Terry LeCount
Encyclopedia
Terry Jerome LeCount is a former American college and professional football
player who was a wide receiver
in the National Football League
(NFL) for nine seasons during the 1970s and 1980s. LeCount played college football
for the University of Florida
, and thereafter, he played professionally for the San Francisco 49ers
and Minnesota Vikings
of the NFL.
in 1956. He attended William M. Raines High School
in Jacksonville, and he led the Raines Vikings high school football
team to the Florida Class 4A state championship game as their quarterback in 1973. LeCount was a multi-sport athlete and flourished in track and field where he was champion of the 220 and 440-yard dashes.
to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida
, where he played for coach Doug Dickey
's Florida Gators football
team from 1974 to 1977. He was the second African-American, following Donald Gaffney, who played the quarterback position for the Gators, and led Dickey's "gatorbone" offense, a variation of the wishbone offense.
, and he played for the 49ers during his first NFL season in and part of his second season. The 49ers traded him to the Minnesota Vikings in . LeCount was a Viking from 1979 through , and again in , after coming back from an injury. He finished his eight-season NFL career having played in seventy-two games, started nineteen of them, with eighty-nine receptions for 1,354 yards and seven touchdowns.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player who was a wide receiver
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
(NFL) for nine seasons during the 1970s and 1980s. LeCount played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
for the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
, and thereafter, he played professionally for the San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
and Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
of the NFL.
Early years
LeCount was born in Jacksonville, FloridaJacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
in 1956. He attended William M. Raines High School
William M. Raines High School
William Marion Raines Senior High School is a historically black high school in Jacksonville, Florida. The school is located off Moncrief Road in Jacksonville, Florida's northside. Located at the corner Raines Avenue in northwest Jacksonville, Raines serves approximately 1000 students. The school...
in Jacksonville, and he led the Raines Vikings high school football
High school football
High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....
team to the Florida Class 4A state championship game as their quarterback in 1973. LeCount was a multi-sport athlete and flourished in track and field where he was champion of the 220 and 440-yard dashes.
College career
LeCount received an athletic scholarshipAthletic scholarship
An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university awarded to an individual based predominantly on his or her ability to play in a sport...
to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
, where he played for coach Doug Dickey
Doug Dickey
Douglas Adair "Doug" Dickey is a former American college football player and coach and college athletics administrator. Dickey is a South Dakota native who was raised in Florida and graduated from the University of Florida, where he played college football...
's Florida Gators football
Florida Gators football
The Florida Gators football team represents the University of Florida in the sport of American football. The Florida Gators compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletics Association and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference...
team from 1974 to 1977. He was the second African-American, following Donald Gaffney, who played the quarterback position for the Gators, and led Dickey's "gatorbone" offense, a variation of the wishbone offense.
Professional career
The San Francisco 49ers selected LeCount in the fourth round (ninety-seventh pick overall) in the 1978 NFL Draft1978 NFL Draft
The 1978 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held May 2–3, 1978...
, and he played for the 49ers during his first NFL season in and part of his second season. The 49ers traded him to the Minnesota Vikings in . LeCount was a Viking from 1979 through , and again in , after coming back from an injury. He finished his eight-season NFL career having played in seventy-two games, started nineteen of them, with eighty-nine receptions for 1,354 yards and seven touchdowns.
See also
- Florida GatorsFlorida GatorsThe Florida Gators are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida. The "Lady Gators" is an alternative nickname sometimes used by the Gators women's teams...
- Florida Gators football, 1970–1979
- History of the Minnesota VikingsHistory of the Minnesota VikingsThis article details the history of the Minnesota Vikings, an American football club of the National Football League .-Origins:Professional football history in the Twin Cities began with the Minneapolis Marines/Red Jackets, an NFL team that played intermittently in the 1920s and 1930s...
- History of the San Francisco 49ersHistory of the San Francisco 49ersThis article details the history of the San Francisco 49ers American Football Club. The San Francisco 49ers were the first major league professional sports franchise to be based in San Francisco, and one of the first professional sports teams based on the West Coast of the United States.The 49ers...
- List of Florida Gators football players