognition.
