Wednesday’s Rutgers Pro Day was extremely important for wide receiver Mohamed Sanu, who needed to show NFL decision-makers he had the speed to be considered as an early-round selection in next month’s 2012 NFL Draft.
Jim Kempski, who writes for SB Nation’s Bleeding Green Nation and runs his own site, Blogging The Beast, was on hand for the Pro Day. He filed this report for SB Nation New York:
Mohamed Sanu was the main attraction at Rutgers’ Pro Day this morning in Piscataway, N.J. The junior receiver was trying to improve on a disappointing showing at the NFL Combine, and improve he did.
Last month at the Combine, Sanu ran the 40 yard dash in 4.65 seconds, which landed him on Mel Kiper’s question mark list:
"Mohamed Sanu, WR: Very good and very productive, but didn’t run a great time and might be likelier to settle late in Round 2. Pro day is important."
Today, Sanu ran 40 times of 4.41 and 4.48. Those times are unofficial, but at the very least, they should help quell the notion that Sanu can’t run.
Sanu had a monster season for Rutgers, catching a whopping 115 passes for 1,206 yards and 7 TD’s in just 13 games, and is a player that Giants fans should keep an eye on as the draft approaches. Sanu has a very impressive build (he ran with his shirt off) and a large frame at 6-foot-2, 211 pounds, which is slightly bigger than Hakeem Nicks of the New York Giants, who is 6-1, 208. Also like Nicks, Sanu has an extremely impressive "hand span," at 10 1/8 inches. Nicks is somewhat famous for the size of his hands, which measure in at 10 ½ inches. The average hand span for receivers this year at the Combine was around 9 inches.
With Mario Manningham bolting for the San Francisco 49ers, wide receiver is a position that could make sense for the Giants at the end of the first round. If Sanu is still on the board at 32, he could get some consideration. In what seemed like a light showing from NFL teams today at Rutgers, the Giants were among the teams with representation.