High School
Greenville High, 1969-72
- Led 1972 football team to state championship, undefeated team
- Outstanding shortstop on baseball team
- Named best-all-around athlete as a senior
College
Alcorn State 1972-76
- Turned down a football scholarship at Jackson State to walk-on and play baseball at Alcorn
- Recruited by Hall of Famer Davey Whitney to Alcorn
- Played three years of baseball before being drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 12th round
- Played one year of minor league baseball while still a student at Alcorn
- Played two seasons of football, making All-SWAC in 1975-76
Pro football
National Football League, 1977-89
- Drafted in third round by the Houston Oilers in 1977
- Started as a rookie for Bum Phillips
- Traded to Tampa Bay along with draft picks for Tampa Bay’s first pick of the draft
- Became an all-time Tampa Bay great, 1978-86
- Four-time Pro Bowl selection
- FInished his Tampa Bay tenure as the No. 1 scorer in franchise history
- Played for Detroit Lions 1986-87, the Philadelphia Eagles 1987-89
- Became the third person and first offensive player inducted into Tampa Bay’s Ring of Honor
- Named to All NFC team of the decade of the 1980s
- Finished NFL career with 350 catches for 5,084 yards and 41 touchdowns
Did You Know?
- Jimmie was the first Mississippi player selected in the 1977 draft.
- He played shortstop in Greenville but moved to first base at Alcorn.
- One reason he decided to finally go out for football at Alcorn is that the Braves were going to open the 1975 season against Grambling in the Louisiana Superdome.
- He played his first college football game against Doug Williams, from whom he would catch scores of passes with the Tampa Bay Bucs.
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