Anthony Duane Hancock (born June 10, 1960) is a retired American football wide receiver. A first-round draft pick in the 1982 NFL Draft, he played for five seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL), retiring following the 1986 season. He played college football at the University of Tennessee, where he was the school's leading receiver in three consecutive seasons (1979–1981).
Now a teacher at Bearden Middle School in Knoxville, Tennessee, Hancock is active with the Tennessee Education Association (TEA). In 2012, he ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the Tennessee House of Representatives, losing to the incumbent, Steve Hall.
High school
Hancock was born in Cleveland, Ohio. One of nine children, his father worked for Ford. He played running back at Cleveland's John Hay High School under Coach Sonny Harris, twice rushing for more than a thousand yards per season to win Cleveland's East League MVP honors. During his senior year, he accumulated 1,083 yards on 153 carries, and was named all-state. He also ran track, registering a personal best of 13.6 seconds in the high hurdles.
College
Hancock signed to play with the Tennessee Volunteers in 1978, part of a signing class that included future NFL players Mike Miller, Darryal Wilson, and Terry Daniels. Initially a running back, he switched to wide receiver a few games into the 1978 season. His best game as a freshman came in Tennessee's loss to rival Alabama, in which he caught three passes for 52 yards. He finished the season with seven receptions for 122 yards and a touchdown. He also returned five kickoffs for 77 yards, and two punts for 16 yards.
Hancock entered the 1979 season one of Tennessee's key receiving threats, having caught three passes for 109 yards in the Orange-and-White Game that spring. He finished the regular season with a team-leading 34 catches for 689 yards and four touchdowns, averaging just over 20 yards per catch. His 85-yard touchdown reception in Tennessee's win over Vanderbilt was, at the time, the longest in school history. He had a 41-yard touchdown reception earlier in the game that sparked a Tennessee rally, and finished the game with 163 receiving yards. He caught three passes for 116 yards in Tennessee's 27–22 loss to Purdue in the 1979 Bluebonnet Bowl. As a member of Tennessee's track team, he placed second in the high hurdles at the NCAA Indoor Championships.
Although Tennessee's offense struggled during the 1980 season, Hancock nevertheless caught 33 passes for 580 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed 17 times (mostly on reverses) for 131 yards and a touchdown. In the fourth quarter of Tennessee's 20–17 loss to Southern Cal, Hancock caught a short throw from Steve Alatorre and outran the Trojan secondary for a 56-yard, game-tying touchdown. He finished the game with 135 receiving yards. In Tennessee's win over Washington State, Hancock caught a 45-yard, third-down pass in the fourth quarter to set up a touchdown and thwart a late rally by the Cougars. In Tennessee's 23–10 win over Georgia Tech, Hancock caught 6 passes for 120 yards, including a 47-yard touchdown.
Going into the 1981 season, Tennessee coach Johnny Majors sought to get the ball to Hancock more often, stating, "everytime he touches the ball, it seems like something good happens." In spite of missing the first three games of the season with a broken foot, Hancock registered 32 catches for 437 yards and 5 touchdowns, and rushed 16 times for 110 yards and a touchdown. In Tennessee's 10–7 win over Auburn, Hancock picked up 21 yards on a reverse to set up the Vols' only touchdown. Two weeks later against Georgia Tech, Hancock caught a 42-yard touchdown pass from Alatorre in the fourth quarter to lead the Vols to a 10–7 win. He caught six passes for 75 yards in Tennessee's loss to Alabama, and caught 9 passes for 60 yards in the Vols' win over Memphis State. In Tennessee's 28–21 win over Wisconsin in the 1981 Garden State Bowl, Hancock registered one of the best-ever postseason performances by a Vol receiver, catching 11 passes for 196 yards and a touchdown. His 11 receptions remains the most ever by a Vol receiver in a bowl game, and his 196 receiving yards is second only to Peerless Price's 199-yard outing in the 1999 BCS National Championship Game.