Jay McKinley Novacek (born October 24, 1962) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for the St. Louis / Phoenix Cardinals (1985–1989) and the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

(1990–1995). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the Wyoming Cowboys and was selected by the Cardinals in the sixth round of the

1985 NFL draft The 1985 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. The NFL draft, draft was held April 30 and May 1, 1985 NFL season, 1985, at the Omni Park Central Hotel in New York City, New ...

. Novacek was a five-time

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

er, who was selected to play each year from 1991 through 1995. He was inducted into the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive Tourist attraction, attraction devoted to college football, college American football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players ...

in 2008.

Early life

Born in

Martin, South Dakota Martin is a city and the county seat of Bennett County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 938 at the 2020 census. History Martin was laid out in 1911. The city was named for Eben Martin, a U.S. Representative from South Dakota. ...

, Novacek attended Gothenburg High School in central

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

, where he was a two-year starter at

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

and a three-sport athlete. In 1980, he set the state record in the

pole vault Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a #bar, bar. Pole jumping was already practiced by the ...

at and also won the state titles in that event and hurdles. He was an All-state football and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player. His jersey is the only one retired in school history. Novacek was inducted into the Nebraska High School Sports Hall of Fame in 1996.

College career

Novacek accepted a scholarship from the

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming, United States. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, ...

in Laramie and started his college football career as a split end with the Wyoming Cowboys. The next year, he was moved to

. He had few opportunities to prove his true worth in head coach Al Kincaid's run-oriented wishbone offense, where the team usually threw around 18 passes per game. In 1984, Novacek posted 33 receptions for 745 yards, 4

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

s and set an

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

single-season record for average per reception (22.6 yards) by a tight end. He was selected to the honorable-mention

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

n football team and to the

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the Western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, Texas, Utah and Washington (state), Washington. Due to ...

(WAC) first-team. He finished his college career with 83 career receptions for 1,536 yards and 10

s. Novacek also competed in

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

for the

Cowboys A cowboy is a professional pastoralist or mounted livestock herder, usually from the Americas or Australia. Cowboy(s) or The Cowboy(s) may also refer to: Film and television * ''Cowboy'' (1958 film), starring Glenn Ford * ''Cowboy'' (1966 film), ...

. He won the WAC

decathlon The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of 10 track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ἄθλος (''áthlos'', or ἄ ...

championship and placed fourth in the NCAA championships, earning

n honors in track. He set the school record for

points (7,615) and in the

jump (). He competed in the 1984 Olympic trials as a decathlete. In 2008, he was inducted into the

. In 1993, he was inducted into the inaugural class of the University of Wyoming Athletics Hall of Fame. In 2014, he was inducted into the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame.

Professional career

St. Louis/Phoenix Cardinals

Novacek was selected in the sixth round (158th overall) of the

by the St. Louis Cardinals. He was also selected by the Houston Gamblers in the fifth round (69th overall) of the 1985 USFL Draft. As a rookie, he was a

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

and played mainly on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

. In 1986, he was moved to tight end, but was placed on the

injured reserve list The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in t ...

on August 19. He was activated on October 17, but was placed again on the

on December 10. In

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

, he began the season as the starter at tight end, until suffering a broken elbow against the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

on October 25. After rookie Rob Awalt had a break-out game against the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

, Novacek was placed on the

on November 2. He finished the season with 20 receptions for 254 yards and 3

s, producing just 2 receptions in his first two seasons and only 22 after three years. In 1988, the Cardinals franchise moved to Phoenix and even though Awalt remained the starter at

, Novacek still ranked third on the team with 569 receiving yards and 4 receiving

s. The next year with Gary Hogeboom instead of Neil Lomax as the team's starting

, his production fell to 23 receptions for 225 yards and one

. In

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

, Joe Bugel was hired as the new

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

, who looked for the

position to be either a blocker or perform H-back type functions. Novacek was not seen as a good fit for the new system and was left unprotected—eligible to sign with any team under Plan B free agency.

Dallas Cowboys

, the

signed Novacek as a Plan B free agent, arguably the best signing in the history of this program. He was named the starter at tight end, even though the Cowboys also acquired Awalt to compete for the position. He would go on to have a break-out season, becoming one of the league's top receiving tight ends, while registering 59 receptions for 657 yards and 4

s. He was a key contributor for the offense in the early 1990s, especially on third downs where he could find the soft spot in the defense. Beginning in

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

, he played in five straight

s, while helping the Cowboys make the playoffs each year and winning the

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

three times in four seasons. Although blocking was not his strength, he did a solid job locking up opponents. In

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

, he was named an

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...

after leading all tight ends with 68 receptions for 630 receiving yards and 6 touchdowns. In

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

, he posted his second-highest single-season total for receptions (62) and touchdowns (5), to go along with a career-high in receiving yards (705). He underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee to repair a partial tear of his medial meniscus before the last game of the season, but still helped beat the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

Super Bowl XXX Super Bowl XXX was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Dallas Cowboys and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion fo ...

. In

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

, although he missed the regular season because of a degenerative disc in his back, the Cowboys decided not to put him on injured reserve, in the hope he could be ready for the playoffs. On January 3,

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

, he was placed on the

. On July 15, he officially retired from the NFL after his chronic lower-back problems cut short his career. In his 11 seasons, Novacek recorded 422 receptions for 4,630 yards (ninth in team history) and 30

s, with most of his production coming from

. He also came up big in the post-season, ranking third in franchise playoff history in receptions (62), receiving yards (645) and touchdown receptions (6).

NFL career statistics

Regular Season

Postseason

References

External links

Dallas Cowboys Top 50 players

College Football Hall of Fame story

Athletics Hall of Fame - inducted 1993

{{DEFAULTSORT:Novacek, Jay 1962 births Living people All-American college football players American football tight ends American people of Czech descent College Football Hall of Fame inductees Dallas Cowboys players National Conference Pro Bowl players People from Bennett County, South Dakota People from Lincoln County, Nebraska Phoenix Cardinals players Players of American football from Nebraska St. Louis Cardinals (football) players Wyoming Cowboys football players Players of American football from South Dakota