An Interview with Joe Horn
by Paul
Eide
Senior Writer
10/14/08
For a five
year period there was no wide receiver in the NFL that was more
productive than
Joe Horn. The only thing more amazing than Horn’s on field production
was his unlikely
path to the NFL which included not playing a down of football for two
years
after leaving college.
After
playing two years at tiny Itawamba
Community College
in Fulton, Mississippi,
Horn
found himself working at a
Bojangles restaurant in Fayetteville,
Mississippi
with no prospects of
playing football as a career. Down to the final $6 in his possession,
Horn
spent $3.99 on a Jerry Rice workout from a local Blockbuster and
studied the
drills and moves Rice performed in the film. Horn then made a highlight
video
of himself working out and sent the tape to multiple professional teams
across America and Canada.
One
response Horn received was from the Memphis Mad Dogs of the CFL who
offered him
a contract after viewing the tape and in his first year accumulated
1,414 yards
on 71 catches. From there Horn signed with the Kansas City Chiefs where
he
spent four years primarily as a special teams player though the six TDs
he
caught in his final year with the team hinted toward what was to come.
Horn signed
with the New Orleans Saints in 2000 and immediately surpassed their
expectations ranking in the top ten in receptions (7th),
yards (8th)
and touchdowns (9th) that year. Even though he came out of
nowhere
and produced immediately, Horn was no “one year wonder”. From 2000 to
2004 he
averaged 87 receptions, 1,257 yards and 9 touchdowns per season and
became the
Saints all time leading receiver. Horn made the Pro Bowl in four
consecutive
years from 2001-2004 is currently ranked 45th in NFL history
in
receptions with 603.
Are you surprised you’re
not on
another team yet?
“Yes
but my
agent really handles that so I’m not sitting here worrying about it. I
worked
out with the Titans and had a great workout down there but in this
league you
never know. I’m having fun right now with my kids, staying in shape and
playing
golf.”
What do you think of how
well the
Falcons have done so far?
“They’re
making strides and Im happy for them because Im still friends with a
lot of
those guys. I ate dinner with Roddy White recently who was kind of down
on his
performance so he called me and we met for dinner and talked. I love
all those
guys to death. I just didn’t think it was the right place for me as
they’re
looking to get younger and rebuild.”
Is it true that your
football career
basically started because of a highlight tape you made yourself?
“Yes
that
is true. I bought the highlight film and I respect Jerry Rice to the
utmost. I love
Jerry Rice as a player and his work ethic. When I got the tape it was
the last
little money I had. I watched it and grew from it.”
You are the classic
underdog. What
was the key in going from not even playing football to becoming an
All-Pro?
“Staying
prayerful, man. Staying in shape and wanting to win, having a desire to
win.
That’s what I did and everything worked out well for me.”
How often do you get
asked about
your famous cell phone touchdown celebration?
“Mostly
everywhere I go. And it’s fine, I had fun with that. That’s what was
“in” at
the time, the endzone celebrations. And I told my kids I was going to
call them,
so I did! It’s a fun conversation to have with people who love the game
and atmosphere
of the NFL.”
When you broke into the
league it
took a wide receiver multiple years to get acclimated to the pro game.
Now we
have rookies like DeSean Jackson and Eddie Royal making immediate
contributions. Has the game changed that much?
“It
depends
on offensive coordinator and head coach. Some coaches are going to
bring some
guys along slow and some guys are going to throw them in the fire. It
can be a
money issue too. You’re a first round pick or you’re coming in making a
lot of
money and you get thrown into the fire right away. I’m proud of those
guys.”
What do you think about
going full
circle and rejoining the Kansas City
Chiefs or
the New Orleans
Saints, teams that need a wide receiver?
We’ll see,
I’m optimistic but I’m going to make sure the situation is good for me.
I want
to join a team, go to the playoffs and take it to the Super Bowl.
That’s why I
left Atlanta. I didn’t leave to go somewhere else to lose. I’m not
saying
either of those programs are losing programs, but I want to go
somewhere that I
can help a team win.”
Click here
to listen to Paul Eide and Michael
Cooper’s complete interview.
