Would Abdul Muhammad make all time top ten WR at NU?

[bball_backer]

Wow, you realize how run oriented a program has been when guys like Nunn, Peterson, Paul and Davison are all on someone's top 10. I'm not saying they weren't good, they were huge parts of their teams, but they certainly would not make a lot of programs' top 10.

 

[VA Husker Fan]

That's like judging Zac Taylor by his rushing stats. You can't judge Muhammad by his stats alone when we passed something like 15% of the time. We literally had games where we didn't pass the ball 10 times during his time here.

Same with Fryar. Half the guys on that list have better stats at NU than Fryar. But he's the most talented of the bunch.

Not really. We ran more of a pro-style offense when Fryar was here. Osborne didn't switch to the running attack until the late 70s when he saw how Oklahoma was killing us with the Wishbone.

The Option Offense that everyone associates with Osborne didn't really show up until the late 70s and wasn't perfected until Turner Gill in the early 80s.

You do realize that Fryar played with Gill from 81-83, right?

And, we passed the ball 21% of the time in Fryar's senior year. 23% in Muhammad's.

 

[Blaze1up]

Love Purify, the clutch catch vs. A&M. I would put Abdul behind him.

 

[Hercules]

Fryar played in almost the exact same offense as Muhammad. He was one of the Triplets, along with Gill and Rozier.

My top 10:

1. Irving Fryar

2. Johnny Rodgers

3. Nate Swift

4. Mo Purify

5. Abdul Muhammad

6. Terrence Nunn

7. Todd Peterson

8. Matt Davison

9. Niles Paul

10. Guy Ingles

10. Todd Brown

I'm giving Muhammad bonus points for his OB win over Miami. His career stats alone put him somewhere down around 15th or 20th.

This is interesting... I don't know enough about Guy Ingles or Todd Brown to comment. I think you've got Swift waaay too high. He was good, but I don't think he was any better than Matt Davison.

I'd go with:

1. Johnny Rodgers (many still consider him to be the single greatest player ever at Nebraska, and one of the most electric players ever in college football).

2. Irving Fryar

3. Mo Purify (he really only had one good year, but he was big, fast, reliable - the whole package).

4. Abdul Muhammad (this guy came up with a play every single time we needed one. The Miami Orange Bowl wasn't unique, it was just the biggest stage).

5. Clester Johnson

Those are the guys that stand out to me... After them, it's a giant mix of Reggie Baul, Matt Davison, Nate Swift, Todd Peterson, Terrence Nunn, Niles Paul, Wilson Thomas... heck, even Bobby Newcombe, for as good as he was his freshman year.

I will say this - if you include blocking skills, then after Rodgers and Fryar, you basically have to go with Muhammad, Johnson, and Reggie Baul. Those guys all had big play ability, they all caught the ball, they all could get up in the air and fight for the ball and make highlight reel catches, they could lay out to make diving grabs, and they were like bulldogs blocking for Frazier and our RBs. They were a huge part of our offensive success in the mid 90's. Nate Swift, Todd Peterson, Terrence Nunn, Niles Paul - none of them would have started over Baul, Johnson or Muhammad in that offense. I'm not sure if those 3 guys would have been able to start in Watson's offense or not...

 

[NUance]

That's like judging Zac Taylor by his rushing stats. You can't judge Muhammad by his stats alone when we passed something like 15% of the time. We literally had games where we didn't pass the ball 10 times during his time here.

Same with Fryar. Half the guys on that list have better stats at NU than Fryar. But he's the most talented of the bunch.

Not really. We ran more of a pro-style offense when Fryar was here. Osborne didn't switch to the running attack until the late 70s when he saw how Oklahoma was killing us with the Wishbone.

The Option Offense that everyone associates with Osborne didn't really show up until the late 70s and wasn't perfected until Turner Gill in the early 80s.

Not really? Not really to which part? Here's Fryar's stats:

15. Irving Fryar, WB, 1981-82-83 67 1,196 17.9 11 LINK

As for talent, Fryar was drafted #1 overall and played in the NFL for 16 years.

As for the pro offense, was that what the triplets were running back then? Was the Scoring Explosion a pro offense? Fryar played with Gill, not Feragamo. Just sayin.

 

[NUance]

Fryar played in almost the exact same offense as Muhammad. He was one of the Triplets, along with Gill and Rozier.

My top 10:

1. Irving Fryar

2. Johnny Rodgers

3. Nate Swift

4. Mo Purify

5. Abdul Muhammad

6. Terrence Nunn

7. Todd Peterson

8. Matt Davison

9. Niles Paul

10. Guy Ingles

10. Todd Brown

I'm giving Muhammad bonus points for his OB win over Miami. His career stats alone put him somewhere down around 15th or 20th.

This is interesting... I don't know enough about Guy Ingles or Todd Brown to comment. I think you've got Swift waaay too high. He was good, but I don't think he was any better than Matt Davison.

I'd go with:

1. Johnny Rodgers (many still consider him to be the single greatest player ever at Nebraska, and one of the most electric players ever in college football).

