Terrell Owens

Terrell Eldorado Owens (born December 7, 1973), nicknamed "T.O.", is an American former football wide receiver who played 15 seasons in the National Football League (NFL).

Regarded as one of the greatest wide receivers of all time, Owens ranks third in NFL history in career receiving yards and receiving touchdowns.

Owens played in the 1995 NCAA basketball tournament.

He became a starter during his sophomore year.

Owens caught 38 passes for 724 yards and eight touchdowns during his sophomore year, and 34 passes for 357 yards and three touchdowns during his junior year.

Having gained respect in the NCAA, Owens faced double coverage more frequently during his senior year, and was limited to 43 receptions for 667 yards and one touchdown.

After playing college football and basketball at Chattanooga, Owens was selected in the third round of the 1996 NFL draft by the San Francisco 49ers.

Because he played his college football at UT-Chattanooga, an FCS school that did not have a winning season during his time there, Owens' visibility to NFL scouts was lessened, and he dropped to the third round of the 1996 NFL draft, where the San Francisco 49ers drafted him 89th overall.

Owens played his first professional game against the New Orleans Saints, playing on special teams.

He caught his first two passes against the Carolina Panthers on September 22, 1996, for a total of six yards.

Owens caught his first touchdown on October 20 against the Cincinnati Bengals; a 45-yard pass from Steve Young.

After the 49ers' top receiver Jerry Rice suffered a torn ACL early in the 1997 NFL season, Owens took Rice's place in the lineup, beating out former 1st round pick J.J. Stokes for the job.

He helped the 49ers win 13 games that season, finishing with 936 receiving yards and eight touchdowns.

He scored his first postseason touchdown in a win over the Minnesota Vikings.

1998 saw Owens eclipse 1,000-yards for the first time in his career, catching 67 passes for 1,097 yards and 14 touchdowns.

In the Wildcard playoff game, the 49ers faced the Green Bay Packers who had beaten them five straight times, three of them playoff games.

Owens struggled, dropping a number of passes.

Despite this, Young kept throwing to Owens and he redeemed himself by catching the game-winning touchdown (immortalized by the impassioned game call of 49ers radio play-by-play announcer Joe Starkey) for a 30–27 comeback victory.

In 1999, Owens's production dropped after injury to Steve Young and Jeff Garcia was named the starting quarterback.

He finished the season with 60 catches for 754 yards and four touchdowns.

Owens had a record-breaking day on December 17, 2000, with 20 catches for 283 yards in a 17-0 win over the Chicago Bears.

His 20 receptions surpassed a 50-year-old mark held by Tom Fears (it has since been surpassed by Brandon Marshall).

Owens finished the year with 97 receptions for 1,451 yards and thirteen touchdowns.

Owens was a member of the team for seven seasons until he was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles in 2004.

Two years later, he signed with the Dallas Cowboys, where he spent three seasons.

Owens' NFL career subsequently concluded after one season each with the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals.

Owens previously held the single-season receptions record at Chattanooga until it was broken in 2007 by Alonzo Nix.

In his senior year, he anchored the school's 4 × 100 relay team at the NCAA championship.

He also participated in the Senior Bowl, a college all-star game played by college seniors, in preparation for the NFL Draft.

He also played for the Allen Wranglers of the Indoor Football League (IFL) in 2012 and returned to professional football in 2022 with Fan Controlled Football (FCF).

A six-time Pro Bowl and five-time first-team All-Pro selection, Owens also created a significant amount of controversy during his professional career and attracted attention for his flamboyant touchdown celebrations.

He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018, his third year of eligibility.

Owens was born to Marilyn Heard and her neighbor L.C. Russell in Alexander City, Alabama.

At 10 years old, he discovered his father's identity after liking his daughter, only to learn that she was his sister.

He grew up with three other siblings and was raised by his mother and grandmother.

He enjoyed watching football, especially his favorite player, Jerry Rice.

However, Owens' grandmother initially forbade him from playing sports until high school.

Owens attended Benjamin Russell High School, where he participated in football, baseball, track, and basketball.

Owens did not start on his high school football team until his junior year, when one of his teammates missed a game due to illness.

While enrolled at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Owens played basketball, football, and ran track.