Review of 2005 Recruiting: The Wide Receivers

Mohamed Massaquoi turned down an offer from the Wolverines to play for Georgia

THE ROSTER
Jason Avant, Sr.
Steve Breaston, Sr.
Carl Tabb, Sr.
Adrian Arrington, So.
Doug Dutch, So.

THE RECRUITS
Antonio Bass
High school: Jackson (MI) Jackson
Ratings: Rivals 4-star, #5 ATH; Scout 4-star, #9 WR
College: Michigan
Other notable offers: LSU, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Penn State, Virginia Tech
Scoop: Bass played immediately as a true freshman and was a jack-of-all-trades.  He completed 1 pass for 13 yards, ran the ball 19 times for 81 yards, and caught 8 passes for 64 yards.  However, he suffered a career-ending knee injury during spring practices in 2006.

Mario Manningham
High school: Warren (OH) Harding
Ratings: Rivals 4-star, #45 overall, #5 receiver; Scout 4-star, #7 WR
College: Michigan
Other notable offers: Ohio State
Scoop: Like Bass, Manningham earned immediate playing time.  He had 27 receptions for 433 yards (16.0 yards per catch) and 6 touchdowns as a true freshman.  In his sophomore season of 2006, he grabbed 38 passes for 703 yards (18.5 yards per catch) and 9 touchdowns.  And as a junior, he really blew up with 72 receptions for 1,174 yards (16.3 yards per catch) for 12 touchdowns, including a school record 97-yarder from Ryan Mallett.  He finished his career with 137 receptions for 2,310 yards (16.9 yards per catch) and 27 touchdowns.  He also had 31 carries for 176 yards (5.7 yards per carry) and 1 punt return for 17 yards in his career.  In four seasons with the Giants, Manningham has 160 receptions for 2,315 yards (14.5 yards per catch) and 18 touchdowns.

LaTerryal Savoy
High school: Mamou (LA) Mamou
Ratings: Rivals 3-star; Scout 4-star, #35 WR
College: Michigan
Other notable offers: Mississippi, South Carolina
Scoop: Savoy redshirted as a true freshman in 2005.  As a redshirt freshman in 2006, he caught 1 pass for 7 yards.  In 2007, he again caught 1 pass for 9 yards.  During his redshirt junior season of 2008, he started one game and caught 4 passes for 38 yards (9.5 yards per catch) and 1 touchdown.  As a senior in 2009, Savoy made 12 receptions for 158 yards (13.2 yards per catch).  For his career he caught 17 passes for 212 yards (12.5 yards per catch) and 1 touchdown.  He was not drafted in the 2010 NFL Draft and has not played in the NFL.

Andre Amos
High school: Middletown (OH) Middletown
Ratings: Rivals 4-star, #25 WR; Scout 4-star, #30 WR
College: Ohio State
Other notable offers: Indiana, Michigan State, Purdue
Scoop: Amos redshirted as a true freshman in 2005.  He played backup cornerback in 2006, making 9 total tackles, making 1 interception, and breaking up 1 pass.  As a redshirt sophomore in 2007, he made 3 total tackles.  Amos missed the entire 2008 season due to injury.  As a fifth year senior in 2009, he made 12 total tackles and broke up 1 pass.  He went undrafted in the 2010 NFL Draft and has not played in the NFL.

Nyan Boateng
High school: Brooklyn (NY) Lincoln
Ratings: Rivals 4-star, #20 WR; Scout 3-star, #38 WR
College: Florida Cal
Other notable offers: Maryland, Michigan State, Nebraska
Scoop: Boateng played in five games as a true freshman in 2005, grabbing 4 passes for 77 yards and rushing 2 times for 16 yards.  He sat out the 2006 season at Florida for discipline reasons.  He then transferred to Cal, where he sat out the 2007 season due to transfer requirements.  As a redshirt junior in 2008, he made 29 catches for 439 yards (15.1 yards per catch) and 5 touchdowns.  During his fifth year senior season in 2009, he caught 13 passes for 191 yards (14.7 yards per catch) and 2 touchdowns.  He went undrafted in the 2010 NFL Draft and has not played in the NFL.

