Jerry Rice Quotes

“There are a lot of young players here right now, and these guys are going to eventually learn as they go. Next year we can't use that as an excuse that we had so many young players on the team.”

— Jerry Rice

“I think the thing about that was I was always willing to work; I was not the fastest or biggest player but I was determined to be the best football player I could be on the football field and I think I was able to accomplish that through hard work.”

— Jerry Rice

“I'm really looking forward to the Hall of Fame ceremonies. It's going to be unbelievable - just crazy. I'm looking forward to thanking all the fans for inspiring me to go out there and play my best football each and every game.”

— Jerry Rice

“To me it was never about what I accomplished on the football field, it was about the way I played the game.”

— Jerry Rice

“I've grown over the years and I know how to adapt to situations, where I can go into a situation where there's a crowd of people and just take over. But pretty much I'm off to myself. And I'm totally committed to the game of football. That's why I've had so much success.”

— Jerry Rice

“You know, I never looked down the road and said, 'Hey look, one day, the Hall of Fame.' It's always about playing each and every game 100 percent and I thank my teammates for getting me into the Hall because football is a team sport, not an individual sport.”

— Jerry Rice

“I was just a small boy from Mississippi, and now little kids are going to identify with me through this game.”

— Jerry Rice

Like I said, repetition in practice and hard work.

— Jerry Rice

“I think I just went into a system that was willing to utilize me and gave me opportunities and I felt fortunate to be able to go to Oakland and put the silver and black on. I wanted to prove to everybody that I could still play.”

— Jerry Rice

My work ethic came from my parents and my fear of failure. I came from a small, predominantly black school and I didn't want to let them down.

— Jerry Rice

“Monday Night Football. That was everything to me because you get a chance to show everybody what you're capable of. It's only two teams on that Monday night.”

— Jerry Rice

“I just want the same thing Joe Montana got when he was MVP. He got respect. He got commercials. He got everything.”

— Jerry Rice

“People would look at me weird. You know, like, 'Why is this guy's hands always in his pockets?' But I was embarrassed by the size of my hands.”

— Jerry Rice

“If I should get selected into the Hall of Fame, I'd be able to say 'thank you' to all the legends that are in the Hall of Fame. And also say thank you to my teammates, and also to all the fans. It's going to be like a dream come true.”

— Jerry Rice

“I think what people might not really know about me is that I'm really a shy individual.”

— Jerry Rice

“I went out there to play my game for the fun of it and never based my career around records.”

— Jerry Rice

“I'm used to performing under pressure, but that's playing football.”

— Jerry Rice

“There is still a lot of football in me and I enjoy watching the players go out there and be the best players they can possibly be.”

— Jerry Rice

“Defensive backs are the best players on the field. But when you get an exceptional player like a Deion Sanders or a Darrell Green - these guys are fast and they have very good technique. You have to work a little harder.”

— Jerry Rice

I think it was fantastic being in the 49ers Hall of Fame.

— Jerry Rice

“Montana and I had a chemistry that was unbelievable. When I first came into the league he told me I added five years to his career, and I just think we complimented each other very well and were able to do some amazing things out on the football field.”

— Jerry Rice

“My agent said, 'Jerry, Dancing With the Stars - they want you on there.' I said, 'Ain't no way. I'm not going to do that.' Then he came back to me again, and he kept putting pressure on me. I said, 'All right, I'll give it a try.'”

— Jerry Rice

“Today I will do what others won't, so tomorrow I can accomplish what others can't.”

— Jerry Rice

I think my secret is that there's no shortcuts for hard work, determination and having that don't give up attitude.

— Jerry Rice

I had that hunger, that desire, to be successful and I wasn't going to let anything stand in my way.

— Jerry Rice

“The Enemy of the best is the good. If you're always settling with what's good, you'll never be the best.”

— Jerry Rice

“Once you get your education it's going to open up so many doors for you. And the sky's the limit. So that's what I want to deliver to students.”

