Terance Paul Mathis (born June 7, 1967) is an American former

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

wide receiver in the NFL. Drafted in

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicist ...

by the New York Jets, he played the majority of his career with the Atlanta Falcons. He last played in the NFL in 2002 with the Pittsburgh Steelers, then retired after the conclusion of the 2002 season. Currently, he is second in career two-point conversions with six, behind Marshall Faulk's seven. On February 1, 2011, Mathis was named as the Offensive Coordinator at

Savannah State University ) , established = , closed = , type = Public historically black university , parent = University System of Georgia , academic_affiliation = Space-grant , endowment ...

. On May 3, 2017, Mathis was named as the Head Football Coach at Pinecrest Academy in

Cumming, Georgia Cumming is a city in Forsyth County, Georgia, United States, and the sole incorporated area in the county. It is a suburban city, and part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. In the 2020 census, the population is 7,318, up from 5,430 in 2010. Su ...

Family

Mathis grew up as the son of Carole Mahone, his father died when he was six months old. His mother is also a

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a r ...

survivor, having beaten the disease two months before Mathis played in

Super Bowl XXXIII Super Bowl XXXIII was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos (who were also defending their Super Bowl XXXII championship) and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Atlan ...

. He and his wife Arnedia have a daughter named Terae and a son Terance Jr. Terance also has three other children Sydney, Erik, and Vanessa who just appeared in the Cherish music video "Unappreciated".

High School & College

Mathis attended Redan High School in Stone Mountain, GA, and

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25,400 ...

, where he played both football and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

. In 1989, he became New Mexico's first consensus All-American after setting a Division I record for most receiving yards. He also became the first player to have more than 250 receptions, 4,000 receiving yards, and 6,000 yards total.

NFL

After Mathis was drafted by the Jets in 1990, he was used as a punt and kick returner. He had 43 kickoff returns for 787 yards, including one touchdown. He also had 19 receptions for 245 yards that season. The following year, he played in all sixteen games for the Jets, starting one. He had 28 receptions for 329 yards and one touchdown. He led the team in kickoff returns, piling up 599 yards. Mathis played with the Jets until 1994, starting two more games and scoring four touchdowns total. In 1994, Mathis signed as an

unrestricted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is ...

with the Atlanta Falcons. That season, he set a club record by catching 111 passes, becoming the eighth player in the history of the NFL to exceed the 100-catch mark in one season. He also ranked in third in the NFL that season in touchdown receptions. He played on the NFC

squad at the end of the season. He had his second consecutive 1000-yard season the following year despite missing the only two games of his career due to an injury. In 1996, Mathis caught for 771 yards to give him a career total of 3,000 yards. In 1998, Mathis made his first post-season appearance for the Falcons, and made a three-yard touch down catch for the Falcons in

. He also led the team in receptions in that game, making seven for eighty-five yards. The following season, he passed

Andre Rison Andre Previn Rison (born March 18, 1967) is a former American football wide receiver who played professionally for the National Football League's Indianapolis Colts, Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns, Jacksonville Jaguars, Green Bay Packers ...

as the club's all-time reception leader. Two years later, he passed Rison on the team's all-time touchdown list. After the season, he was released from the Falcons, and signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He did not start a game, but had two touchdown receptions and 218 receiving yards. After Pittsburgh chose not to re-sign him, he retired from the NFL. He is third in Falcons history in touchdown receptions (57), after runner-up

Julio Jones Quintorris Lopez "Julio" Jones Jr. (; born February 8, 1989) is an American football wide receiver for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Alabama, and was drafted by the Atlanta Falco ...

(60; 2011–2020), and first place Roddy White (63; 2005–2015); and third in receiving yards (7,349), behind runner-up White (10,863), and first place Jones (12,896).

Charity

Mathis was selected as the Atlanta Falcons' "Man of the Year" in 1998 for his accomplishments on and off the field. In 1996, he founded the "Terance Loves Children" foundation, now known as the Terance Mathis Foundation.

NASCAR

In June 2005, Mathis announced the formation of his own

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...

team, Victory Motorsports, with

Carl Long James Carlyle "Carl" Long (born September 20, 1967) is an American professional stock car racing driver, mechanic, and team owner. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 66 Toyota Supra for MBM Motorsports. In t ...

and Morty Buckles as scheduled drivers. Established Cup team Morgan-McClure Motorsports (which received support and engines from Hendrick Motorsports) would provide technical support for the new No. 04 Chevrolet. Mathis and the 34-year-old Buckles ambitiously planned 20 Cup races and a dozen ARCA races for 2006, but the deal never fully materialized. In June 2006, it had been announced Mathis had acquired R&J Racing, but that deal fell through. In February 2013, he was named Vice President of Marketing for part-time

Sprint Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. ...

team Leavine Family Racing.

References

External links

Pittsburghsteelers.com bioNFL.com statsFalcon's Mathis using Super Bowl week to make impact.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mathis, Terance 1967 births Living people All-American college football players American football wide receivers Atlanta Falcons players NASCAR team owners National Conference Pro Bowl players New Mexico Lobos football players New York Jets players Pittsburgh Steelers players Players of American football from Detroit