Kevin Cousins
High school: Richmond (VA) Huguenot
Ratings: Rivals 3-star; Scout 2-star
College: Penn State
Other notable offers: N/A
Scoop: Cousins redshirted as a true freshman in 2005.  As a redshirt freshman in 2006, he caught 1 pass for 8 yards.  While he was on the roster for both the 2007 and 2008 seasons, the injury-plagued Cousins didn't play another game for the Nittany Lions.

Eric Huggins
High school: Conway (SC) Conway
Ratings: Rivals 4-star, #77 overall, #8 WR; Scout 4-star, #11 WR
College: Oklahoma Newberry College
Other notable offers: Clemson, Florida, Florida State, USC
Scoop: Huggins redshirted as a true freshman in 2005.  He did not play in 2006 and transferred to Newberry College.  He caught 6 passes for 88 yards and 1 touchdown in 2007.  As a redshirt junior in 2008, Huggins caught 9 passes for 97 yards.  He left the team prior the 2009 season.

Selwyn Lymon
High school: Fort Wayne (IN) Harding
Ratings: Rivals 4-star, #72 overall, #7 WR; Scout 5-star, #5 WR
College: Purdue
Other notable offers: Ohio State, Penn State, Wisconsin
Scoop: Lymon sat out the 2005 season.  He started 12 games in 2006 and caught 33 passes for 580 yards (17.6 yards per catch) and 3 touchdowns.  In 2007 he caught 40 passes for 450 yards (11.2 yards per catch) and 2 touchdowns.  He was kicked off the team after the season for getting caught drunk driving, after which he entered the 2008 NFL Draft.  He went undrafted and has not played in the NFL.

Mohamed Massaquoi
High school: Charlotte (NC) Independence
Ratings: Rivals 4-star, #29 overall, #4 WR; Scout 3-star, #19 WR
College: Georgia
Other notable offers: Maryland, North Carolina, North Carolina State
Scoop: Massaquoi played in 13 games as a true freshman in 2005, grabbing 38 passes for 505 yards (13.3 yards per catch) and 2 touchdowns.  In 2006 he caught 30 passes for 366 yards (12.2 yards per catch) and 2 touchdowns.  As a junior in 2007, Massaquoi caught 32 passes for 491 yards (15.3 yards per catch) and 4 touchdowns.  In his final season of 2008, he caught 58 passes for 920 yards (15.9 yards per catch) and 8 touchdowns.  He was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2009 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns and has caught 101 passes for 1,491 yards (14.8 yards per catch) and 7 touchdowns in the NFL.

Rendrick Taylor
High school: Bennettsville (SC) Marlboro County
Ratings: Rivals 4-star, #16 WR; Scout 4-star, #13 WR
College: Clemson
Other notable offers: Alabama, Florida State, South Carolina, Tennessee
Scoop: Taylor played sparingly as a backup wide receiver in 2005, making 9 catches for 69 yards (7.3 yards per catch).  He followed that up with 12 catches for 152 yards (12.7 yards per catch) as a sophomore, but he missed half the season with a broken arm.  As a junior in 2007, Taylor caught 25 passes for 259 yards (10.4 yards per catch).  He redshirted in 2008 due to injury, and then in spring 2009 he made the rare move from wide receiver to fullback.  As a fifth year senior in 2009, Taylor started 3 games at fullback, rushing 13 times for 37 yards (2.8 yards per carry) and catching 8 passes for 53 yards (6.6 yards per catch).  He was not drafted in the 2010 NFL Draft and has not played in the NFL regular season.

CONCLUSIONS
Biggest miss: Mohamed Massaquoi was the only Michigan offeree to find particularly successful.  He has made a decent professional career for himself (despite some injuries) with the Cleveland Browns and had the best college career of any of the non-Michigan guys.

Biggest bust: Selwyn Lymon was the highest rated recruit and the only 5-star of the bunch.  While he did have a decent couple seasons at Purdue for a young player, his off-the-field behavior really derailed what could have been a very good career.

Best in class: DeSean Jackson went to Cal and had 2,423 receiving yards to go along with 22 receiving touchdowns and 6 punt return touchdowns.  So far in the NFL, he has 4,085 receiving yards and 21 receiving touchdowns.  He has also rushed for 378 yards and 3 touchdowns, plus another 4 touchdowns as a punt returner.