In typical workman-like fashion, Jerry Rice was ready to get after it.
Rice and Willie Totten zoomed up in a golf cart to the Mississippi Valley State practice field Thursday with the newly-retired NFL football legend donning a black practice shirt and white shorts as if he were working out again.
He was, for a little while, helping out the Delta Devil quarterbacks and wide receivers as they worked on the passing game in preparation for Saturday's homecoming game against Texas Southern.
It was Rice's first Valley homecoming since his rookie season with the San Francisco 49ers 20 years ago.
"This is a special weekend for me. It's just like the Super Bowl," said the 43-year-old Crawford native, who won three Super Bowls with the 49ers (1989, 1990 and 1995) and appeared in a fourth (2003) with Oakland. "I'm glad to be back here at Valley and seeing these guys working and just to show my face.
"I was looking forward to working with the receivers a little bit and running some routes, and just letting them know, basically, you can make it to the pros. But it's always good to come back and give these guys encouragement, to let them know you support them and you wish them the best."
Junior wide receiver Shang Moore, Valley's second-leading receiver with 21 catches for 379 yards and a touchdown, was thrilled to get advice and encouragement from a future NFL Hall of Famer and arguably the greatest receiver to ever play the game.
"There's nobody out there who can teach you more about the position than Jerry Rice," Moore said. "The pace of practice is a lot quicker. Everyone is excited.
"When you look that he made it (in the NFL) from here, it gives us confidence that we can too if we work hard."
Rice stressed work ethic to the Valley players Thursday. That's something he became famous for during his 20-year, record-setting run in the NFL. One of his records fell Monday night, when Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning hit receiver Marvin Harrison for their 86th touchdown.
Rice had 85 TD grabs from ex-49er quarterback Steve Young, who was named to the NFL Hall of Fame this year.
Rice said he wasn't fazed by losing the record to the dynamic Indianapolis pass-catch duo.
"I never played the game for records," he said. "Peyton and Harrison are two great players. I take my hat off to them. I played the game because I loved it. I was just like a little kid out there. It was fun to me."
Catching passes from Totten, Rice set plenty of records at Valley from 1982-84. Totten, a J.Z. George product, is now in his fourth year as the head coach of his alma mater. Totten went 10-23 in his first three years on the job, improving the talent level but missing out a long-awaited winning season.
The Delta Devils are 3-3 with five games remaining and can take a huge step toward the program's first winning season since 1986 with a homecoming win over 1-4 Texas Southern Saturday.
"I think he's doing a great job," Rice said of Totten. "The thing is, you've got to get the players in here, and it takes a little time. We were talking about that today, and he feels real good about the players he has right now. I think the guys are devoted, dedicated, and I think they will do well."
Junior quarterback Aries Nelson said Rice's return has boosted the spirits of the players.
"Some people said he'd never come back. For him to come back and show love like he showed, that just gives us the inspiration to play harder on Saturday," he said.
So would Rice ever come back at some point to help coach at Valley?
"I have devoted myself to football for so many years. I don't mind coming out here and helping the kids out, but I don't know if I want to do it full-time," said Rice.
Rice spent several hours before practice Thursday playing golf at Greenwood Country Club with Valley official Tony Johnson, Totten and local golf professional Jim Gallagher Jr. Rice, an avid golfer, shot a 3-over-par 75.
Gallagher was quite impressed with Rice's play and his character.
"I would love to have him as a partner in a pro-am," Gallagher said later in the day. "It was a pleasure to play with him. He represents Valley quite well."