— Jerry Rice

“The chemistry between a quarterback and a receiver is almost like a dance.”

— Jerry Rice

I think with my hands, it was catching a lot of footballs and working with my father during the summer because he would always make me. My father was a bricklayer so I was a helper. My job was to make sure that he had bricks to lay.

— Jerry Rice

“They never clocked me on my way to the end zone. They never caught me because I ran scared.”

— Jerry Rice

“I have been blessed with a long and healthy career as a professional athlete and as I move forward into the next stage of my life, chiropractic care will continue to be an important part of my game.”

— Jerry Rice

“I want to do a good job. I'm just learning and I just want to have fun with it.”

— Jerry Rice

“After I got disciplined I got introduced to football and then after that everything just took off for me. I had a lot of role models: the teachers, the coaches. Watching them give so much to so many students so they can be successful in life basically just ingrained in me that I think it's more gratifying for me to give back and than just to receive.”

— Jerry Rice

“I do a lot of running, and I do it every day. I run on a track, I run hills and I work the stair-stepper extremely hard. I do some type of cardio every day. In addition, I have a passion for golf, and that helps me stay fit, too.”

— Jerry Rice

The game of life requires the edge that chiropractic care provides,

— Jerry Rice

“I was always in search of a perfect game and I never got it.”

— Jerry Rice

I could barely speak after I was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers. I was going to play for the defending Super Bowl champions ... I immediately thought of all the great players on the team. I was in awe, as I had watched these soon-to-be legends play on television. They epitomized for me what football was all about: the love of the game, the professional approach, and the desire to win.

— Jerry Rice

“As a fan, you want to be able to go to a football game, you want to feel secure, you want to be able to just watch the game, root for your team, and that's the way it should be.”

— Jerry Rice

“I played the game for 20 years, and I think that kept me on the football field, being adjusted. Getting hit so many times, being all out of whack, and going in to see my chiropractor kept me back on the football field.”

— Jerry Rice

“I want people to know if they have any hurting in their back, or any tingling or anything like that, go see a chiropractor and help yourself feel better about your body and take some of that pain away.”

— Jerry Rice

“Most injuries require chiropractic care. It works better for me than anything else.”

— Jerry Rice

“I used to help out my father, a bricklayer, in the summer. I'd catch the bricks (that were dropped). And it made me strong, catching those bricks. I wouldn't change anything about it. That's why I'm where I am today. Really.”

— Jerry Rice

“The absolute worst thing a receiver can do is worry about not catching the ball or about getting hit.”

— Jerry Rice

“I feel like I'm the best, but you're not going to get me to say that.”

— Jerry Rice

“Chiropractic was the key to keeping me in the game.”

— Jerry Rice

“When you begin to lose the fire a little bit and if you're not giving 100 percent out there, then it's time for you to leave because you'll end up getting hurt - I want to be able to walk away on top.”

— Jerry Rice

“The same thing I applied to football, I applied to trying to be an actor and hopefully it came off well.”

— Jerry Rice

“My first experience with football was not very good because I didn't plan on playing football. I was just playing hookie one day and I was a sophomore and decided not to go to class. And the principal - normally he does his rounds and I thought I had him down pretty good where he was going to be - he sort of walked up behind me and scared me. He noticed I could run real fast. So that's how I got introduced to football.”

— Jerry Rice

“I had to work hard and hit the books because the opportunity to play in the NFL is not really that big, so I knew I needed something to fall back on. That's the message I want to send to those kids when I talk to them in person and let them know the most important thing is getting your education.”

— Jerry Rice

Coming from the South, I just felt you had to work just a little bit harder. It was not going to be handed to you. I'd get the letters from all the major schools but no one came out to talk to me face to face until this small, dominant black school, Mississippi State Valley University sent a coach out to me. I had a chance to talk to him and he said, 'Hey Jerry, we're going to be doing some great things at Mississippi Valley State University and we would love to have you there.'

— Jerry Rice