He accepted a football scholarship from Hampton University. As a redshirt freshman, he appeared in 10 games, registering 31 receptions (tied for the team lead) for 429 yards, 4 touchdowns and a 13-yard average per punt return. The next year, he led the team with 47 receptions for 816 yards (17.4-yard avg.) and 5 touchdowns.
As a junior, he registered 58 receptions (led the team) for 732 yards, 6 touchdowns and a 17.7-yard average per punt return, including 4 touchdown returns. He also tied an NCAADivision I-AA record with 3 punt returns for touchdowns in one game (Hampton vs. Virginia State University, September 22, 2001).[1] In that same game, his teammate Terrance Patrick returned 2 kickoffs for touchdowns.
As a senior, he posted 53 receptions (led the team) for 773 yards (14.6-yard avg.), 6 touchdowns and an 18.5-yard average per punt return, including one touchdown return.
In 2002, he graduated with a BS in biology, leaving as the school's All-time leader in receptions (189) and punt returns yards (1,145). He also had the record for receptions in a season (58) and in a single-game (13 - Hampton vs. South Carolina State University, 2001).
In his NFL debut playing on Monday Night Football against the New York Giants on September 15, he returned five kickoffs for 120 yards and also returned four punts. But his best play came with 11 seconds left in the game, after he let a Matt Bryant kickoff roll out of bounds, just inches from the end zone. The penalty gave the Cowboys the ball at their own 40 yard-line with no time off the clock, and allowed them to tie the game and eventually win it in overtime (35–32).[4][5]
