Nat Moore Nathaniel Moore ( born September 19 , 1951 ) is a former American college and professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League ( NFL ) for thirteen seasons during the 1970s and 1980s . Moore played college football for the University of Florida , and thereafter , he played professionally for the Miami Dolphins of the NFL . He is best known as a favorite passing target of Dolphins quarterback s Bob Griese and Dan Marino . Early years . Moore was born in Tallahassee , Florida in 1951 . He grew up in Miami , Florida and attended Miami Edison Senior High School and Miami - Dade Community College . College career . On the recommendation of his junior college football coach , Moore received an athletic scholarship to transfer from the University of Tennessee at Martin to the University of Florida in Gainesville , Florida , where he was a star running back for coach Doug Dickey ' s Florida Gators football team in 1972 and 1973 . As a junior in 1972 , Moore led the Gators with 145 rushes for 845 yards and nine rushing touchdowns , twenty - five receptions for 351 receiving yards and four touchdown catches , and 230 return yards , while earning first - team All - Southeastern Conference ( SEC ) and honorable mention All - American accolades . Moore graduated from Florida with a bachelor ' s degree in exercise and sports science in 1975 , and he was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a " Gator Great " in 1978 . Professional career . Moore was chosen by the Miami Dolphins in the third round ( seventy - eighth pick overall ) of the 1974 NFL Draft , and he played for the Dolphins for thirteen seasons from to . He was elected to the Pro Bowl in , after a season in which he made fifty - two receptions and led the league with twelve receiving touchdown s ( he also had a rushing touchdown that year ) . Nat Moore is immortalized in the famous " Helicopter Catch " video clip — while making a reception against the New York Jets in Giants Stadium in , he was hit simultaneously from opposite directions by two Jets tacklers sending his body spinning into the air . The catch was a crucial third - down conversion , leading to a score and a come - from - behind win in a closely contested divisional game . By the time Moore retired at the end of , his thirteenth season with the Dolphins , he had broken almost every receiving record of the Dolphins ; his team records , however , were subsequently broken by Dolphins wide receivers Mark Clayton and Mark Duper in the 1980s and 1990s . His final career receiving statistics were 510 catches for 7 , 547 yards and seventy - four touchdowns . He also rushed for 249 yards and a touchdown , returned twenty - seven punts for 297 yards , and gained 856 yards on thirty - three kickoff returns . Life " after football " . Moore is also known for his humanitarian work and philanthropy . In , the NFL voted Moore as " Man of the Year , " an honor given to a player who gives outstanding service to his community . Moore also received the Byron White Humanitarian Award in 1986 . He created The Nat Moore Foundation , an organization which works with disadvantaged youths in the Miami - Dade County area , in 1998 . On December 5 , 1999 he was added to the Miami Dolphins Honor Roll . Moore was a football broadcaster for Florida Gators football games on Sun Sports until 2011 . As an announcer , he was notorious for adding an " s " to the last names of various players ( Chris Leak became " Chris Leaks , " Percy Harvin became " Harvins , " etc . ) In addition , he teams with Bob Griese to provide television analysis of preseason Dolphins games . He also owns a sports promotions firm , Nat Moore & Associates , Inc . He is a vice president in the Miami Dolphins organization and oversees the Miami Dolphins Alumni Association , and also serves as the executive director of the NFL Super Bowl Football Clinic .