Tag: Laterryal Savoy

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.

2005 Offer Board

56 total offers

QUARTERBACK (3)
Jason Forcier – San Diego, CA (Michigan)
Harrison Beck – Clearwater, FL (Nebraska)
Rob Schoenhoft – Cincinnati, OH (Ohio State)

RUNNING BACK (4)
Andre Criswell – Detroit, MI (Michigan)
Kevin Grady – Grand Rapids, MI (Michigan)
Mister Simpson – Cincinnati, OH (Michigan)
Rashawn Jackson – Jersey City, NJ (Virginia)

WIDE RECEIVER (10)
Antonio Bass – Jackson, MI (Michigan)
Mario Manningham – Warren, OH (Michigan)
LaTerryal Savoy – Mamou, LA (Michigan)
Rendrick Taylor – Bennettsville, SC (Clemson)
Nate Boateng – Brooklyn, NY (Florida)
Mohamed Massaquoi – Charlotte, NC (Georgia)
Andre Amos – Middletown, OH (Ohio State)
Eric Huggins – Conway, SC (Oklahoma)
Kevin Cousins – Richmond, VA (Penn State)
Selwyn Lymon – Fort Wayne, IN (Purdue)

TIGHT END (2)
Carson Butler – Detroit, MI (Michigan)
Ed Dickson – Bellflower, CA (Oregon)

OFFENSIVE TACKLE (5)
Justin Schifano – Webster, NY (Michigan)
Andy Kuempel – Marion, IA (Iowa)
Dace Richardson – Wheaton, IL (Iowa)
John Jerry – Batesville, MS (Mississippi)
Alex Boone – Lakewood, OH (Ohio State)

OFFENSIVE GUARD (5)
Tim McAvoy – Bloomington, IL (Michigan)
David Moosman – Libertyville, IL (Michigan)
Cory Zirbel – Murray, KY (Michigan)
Ronnie Wilson – Pompano Beach, FL (Florida)
Hivera Green – Conway, SC (Virginia Tech)

DEFENSIVE END (5)
Eugene Germany – Pomona, CA (Michigan)
Chris McLaurin – Orchard Lake, MI (Michigan)
Allan Smith – Kansas City, MO (Boston College)
Kyle Moore – Warner Robins, GA (USC)
William Wall – Chatham, VA (Virginia Tech)

DEFENSIVE TACKLE (4)
James McKinney – Louisville, KY (Michigan)
Marques Slocum – Philadelphia, PA (Michigan)
Terrance Taylor – Muskegon, MI (Michigan)
Craig Bokor – Bedford, PA (Pittsburgh)

LINEBACKER (2)
Brandon Logan – Lexington, KY (Michigan)
Jerome Hayes – Bayonne, NJ (Penn State)

CORNERBACK (11)
Brandon Harrison – Dayton, OH (Michigan)
Chris Richards – North Hills, CA (Michigan)
Johnny Sears – Fresno, CA (Michigan)
Lionel Mitchell – Chatham, VA (Alabama)
Avery Atkins – Daytona Beach, FL (Florida)
Anthony Wiseman – Hyattsville, MD (Maryland)
Demetrice Morley – Miami, FL (Miami)
Kendell Davis – Alliance, OH (Michigan State)
Jamario O’Neal – Cleveland, OH (Ohio State)
Justin King – Pittsburgh, PA (Penn State)
Kevin Thomas – Oxnard, CA (USC)

SAFETY (4)
C.J. Byrd – North Augusta, SC (Georgia)
Chris Rowell – Warrensville Heights, OH (Iowa)
Nic Harris – Alexandria, LA (Oklahoma)
Victor Harris – Highland Springs, VA (Virginia Tech)

KICKER/PUNTER (1)
Zoltan Mesko – Twinsburg, OH (Michigan)

2010 Recruiting Grades: Wide Receiver

Jerald Robinson. #4. The red, white, and silver #4. Uhhh…the guy catching the ball. Yeah, him.

