Video: Mario Manningham makes an awesome catch in the Super Bowl

Tag: Mario Manningham


28Jan 2012
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Former Michigan Athlete of the Week: Mario Manningham

Mario Manningham caught a touchdown pass for the third straight week, this time on a 17-yard reception in traffic on third-and-15. Coach Tom Coughlin called it an “incredible football play,” and the score gave the Giants a 17-14 lead with only 8:41 remaining, eventually leading to their 20-17 NFC Championship game victory over the 49ers. Manningham lined up as the outside receiver on the play, ran up field, slanted in and shielded the over-the-top defensive back with his body as he leaped to haul in the touchdown pass. You could try to visualize that, or you could just watch it here.
Honorable Mention: Whether or not you still hold a grudge towards Jim Harbaugh, one thing is undeniable: he can coach. This year he took a hapless 6-10 San Francisco team – and a franchise that hadn’t had a winning season in eight years – all the way to the NFC Championship game, coming up only three points shy of a Super Bowl birth. As stated in the title of an interesting thread on the MGoBoard, congrats to Jim Harbaugh.
Miscellaneous: Carson Butler returns to the New England Patriots’ practice squad, making eight former Michigan athletes who are represented in Super Bowl XLVI, which is among the most of any college. Scot Loeffler, quarterback at Michigan from 1993-1996 and quarterbacks coach for Michigan from 2002-2007, was hired as Auburn’s offensive coordinator, giving Michigan fans “a strange reason to root for Auburn.”
27Jan 2012
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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.

25Jan 2012
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Michigan Well Represented in Super Bowl XLVI

Seven former Michigan athletes are represented in Super Bowl XLVI, which will be played between the Giants and the Patriots in Indianapolis on February 5th.  New York Giants wide receiver Mario Manningham (2,310 yards and 27 touchdowns from 2005-07), center David Baas (Rimington Award in 2004), linebackers coach Jim Herrmann (65 career tackles from 1980-82) and running backs coach Jerald Ingram (191 career rushing yards from 1979-81) are former Michigan athletes.  New England Patriots punter Zoltan Mesko (42.5-yard average from 2006-09), Tom Brady (5,351 yards and 35 touchdowns from 1996-99), and Ryan Mallett (892 yards and 7 touchdowns in 2007) are former Wolverines, too.

Tallying only the players, Michigan is in a six-way tie for third on the list of most well-represented schools in Super Bowl XLVI, trailing Boston College (6) and Rutgers (5). (For what it’s worth, a BigTen.org article only gives Rutgers credit for four players, putting Michigan and its five acquaintances in the #2 spot.)  With 22 players on the rosters of the Giants and Patriots, the Big Ten is second only to the SEC (23) as the most represented conference.

19Jan 2012
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Former Michigan Athlete of the Week: Tom Brady

Whoa, Nellie! Tom Brady shredded the Denver defense and set a playoff record with five touchdown passes in one half. He added one more TD just minutes into the third quarter, tying another NFL record for passing touchdowns in a playoff game with nearly an entire half of football left to play. Fortunately for Tim “He Just Wins Games” Tebow and the Denver defense, Brady exercised his inner virtues of mercy and compassion and decided to focus more on his punting skills than his touchdown tosses for the remainder of the game. The final score read 45-10, and Brady finished with a Patriots playoff record of 363 passing yards (76.5 CMP%), six touchdowns and a 137.6 QB rating to go along with his booming 48 yard punt. Zoltan Mesko must be proud.
Honorable Mention: Mario Manningham caught a touchdown pass for the second straight week, this time on a four yard catch in the back of the end zone, as his Giants rolled the 15-1 Packers by a score of 37-20 to advance to the NFC Championship against Jim Harbaugh and the San Francisco 49ers. Manningham finished the game with 3 catches for 31 yards (10.3 YPC) and the aforementioned touchdown.

Miscellaneous: Adrian Arrington caught one pass for 14 yards but was targeted six times in as his Saints fell to the 49ers. Jim Harbaugh can coach.  Both David Baas (New York Giants) and Jonathan Goodwin (San Francisco 49ers) started at center for their respective teams and will face off in this weekend’s NFC Championship.