WATCH: Former Cowboys star Terrell Owens representing alma mater in March Madness
March Madness is in full swing the past few days and the 2022 NCAA Tournament first round games are being played at several different locations across the country. The Chattanooga Moccasins are in the tournament as a No. 13 seed and they are currently giving the No. 4 seed Illinois Fighting Illini problems. The Mocs currently lead the game 16-6 with 11:49 remaining in the first half. One of their famous alums is in attendance, Hall-of-Fame wide receiver Terrell Owens.
Watch below as the all-time Chattanooga great gets the crowd fired up during the game.
If there was ever such a thing as building a wide receiver in a lab, Terrell Owens was it. Not only did he put up incredible numbers during his Hall-of-Fame career, but he was one of the most physically shredded athletes in the history of the sport, too.
University of Tennessee Chattanooga stats
Owens played multiple sports while attending the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, including basketball, football, and running track. He even played in the 1995 NCAA Basketball Tournament. On the football team, Owens caught 38 passes for 724 yards and eight touchdowns during his sophomore season. His junior year, he hauled in 34 catches for 357 yards and three touchdowns. His single-season receptions record at Chattanooga was broken in 2007 by Alonzo Nix. During Owens’ senior year, he anchored the school’s 4 x 100 meter relay team at the NCAA championship.
Owens had a Hall-of-Fame NFL career
Terrell Owens was one of the most dominant receivers in NFL history and he’s got the stats to back that up. During his prolific career, he pulled in 1,078 catches for 15,934 receiving yards, while bringing in 153 touchdowns. His yardage total ranked second all-time and his touchdown reception total was the third most in NFL history at the time he decided to hang his cleats up.
Perhaps the most iconic performance of his career was without a doubt, his nine-catch, 122-yard performance for the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX. Seven weeks before the Super Bowl against the New England Patriots, Owens broke his leg and tore a ligament in his right ankle. The injury required surgery and his doctor wouldn’t clear him to play in the game. It was incredible that he was even able to set foot on that football field during the Super Bowl. Not only did he play, he delivered a performance for the ages, playing 62 of 72 offensive snaps.
The Eagles lost the game 24-21, but the legendary performance from Owens cemented his legacy as not only one of the greatest to ever to play the game, but certainly one of the toughest, as well.