Nelson Selected for Kansas Sports Hall of Fame
GREEN BAY, Wis. – Former Green Bay Packers receiver Jordy Nelson will be inducted into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame on Oct. 4.
A native of Manhattan, Kan., and a second-round pick out of Kansas State in 2008, Nelson played 10 seasons for the Packers. He finished his career ranked third in franchise history in receptions (550), fifth in receiving yards (7,848) and second in receiving touchdowns (69). Nelson posted 1,250-plus receiving yards and 13-plus touchdown catches in 2011, 2014 and 2016. In NFL history, only Hall of Famers Jerry Rice (six), Randy Moss (five) and Terrell Owens (four) did it more.
Nelson is the only player in Packers history to record three seasons of at least 13 touchdown receptions. In fact, from 2011 through 2016, there were only 18 seasons in which a player caught at least 13 touchdown passes. Nelson (three) and Dez Bryant (two) were the only players to do it more than once.
From 2005 through 2007, Kansas State, Nelson caught 202 passes for 2,822 yards and 20 touchdowns. He caught 122 passes for 1,606 yards and 11 touchdowns during his final season.
“I think I was very exposed as a kid with my coaches, to be honest with you,” Nelson said upon retiring with the Packers on Aug. 6. “In middle school, I had a great coach that coached us in both football and basketball and kind of set the foundation. Even through high school, my coaches were great.
“During the week, we’d go over to our house and we’d order a bunch of cheeseburgers and fries from the local restaurant. We’d have 10 to 20 guys in our basement and we’d put the tape in the VCR and watch film. We’d watch a couple games that evening. It must have grown from there. I remember vividly one evening doing that and we were playing a team that wasn’t very good and, honestly, there was no reason to watch the film, but I still had to. I couldn’t go into a game blind.”
Other members of the Hall of Fame class include former NFL standouts Terence Newman and Darren Sproles.