The Wolverines picked up three wide receivers in the class of 2010 (slot receivers will be a separate category). At one point in the process, Michigan had six commitments from guys who were recruited to play either wide receiver or slot, so Rich Rodriguez obviously thought the team was lacking at the position. This despite the fact that Michigan only lost Greg Mathews and Laterryal Savoy in 2009, and they shouldn’t lose anyone in 2010.

The first commitment came from Ricardo Miller, a 6’2″, 208 lb. wideout from Dr. Phillips in Orlando, FL. So intent to play at Michigan, he and his family moved to Ann Arbor to attend Pioneer High School. Miller was considered by many Michigan fans to be at least a 4-star prospect, with the chance to be a 5-star. Unfortunately, many of them hadn’t seen him play at that point. Miller is a big receiver with a magnetic personality; he was even credited by Rodriguez as an ace recruiter. What he lacks is elite speed. He might even lack above average speed.

A couple days later, running backs coach Fred Jackson’s son, Jeremy Jackson, announced his commitment to Michigan. Jackson stands 6’3″ and 194 and attended Huron High School in Ann Arbor. In a slightly alarming trend, Jackson also lacks great speed, perhaps even more so than Miller. In fact, both Miller and Jackson are so big and so . . . not fast that there has been much discussion that they could move to tight end.

Jerald Robinson, from Canton South in Ohio, waited until February 2010 to commit. He’s a 6’2″, 175 lb. receiver, although when I first evaluated him, I really thought he would be a candidate to play safety in college. He’s not exactly a blazer, although he’s faster than Miller and Jackson. Like Jackson, though, he’s decent at going into traffic.

Projections: At this point, I think all three of these players will stick at wide receiver – no tight end for Jackson or Miller, and no safety for Robinson. That being said, I do not think any of the three will be assuming the crown of Michigan’s Next Great Receiver. At least one will almost surely play in the fall, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see two of them on the field; Rodriguez isn’t shy about burning redshirts, for the most part. Robinson is the most likely to be an impact player in the passing game. He possesses the best speed and big play ability. The other two will have to prove their worth early on by blocking in the running game.

Grade: C. I’m not a big fan of this class of receivers. All three players have good qualities, but they also lack elite physical talent. In an offense that revolves around getting its players in space, Rodriguez took several early commitments from guys who might struggle to get open. And if they do get open, they might not be able to do much with the ball. Laterryal Savoy earned a starting job in 2008 by being the best blocking receiver on the team, but it’s somewhat disturbing to think that perhaps the best thing that comes out of this class is . . . a couple Laterryal Savoys.

2009 Countdown: #38 Laterryal Savoy

Name: Laterryal Savoy
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 214 lbs.
High School: Mamou High School in Mamou, LA
Position: Wide receiver
Class: 5th year senior
Jersey Number: #82
2008 statistics: 4 catches, 38 yards, 1 TD
Prediction for 2009: Backup wide receiver

Savoy was the #30 receiver in the Rivals class of 2005. That seems . . . high in retrospect. Savoy has had off-field problems during his college career. He’s also struggled on the field. He started one game in 2008 and earned significant playing time in several other games, but he only caught four balls.

The most telling play I’ve seen from Savoy came in a game (which one, I can’t remember) last year. Savoy was wide open down the right sideline and the quarterback floated a perfect pass over Savoy’s outside shoulder. Savoy turned around awkwardly and promptly ran out of bounds before catching the pass. It was honestly the most awkward adjustment to a ball I’ve ever seen from a player at such a high level. The way he finished his route was the way I expect my high school linemen to adjust to passes I throw them during water breaks.

With Hemingway returning from injury, don’t expect to see Savoy on the field very much. He’s supposedly one of the best blocking receivers on the team, but that won’t make up for his lack of athleticism and poor hands. Hopefully, he can find a niche on special teams for his fifth and final year at Michigan.