Ricky Nattiel

Ricky Rennard Nattiel ( ; born January 25, 1966), nicknamed "Ricky the Rocket", is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for six seasons with the Denver Broncos in the National Football League (NFL) during the 1980s and 1990s. Nattiel played college football for the Florida Gators before playing professionally for the Broncos.

Early life

Nattiel was born in Gainesville, Florida in 1966. He attended Newberry High School in nearby Newberry, Florida, where he was the quarterback for the Newberry Panthers high school football team. During his senior season in 1982, Nattiel led his Panthers to a 9–1 regular season and two state playoff victories, before the Panthers lost in the Florida Class 2A state semifinal game. Nattiel also played basketball and ran track for the Panthers, and was recognized as an all-county athlete in both.

College career

Nattiel accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, where he was a wide receiver for coach Charley Pell and coach Galen Hall's Florida Gators football teams from 1983 to 1986. Notwithstanding his high school background as a quarterback, he was recruited as a defensive back and possibly as a wide receiver, but necessity his freshman year in 1983 forced the coaches' choice. When senior Gators receiver Dwayne 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. Nattiel finished his college career with 117 receptions for 2,086 yards and eighteen touchdowns; he also had 589 yards in punt returns. In one of a series of articles written for The Gainesville Sun in 2006, the Sun sports editors recognized him as the No. 46 all-time greatest Gator of the first 100 years of Florida football.

Professional career

The Denver Broncos chose Nattiel in the first round (27th overall pick) of the 1987 NFL draft. He played for the Broncos in six NFL seasons from to , including eight playoff games and two Super Bowls. His rookie season, he had 31 receptions for 630 yards, setting a franchise rookie record of 20.3 yards per catch. His second 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 quarterback John Elway against the Washington Redskins on the Broncos' first play from scrimmage in Super Bowl XXII. Nattiel and fellow Broncos wide receivers Vance Johnson and Mark Jackson all played together from to and were nicknamed "The Three Amigos." He finished his six-year NFL career with 121 receptions for 1,972 yards and eight touchdowns. was formerly the junior varsity coach and wide receivers coach of the Trinity Catholic High School Celtics football team in Ocala, Florida. 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.