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Miami (Fla.) WR
Santana Moss
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This is the fourth in a series of articles previewing the top prospects, by position,
for the 2001 NFL draft and beyond.
Everyone is looking for a powerful, graceful 6-4, 210-pound wide receiver with
world-class speed, Michael Jordan-type jumping ability, Jerry Rice-type ball skills,
Keyshawn Johnson-type strength and great ability to run after the catch. However, there is
only one Randy Moss on this planet, and it may be another century or so before we see
somebody with so much God-given talent. While everyone looks for great size and speed in
wide receivers, the most important assets any receiver can have are the ability to get
open, catch the ball and make plays after the catch.
The one big knock on Miami (Fla.) WR Santana Moss, who is not related
to Randy, is that he is only about 5-9. However, he is built rock solid, nobody has ever
questioned his toughness and he is a football player who runs track with championship
speed that translates onto the football field. The Big East sprint champion is quicker
than instant coffee and as fast as anyone to ever catch passes on a regular basis for the
Hurricanes. He has a natural receiver’s hands, the run skills of a halfback and a
quick burst and extra gear that lets him leave cornerbacks in the dust. He also possesses
confidence, toughness, return skills and a big-play mentality. He is feisty and
competitive and has a good feel for the game. Most of his drops will come when he tries to
run before he has the ball because he is always thinking big play and touchdown when he
has a chance to get his hands on the ball. Moss also is an excellent return man. A walk-on
from the track team in 1997, Moss lettered as a true freshman, was a second-team All-Big
East Conference selection in ’98, a first-team pick in ’99 and will probably be
an All-American in 2000, despite being slowed earlier this year by tendinitis in his left
ankle.
Moss’ sidekick, Reggie Wayne, is also a potential top pro
prospect. As a four-year starter and freshman All-American, the only knock against Wayne
is that he not a true burner. However, neither was a fellow named Michael Irvin, and he
didn’t have a bad pro career. Wayne has good size and the best ball skills and hands
on the Miami team. He also has tremendous balance and body control, the ability to make
the tough catches look easy, the quickness, niftiness and instincts to get separation and
be a dangerous runner after the catch and the toughness to lay out for the ball over the
middle of the field. While Moss’ coming-out party in the eyes of many scouts may have
been in last year’s Kickoff Classic, when he made Ohio State CB Ahmad Plummer look as
if his feet were caught in quicksand at times, Wayne has been catching the eyes of NFL
scouts since his freshman year, when he started from the second game on and was
Miami’s best and most clutch receiver. Scouts also are very impressed with the fact
both Moss and Wayne stayed at Miami for four years and really benefited from the
high-intensity Miami practices and the competition they faced. Please note how much former
Hurricanes TE Bubba Franks, who came out a year early, has struggled in Green Bay this
year.
Clemson really has not been known for its receivers over the years, but Rod
Gardner is doing his very best to change that. Gardner is a power-type receiver
at 6-2 and between 215-220 pounds with tremendous strength and outstanding ball-catching
skills. He will make the acrobatic and circus catches and physically abuse defensive backs
with his size and strength. While his pure speed may be a little questionable, Gardner
does have good quickness and a burst of speed that allows him to gain separation from
defensive backs. He also knows how to use his size, strength and power to push and help
him get some separation from the top cover corners. He set a school record last year with
73 catches for 1,009 yards, and he did not have a great pure passer throwing to him. This
year, despite his lack of speed, he looked like a combination between Keyshawn Johnson and
Randy Moss vs. North Carolina. Every time he went up for a jump ball, it looked like the
defense just watched him catch it — as the case often is with Moss.
Everyone would love to see how well Ohio State’s dynamic duo of Ken-Yon
Rambo and Reggie Germany would do if they had a more consistent
and accurate passer than Steve Bellisari throwing to them. While Bellisari is much better
than he was a year ago, he still misses way too many open receivers and really does not
throw with a lot of touch or finesse. On the other hand, with Rambo’s combination of
size, speed, hands, skills, body control and athletic ability, he looks like he could be
the prototype NFL receiver. Rambo may be the Buckeyes’ fastest receiver since Joey
Galloway and is catching the ball a lot more consistently than he did a year ago. While
Rambo has cut down on his drops this year, Germany was not as consistent catching earlier
this season as the Buckeyes would have liked. However, he still looks like a gifted
receiver who can make some tough grabs and will make more when he improves his hand
placement. While not the speed demon Rambo is, Germany is a tremendous jumper with
stop-and-go quickness and the ability to drop weight and come out of his cuts.
Quincy Morgan came to Kansas State from Blinn (Texas) Community
College in ’98 but was redshirted to allow him to develop a better grasp of the
offensive scheme. He had his coming-out party in ’99, catching 42 passes for 1,007
yards and nine touchdowns and earning All-Conference honors. Morgan is a big-play maker
with size, speed, run-after-the-catch ability and power. One of the most impressive things
he does is catch short passes and turn them into big plays, like he did vs. Oklahoma this
year. The book on him is if you lay off him and give him room underneath, he will turn
short plays into home runs, and if you come up on him, he will run right by you. However,
while Morgan is a tremendous talent, his concentration does not always match his other
skills, and he has been somewhat plagued by dropped passes and fumbles this year.
Wisconsin’s Chris Chambers missed the start of the season with a
stress fracture he suffered during the preseason and also was suspended for three games by
the NCAA because of the discounts he and other Badgers received at a local shoe store.
When he came back, he got nicked again but continued to play. Chambers is a 200-plus-pound
receiver with over a 40-inch vertical jump and a sub-4.4 40-yard clocking on a fast
surface. However, while he is Wisconsin’s best and most dangerous receiver, he is not
always a sure-handed catcher and has been plagued by inconsistent hands throughout his
college career. He is the type who makes big-league catches but drops some your local high
school receiver would catch.
While Jackson State’s Daniel Guy does not have the skills and
maturity of Sylvester Morris, he is a big, fast, strong, improving receiver with
upside potential.
In terms of size-speed ratio, the closest player to Randy Moss in college football may
be Eastern Kentucky’s Alex Bannister, who is almost 6-5 and
reportedly ran under a 4.3 in the 40-yard dash on a very fast surface. He does not play to
his 40-speed, however, is not a natural pass-catcher and is very raw. On the plus side, he
is a great competitor and worker and a willing blocker who should get better.
Grambling’s Scotty Anderson is a tall, fast, big-play receiver
who will body-catch on occasion but is catching and running his routes better. Alexander
will need to get bulkier and stronger, but he is a very good athlete.
Miami (Ohio) WR Sly Johnson, Purdue’s Vinny Sutherland
and Louisville’s Arnold Jackson are all smaller than scouts would
like, but they are playmakers. Sutherland is not Tim Dwight in terms of quickness,
explosiveness or competitiveness, while Jackson is tiny and has not had a good senior
year. Johnson is coming off knee surgery but is getting better.
Arkansas’ Boo Williams has great size and can be very physical.
He also has deceptive speed but is not overly disciplined and will need lots of work on
reading pass routes.
Florida State’s most productive receiver as well as Chris Weinke’s go-to guy
is Marvin Minnis, who is about as skinny as a rail but plays the game the
way Lamar Thomas did for Miami (Fla.) when he was getting All-America consideration.
Oregon State’s Chad Johnson originally surfaced at Langston
(Okla.) College in ’96, played for Santa Monica Junior College in ’97 and
’99 and arrived at Oregon State this fall. He is very raw, will drop some passes and
must learn to run better routes, but he has size, speed and acceleration and is a big-play
maker. His plays have had a major impact on two games, including the UCLA shootout. |
