The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/790572
88 ■ THE WOLFPACKER Mike O'Cain in 1997. When O'Cain was let go after the 1999 season, Pate stayed on during athletics director Les Robinson's lengthy search to help smooth the transition to the Wolfpack's next coach. That's when Pate made two of his big- gest contributions to the Wolfpack pro- gram: keeping quarterback Philip Riv- ers and recruiting wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery, two players from Alabama that he had recruited for O'Cain. It didn't hurt that Pate's wife, Leslie, had graduated from Athens High School where Philip's dad, Steve, was the head coach and where Philip played most of his high school career. Joe Pate and Steve Riv- ers had coached against each other in the 1970s, when they both were in Decatur, Ala., and remained friendly foes after that. Philip had been sold on NC State by at- tending O'Cain's summer football camp, and having Pate on staff before Chuck Amato was hired in January 2000 certainly made the Rivers family feel better about sending the young quarterback to Raleigh midway through his senior year of high school. Pate is perhaps even more proud of sign- ing Cotchery, a little-known recruit that Amato had only passing interest in, from Birmingham. Cotchery and Rivers had played against each other in high school and AAU basketball tournaments, and Steve Rivers gave his full endorsement to the overlooked receiver. "Steve told me that Jerricho was a lot like the guys Florida State had," Pate re- membered, "and that was a big selling point for me." Rivers and Cotchery became football's Fire and Ice, record-setting players who were perfect complements to each other. Rivers left NC State after four years and 51 consecutive starts as the ACC's all-time leading passer, while Cotchery broke Torry Holt's career reception record at NC State. Both were taken in the 2004 NFL draft and have played more than a dozen years in the league. (Cotchery retired after going to the 2016 Super Bowl with the Carolina Panthers, while Rivers remains the starting quarterback for the formerly San Diego and now Los Angeles Chargers.) Pate has taken great pride in watching Cotchery mature from a shy, introverted athlete into an outspoken advocate for adoption, which he did as the keynote speaker at a recent fundraiser for Raleigh's Methodist Home for Children. Cotchery and his wife, Mercedes, have adopted five children since 2007. "One of the highlights of all my years of coaching was recruiting Jerricho and get- ting to know his family," Pate said. "When Zebulon Dentistry supports the pack! Mark S. Barrett, D.D.S. B. Kevin Collins, D.D.S. (Wolfpack Club member since 2007) Zebulon FaMily Dentistry 313 Hospital Rd. Zebulon, NC 27597 Phone (919) 269-9698 Fax (919) 269-9778