2. Irving Fryar

3. Mo Purify (he really only had one good year, but he was big, fast, reliable - the whole package).

4. Abdul Muhammad (this guy came up with a play every single time we needed one. The Miami Orange Bowl wasn't unique, it was just the biggest stage).

5. Clester Johnson

Those are the guys that stand out to me... After them, it's a giant mix of Reggie Baul, Matt Davison, Nate Swift, Todd Peterson, Terrence Nunn, Niles Paul, Wilson Thomas... heck, even Bobby Newcombe, for as good as he was his freshman year.

I will say this - if you include blocking skills, then after Rodgers and Fryar, you basically have to go with Muhammad, Johnson, and Reggie Baul. Those guys all had big play ability, they all caught the ball, they all could get up in the air and fight for the ball and make highlight reel catches, they could lay out to make diving grabs, and they were like bulldogs blocking for Frazier and our RBs. They were a huge part of our offensive success in the mid 90's. Nate Swift, Todd Peterson, Terrence Nunn, Niles Paul - none of them would have started over Baul, Johnson or Muhammad in that offense. I'm not sure if those 3 guys would have been able to start in Watson's offense or not...

Ha ha! I don't actually remember all the guys on that list. For some I was just going by their stats. LINK I didn't want to leave anyone out just because he played before I watched Husker football.

 

[NUance]

Freakin double post. Freakin double post.

 

[shyndy]

no love for corey dixon?

 

[druski_2k5]

My top 10:

1. Irving Fryar

2. Johnny Rodgers

3. Nate Swift

4. Mo Purify

5. Abdul Muhammad

6. Terrence Nunn

7. Todd Peterson

8. Matt Davison

9. Niles Paul

10. Guy Ingles

10. Todd Brown

Man, you know we're historically a dominant run-first team when 6 out of those 11 on the "Best Receivers of all time" list, played most, if not all, of their college playing career after 1998.

 

[NUance]

My top 10:

1. Irving Fryar

2. Johnny Rodgers

3. Nate Swift

4. Mo Purify

5. Abdul Muhammad

6. Terrence Nunn

7. Todd Peterson

8. Matt Davison

9. Niles Paul

10. Guy Ingles

10. Todd Brown

Man, you know we're historically a dominant run-first team when 6 out of those 11 on the "Best Receivers of all time" list, played most, if not all, of their college playing career after 1998.

Yeah, and the top two were wingbacks for NU, not WRs.

 

[druski_2k5]

In terms of "Receiving yards and TDs" it really shows our run-first nature, but what you never see talked about is how EVERY receiver that has came through here HAD to be good at run blocking or they wouldn't see the field. It just shows the kind of team we used to be as we never highlighted receivers in terms of yards, and the shift in philosophy later on.

Just seeing Swift, Peterson, Nunn and Purify on that list really angers me. Not so much because they disappointed, but they were on the team at the same time!

How could we not put those 4 our there and have a great offense? Especially with the running backs we had in 2006 and the defense talent we had on that team? Zac Taylor was the Big XII Offensive Player of the Year [Pretty sure he was] but we could not make it work to our advantage for all the marbles, or even a Conference title.

I know I know, Callahan, but man, I would have loved to see us run a Spread Option with those guys. Nunn was a burner, Purify could jump out of the building and had good speed, and Swift and Peterson were GREAT possession receivers. I LOVED watching them make catch, after catch, after catch on a post, drag, or slant route over the middle.

Heck we even had Matt Herian with them too.

2006, in my opinion, could be categorized with the 1999 team [in terms of just straight up talent] that we had all the right players to win the whole thing but didn't for "X" reason.

Fumbles in 1999 & of course the coaching blunder in 2006 that lead to what was 2007.

 

[papersun87]

Golly, when I think of our best receivers the names that spring to my head are Bobby Newcombe and Lance Brown . . . I never paid attention to their blocking in 1997 when I was eight years old but every time I've seen a game since they're all I can watch.

 

[deedsker]

I miss Grant Mulkey. I know he is from the time which we must not mention, but the dude was an animal. I remember him going across the middle for a pass, catching it and getting lit up. He got a concussion or some type of injury and still held on to the ball. BEAST! (Yeah I know he wouldn't be top 10 and he got dismissed from the team.)

 

[Hercules]

2006, in my opinion, could be categorized with the 1999 team [in terms of just straight up talent] that we had all the right players to win the whole thing but didn't for "X" reason.

Fumbles in 1999 & of course the coaching blunder in 2006 that lead to what was 2007.

I'm sorry, but the 2006 team was not in the same universe as the 1999 team.

 

[B.B. Hemingway]

My top 10:

1. Irving Fryar

2. Johnny Rodgers

3. Nate Swift

4. Mo Purify

5. Abdul Muhammad

6. Terrence Nunn

7. Todd Peterson

8. Matt Davison

9. Niles Paul

10. Guy Ingles

10. Todd Brown

I'm giving Muhammad bonus points for his OB win over Miami. His career stats alone put him somewhere down around 15th or 20th.

I have always found Purify to be both very talented but also overrated.