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| No. 85, 84 | |||||||||
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| Position: | Tight end | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | (1962-10-24)October 24, 1962 (age 62) Martin, South Dakota, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 234 lb (106 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Gothenburg (Gothenburg, Nebraska) | ||||||||
| College: | Wyoming (1982–1984) | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1985: 6th round, 158th pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Jay McKinley Novacek (born October 24, 1962) is an American former professionalfootballtight end who played in theNational Football League (NFL) for theSt. Louis /Phoenix Cardinals (1985–1989) and theDallas Cowboys (1990–1995). He playedcollege football for theWyoming Cowboys and was selected by the Cardinals in the sixth round of the1985 NFL draft. Novacek was a five-timePro Bowler, who was selected to play each year from 1991 through 1995. He was inducted into theCollege Football Hall of Fame in 2008.
Born inMartin, South Dakota, Novacek attendedGothenburg High School in centralNebraska,[1] where he was a two-year starter atquarterback and a three-sport athlete.
In 1980, he set the state record in thepole vault at 15 ft 1 in (4.60 m) and also won the state titles in that event andhurdles. He was an All-state football andbasketball player. His jersey is the only one retired in school history.[2]
Novacek was inducted into the Nebraska High School Sports Hall of Fame in 1996.[3]
Novacek accepted a scholarship from theUniversity of Wyoming inLaramie and started his college football career as asplit end. The next year, he was moved totight end.[4]
He had few opportunities to prove his true worth in head coachAl Kincaid's run-orientedwishbone offense, where the team usually threw around 18 passes per game.
In 1984, Novacek posted 33 receptions for 745 yards, 4touchdowns and set anNCAA single-season record for average per reception (22.6 yards) by a tight end. He was selected to the honorable-mentionAll-American football team and to theWestern Athletic Conference (WAC) first-team.[5] He finished his college career with 83 career receptions for 1,536 yards and 10touchdowns.[6]
Novacek also competed intrack and field for theCowboys. He won the WACdecathlon championship and placed fourth in the NCAA championships, earningAll-American honors in track. He set the school record fordecathlon points (7,615) and in thepole vault jump (16 ft 4 in (4.98 m)).[7] He competed in the1984 Olympic trials as a decathlete.[8]
In 2008, he was inducted into theCollege Football Hall of Fame.[9] In 1993, he was inducted into the inaugural class of the University of Wyoming Athletics Hall of Fame.[10] In 2014, he was inducted into theTexas Cowboy Hall of Fame.[11]
Novacek wasselected in the sixth round (158th overall) of the1985 NFL draft by theSt. Louis Cardinals.[12] He was also selected by theHouston Gamblers in the fifth round (69th overall) of the1985 USFL Draft. As a rookie, he was awide receiver and played mainly onspecial teams.[13]
In1986, he was moved to tight end, but was placed on theinjured reserve list on August 19.[14] He was activated on October 17,[15] but was placed again on theinjured reserve list on December 10.
In1987, he began the season as the starter at tight end, until suffering a broken elbow against theNew York Giants on October 25. After rookieRob Awalt had a break-out game against thePhiladelphia Eagles,[16] Novacek was placed on theinjured reserve list on November 2.[17] He finished the season with 20 receptions for 254 yards and 3touchdowns, producing just 2 receptions in his first two seasons and only 22 after three years.
In1988, the Cardinals franchise moved to Phoenix and even though Awalt remained the starter attight end, Novacek still ranked third on the team with 569 receiving yards and 4 receivingtouchdowns. The next year withGary Hogeboom instead ofNeil Lomax as the team's startingquarterback, his production fell to 23 receptions for 225 yards and onetouchdown.
In1990,Joe Bugel was hired as the newhead coach, who looked for thetight end position to be either a blocker or performH-back type functions. Novacek was not seen as a good fit for the new system and was left unprotected—eligible to sign with any team underPlan B free agency.
In1990, theDallas Cowboys signed Novacek as aPlan B free agent, arguably the best signing in the history of this program.[18] He was named the starter at tight end, even though the Cowboys also acquired Awalt to compete for the position. He would go on to have a break-out season, becoming one of the league's top receiving tight ends, while registering 59 receptions for 657 yards and 4touchdowns.
He was a key contributor for the offense in the early 1990s, especially on third downs where he could find the soft spot in the defense. Beginning in1991, he played in five straightPro Bowls, while helping the Cowboys make the playoffs each year and winning theSuper Bowl three times in four seasons. Although blocking was not his strength, he did a solid job locking up opponents.
In1992, he was named anAll-Pro after leading all tight ends with 68 receptions for 630 receiving yards and 6 touchdowns.
In1995, he posted his second-highest single-season total for receptions (62) and touchdowns (5), to go along with a career-high in receiving yards (705). He underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee to repair a partial tear of his medial meniscus before the last game of the season,[19] but still helped beat thePittsburgh Steelers inSuper Bowl XXX.
In1996, although he missed the regular season because of a degenerative disc in his back, the Cowboys decided not to put him on injured reserve, in the hope he could be ready for the playoffs. On January 3,1997, he was placed on theinjured reserve list.[20] On July 15, he officially retired from theNFL after his chronic lower-back problems cut short his career.[18]
In his 11 seasons, Novacek recorded 422 receptions for 4,630 yards (ninth in team history) and 30touchdowns, with most of his production coming from1990 to1995.[21] He also came up big in the post-season, ranking third in franchise playoff history in receptions (62), receiving yards (645) and touchdown receptions (6).
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Won theSuper Bowl | |
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | Fumbles | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Fum | Lost | ||
| 1985 | STL | 16 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1986 | STL | 8 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1987 | STL | 7 | 4 | 20 | 254 | 12.7 | 25 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| 1988 | PHO | 16 | 1 | 38 | 569 | 15.0 | 42 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 1989 | PHO | 16 | 1 | 23 | 225 | 9.8 | 30 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1990 | DAL | 16 | 15 | 59 | 657 | 11.1 | 41 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| 1991 | DAL | 16 | 12 | 59 | 664 | 11.3 | 49 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
| 1992 | DAL | 16 | 16 | 68 | 630 | 9.3 | 34 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 1993 | DAL | 16 | 16 | 44 | 445 | 10.1 | 30 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 1994 | DAL | 16 | 14 | 47 | 475 | 10.1 | 27 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1995 | DAL | 15 | 15 | 62 | 705 | 11.4 | 33 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 158 | 94 | 422 | 4,630 | 11.0 | 49 | 30 | 8 | 4 | |
| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | Fumbles | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Fum | Lost | ||
| 1991 | DAL | 2 | 2 | 5 | 58 | 11.6 | 25 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1992 | DAL | 3 | 3 | 13 | 136 | 10.5 | 23 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1993 | DAL | 3 | 3 | 15 | 142 | 9.5 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1994 | DAL | 2 | 2 | 16 | 176 | 11.0 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1995 | DAL | 3 | 3 | 13 | 133 | 10.2 | 25 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 158 | 94 | 62 | 645 | 10.4 | 25 | 6 | 0 | 0 | |