2021 Spring Notes - Wide Receivers & Tight Ends

Nebraska55fan said:
Toure- looks the part. Runs nice routes, gets separation, soft hands, nice Size, I like this guy. He should be in the 700-1000 yards area if we have another guy as a legit threat. 

Manning- the mystery man. Looks the part, good separation and size. Dropped a TD in the Spring game- has health issues. He plays, its huge, cant count on it. 

Martin- Looks the part. Good hands, descent routes. Adequate. 

Betts- Doesnt follow the ball into his hands well. Looks the part, I dont see great separation or great routes. Still just potential for now. 

Falk-Leiwer- Back ups, no game changers or even Westercamp like possession guys

Brown- Hickman- Athletes that have lacked enough consistency to get onto the field

Allen- Tall, athletic and has developed. Not a game breaker but creates matchup issues- Im a fan

Vokalek- huge, great blocker, clod hopper. Not much of a threat at TE

Carnie- Amazing athlete, great speed and size. Unfortunatly he doesnt catch well at all. Even his catches in the Hudl highlights were usually bobbles- doesnt follow ball into his hands. 

Fidone- would have been game changer. Dont expect to see him back. 

Nixon- Good speed and hands, hes a possible. 

Expect Toure to be very consistent. Manning and Allen will have to be near potential for this group to make a difference. Then have another 3 guys make in the 10 catch area. A Nixon/Oliver/Liewer/Falk  needs to step up and get 10 grabs each. This group will be an improvement over last season, but by how much- we dont know yet. 
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Martin is more than "adequate," he is probably the fastest of the bunch and potentially the best WR of the group. 

 
caveman99 said:
Martin is more than "adequate," he is probably the fastest of the bunch and potentially the best WR of the group. 
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I totally agree that Martin is the best athlete. That doesnt mean he will be the best receiver. Weve been fooled before by freakish athlete numbers. Thats all nice, but what matters is how well can they ball. Martin only had 163 yards in 3 seasons of football. Thats not anything to write home about. 

We just lost 2 speed demon WRs who never saw the field- this week and I havent really seen anything from speed freaks- Alante Brown or Rhamir Johnson and probably wont this fall either. 

 Toure looked the best and has taken leadership in the group. Hes had 2500 yards receiving and coming off a dominating season.  He will be a 700-1000 yard receiver if we can get our RBs going and have 1 other legit threat along with an adequate 3rd threat. 

Hopefully Manning will stay well and either Allen 0 most likely or Martin can be that 3rd threat. Then we need 2-3 guys in that 10 catch area. 

 
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Doubt it. Youre saying a career 163 yard guy is going to surpass a 2500 yard first team All American and Academic All American who has taken charge of the receivers group? If you are in fact Martin, I love your attitude. If you aren't Martin, you're just ignoring the data

Martin- 

He has played in 21 games in his collegiate career and caught 16 passes for 153 yards and two touchdowns. Martin redshirted in his first season at Michigan in 2017, then appeared in 13 games with one start as a redshirt freshman in 2018, catching 11 passes for 125 yards and one touchdown. Martin transferred to Iowa prior to the 2019 season and had five catches for 28 yards and one touchdown in five games for the Hawkeyes as a sophomore.

Toure-2019 FCS 1st-Team All-American (SATATS, HERO)
» 2019 FCS 2nd-Team All-American (Phil Steele)
» 2019 FCS 3rd-Team All-American (AP)
» 2019 First Team All-Big Sky
» 2019 Academic All-Big Sky
» FCS Playoff Record for Receiving Yards in a Game (303, vs. SE Louisiana)
» Montana Single-Season Receiving Yardage Record (1,495, 2019)
» Montana Single-Season Receptions Record (82, 2019)
» Montana Single-Game Receiving Yards Record (303 vs. SE Louisiana)


Before Nebraska (Montana/Westview HS)
 Toure finished his career with the Griz with 155 receptions for 2,488 yards and 20 touchdowns, ranking in the top 12 in Montana history in each of those categories.

As a junior in 2019, Toure led the Big Sky and was second in the FCS with a school-record 1,495 receiving yards on 87 receptions. His receiving yardage total was one of the top 30 single-season performances in FCS history. .

Overall, Toure posted six 100-yard receiving games in 2019, including a school-record 303 yards on 12 catches against Southeast Louisiana. 

Toure played in all 11 games as a sophomore in 2018, with 10 starts. He caught 37 passes for 440 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Toure had three games with at least five receptions and totaled a season-high 105 receiving yards at North Dakota.

As a redshirt freshman, Toure played in all 12 games and helped Montana to a 7-4 record.  He finished the season with 31 receptions for 553 yards and five touchdowns, averaging nearly 18 yards per reception. Toure had three receptions that covered at least 72 yards during the 2017 season and also returned 21 kickoffs for 379 yards.

 
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Yes, weve been burned before on over hyped guys over the years who for a variety of reasons never really produced big- Collins, Bell, Mills etc etc

Toure may be a bit different. He has the size, the smarts, good football speed (can change direction and accelerate quickly), exceptional route runner and work ethic that NU needs in that position group. He looks so fluid- smooth- natural on the field. Martinez looked to him right off the bat. Hopefully this one will be paydirt. 

