| No. 84, 81 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Wide receiver | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | (1966-01-25)January 25, 1966 (age 59) Gainesville, Florida, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||||||||
| Weight | 180 lb (82 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Newberry(Newberry, Florida) | ||||||||
| College | Florida | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 1987: 1st round, 27th overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| |||||||||
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Ricky Rennard Nattiel (/nɑːˈtiːl/nah-TEEL;[2] born January 25, 1966), nicknamed "Ricky the Rocket", is an American former professionalfootball player who was awide receiver for six seasons with theDenver Broncos in theNational Football League (NFL) during the 1980s and 1990s. Nattiel playedcollege football for theFlorida Gators before playing professionally for the Broncos.
Nattiel was born inGainesville, Florida in 1966.[3] He attendedNewberry High School in nearby Newberry, Florida,[4] where he was thequarterback for the Newberry Panthers high school football team.[5] During his senior season in 1982, Nattiel led his Panthers to a 9–1 regular season and two state playoff victories,[6] before the Panthers lost in the Florida Class 2A state semifinal game.[7] Nattiel also playedbasketball and rantrack for the Panthers, and was recognized as an all-county athlete in both.[8]
Nattiel accepted an athletic scholarship to attend theUniversity of Florida in Gainesville, where he was a wide receiver for coachCharley Pell and coachGalen Hall'sFlorida Gators football teams from1983 to1986.[9] Notwithstanding his high school background as a quarterback, he was recruited as adefensive back and possibly as a wide receiver, but necessity his freshman year in 1983 forced the coaches' choice.[10] When senior Gators receiverDwayne Dixon was hobbled halfway through the season, Nattiel started in his place and established his own reputation as a future star receiver to be watched.[10] Nattiel was a key target of Gators quarterbackKerwin Bell during the1984 and1985 seasons, when the Gators posted identical 9–1–1 overall win–loss records and led theSoutheastern Conference (SEC) with best-in-the-conference records of 5–0–1 and 5–1. Memorably, he dashed ninety-six yards on a touchdown pass from Bell in the Gators' 27–0 victory over the rivalGeorgia Bulldogs in 1984, contributing to his nickname, "Ricky the Rocket."[11] Nattiel finished his college career with 117receptions for 2,086 yards and eighteen touchdowns; he also had 589 yards inpunt returns.[9] He was a team captain, a first-team All-SEC selection and a second-teamAll-American in 1986, and received the Gators'Fergie Ferguson Award as the senior who most displayed "outstanding leadership, courage and character."[9]
Nattiel was recognized by the SEC Academic Honor Roll in 1984 and 1986.[9] He graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree in public health in 1987, and he was inducted into theUniversity of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 1998.[12][13] In one of a series of articles written forThe Gainesville Sun in 2006, theSun sports editors recognized him as the No. 46 all-time greatest Gator of the first 100 years of Florida football.[14]
The Denver Broncos chose Nattiel in the first round (27th overall pick) of the1987 NFL draft.[15] He played for the Broncos in six NFL seasons from1987 to1992,[16] including eight playoff games and twoSuper Bowls. His rookie season, he had 31 receptions for 630 yards, setting a franchise rookie record of 20.3 yards per catch.[17] Hissecond year, he upped his receptions to 46, and was the Broncos primary punt returner for 972 all purpose yards. His numbers decreased after that. One of the highlights of his professional career was catching a 56-yard touchdown pass from quarterbackJohn Elway against theWashington Redskins on the Broncos' first play from scrimmage inSuper Bowl XXII.[18] Nattiel and fellow Broncos wide receiversVance Johnson andMark Jackson all played together from1987 to1992 and were nicknamed "The Three Amigos."[19] He finished his six-year NFL career with 121 receptions for 1,972 yards and eight touchdowns.[3]
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 1987 | DEN | 12 | 3 | 31 | 630 | 20.3 | 54 | 2 |
| 1988 | DEN | 15 | 11 | 46 | 574 | 12.5 | 74 | 1 |
| 1989 | DEN | 8 | 0 | 10 | 183 | 18.3 | 43 | 1 |
| 1990 | DEN | 15 | 3 | 18 | 297 | 16.5 | 52 | 2 |
| 1991 | DEN | 16 | 0 | 16 | 288 | 18.0 | 70 | 2 |
| 1992 | DEN | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 70 | 17 | 121 | 1,972 | 16.3 | 74 | 8 | ||
| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 1987 | DEN | 3 | 2 | 8 | 171 | 21.4 | 56 | 2 |
| 1989 | DEN | 3 | 0 | 2 | 43 | 21.5 | 28 | 0 |
| 1991 | DEN | 2 | 0 | 3 | 37 | 12.3 | 23 | 0 |
| 8 | 2 | 13 | 251 | 19.3 | 56 | 2 | ||
Nattiel, who isBaptist,[20] was formerly the junior varsity coach and wide receivers coach of theTrinity Catholic High School Celtics football team inOcala, Florida.[21] When former Celtics head coach Kerwin Bell resigned in 2007, Nattiel became the head coach of the Celtics for a single season, leading them to a 7–5 record and a berth in the Florida State 2B regional playoffs.[21]