"He's very smart," Lubick said. "He's an experienced player… Learns fast. A big-bodied guy that has a great catch radius. He can go up and attack a ball in the air. Fifty-50 balls aren't 50-50 with him; he goes up and gets them. Then he's a really good route runner. He's very polished…"

 
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Some Toure Highlights from one season. He catches contested balls well and does a great job of adjusting to the throw to put himself in position to make a catch. He makes some tough catches- that only if youve been a receiver- can you really appreciate how tough they really are. Check out the grab at 1:05 and 1:17  He is also really good at making the first tackler miss on those wide receiver screens we all love so much Toure Highlights

 
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Nebraska55fan said:
Doubt it. Youre saying a career 163 yard guy is going to surpass a 2500 yard first team All American and Academic All American who has taken charge of the receivers group? If you are in fact Martin, I love your attitude. If you aren't Martin, you're just ignoring the data

Martin- 

He has played in 21 games in his collegiate career and caught 16 passes for 153 yards and two touchdowns. Martin redshirted in his first season at Michigan in 2017, then appeared in 13 games with one start as a redshirt freshman in 2018, catching 11 passes for 125 yards and one touchdown. Martin transferred to Iowa prior to the 2019 season and had five catches for 28 yards and one touchdown in five games for the Hawkeyes as a sophomore.

Toure-2019 FCS 1st-Team All-American (SATATS, HERO)
» 2019 FCS 2nd-Team All-American (Phil Steele)
» 2019 FCS 3rd-Team All-American (AP)
» 2019 First Team All-Big Sky
» 2019 Academic All-Big Sky
» FCS Playoff Record for Receiving Yards in a Game (303, vs. SE Louisiana)
» Montana Single-Season Receiving Yardage Record (1,495, 2019)
» Montana Single-Season Receptions Record (82, 2019)
» Montana Single-Game Receiving Yards Record (303 vs. SE Louisiana)


Before Nebraska (Montana/Westview HS)
 Toure finished his career with the Griz with 155 receptions for 2,488 yards and 20 touchdowns, ranking in the top 12 in Montana history in each of those categories.

As a junior in 2019, Toure led the Big Sky and was second in the FCS with a school-record 1,495 receiving yards on 87 receptions. His receiving yardage total was one of the top 30 single-season performances in FCS history. .

Overall, Toure posted six 100-yard receiving games in 2019, including a school-record 303 yards on 12 catches against Southeast Louisiana. 

Toure played in all 11 games as a sophomore in 2018, with 10 starts. He caught 37 passes for 440 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Toure had three games with at least five receptions and totaled a season-high 105 receiving yards at North Dakota.

As a redshirt freshman, Toure played in all 12 games and helped Montana to a 7-4 record.  He finished the season with 31 receptions for 553 yards and five touchdowns, averaging nearly 18 yards per reception. Toure had three receptions that covered at least 72 yards during the 2017 season and also returned 21 kickoffs for 379 yards.
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so what you are saying is we should get as many FCS transfers as we can because that definitely translates to the Big10/power5?  and its not like a new place can't do wonders for someone.  Good thing LSU didn't look at Joe Burrow and say man he only went 7-11 for 60 yards at OSU.   If you think Toure is going to duplicate those numbers thats great and I will take that.  It just seems to me that in his limited time here Martin is the one running the routes Martinez likes to throw to.  Maybe that will change.  I really just hope they can spread the ball around and we have 3 very good receivers.   

 
I dont recall saying anything of the sort. I hope Martin does become a legit 3rd threat. Only having a single threat has really hampered this offense. 

Martin didnt have any success at Michigan or as a home town Iowa City hero favorite in Iowa. This is his third stop.

Toure on the other hand is 1-1 and had very good success all 3 years that he played. 

Burrow isnt a good comparison here. He was playing behind GREAT QBs- Cardale Jones and Dwayne Haskins

 Haskins would go on to complete 373 of 533 passes (70 percent) for 4,831 yards, 50 touchdowns and only eight interceptions.

Martin wasnt playing behind those caliber players at Michigan or Iowa. If we can find a player who finishes a competition an eyelash behind someone like Haskins or Jones- SIGN THEM UP> 

 
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MyBloodIsRed16 said:
so what you are saying is we should get as many FCS transfers as we can because that definitely translates to the Big10/power5?  and its not like a new place can't do wonders for someone.  Good thing LSU didn't look at Joe Burrow and say man he only went 7-11 for 60 yards at OSU.   If you think Toure is going to duplicate those numbers thats great and I will take that.  It just seems to me that in his limited time here Martin is the one running the routes Martinez likes to throw to.  Maybe that will change.  I really just hope they can spread the ball around and we have 3 very good receivers.   
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I think both have the ability to do great things this year.  And, in a perfect world, both would do it.

The highlights of Toure posted above are great.  It's going to be very interesting to see how he does against actual D1 DBs.  He can obviously out run FCS talent.  

Watching his highlights made me think of a faster Westerkamp.  

 
No doubt he wont have as many open breakaway TDs against DI talent or probably any scheming him to wide open TDs. 

However the way he gets to contested balls, tracks the ball into his hands and adjusts his routes is really tough to teach- few have those kind of skills. No one Ive seen in recent memory. 

Yes- Westerkamp like- but Westercamp wasnt 6 3" and wasnt able to make the first tackler miss very often, especially in the open field. 

 
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@Mavric Wait, so you're implying that Tanner Lee was a better QB than Armstrong? Ehh... I don't think I'd agree. Lee had a better arm, but that's pretty much it.

But yeah, we desperately need receivers. My forecast for this season depends heavily on whether Manning is healthy (in all aspects).

 
Toe said:
My forecast for this season depends heavily on whether Manning is healthy (in all aspects).
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I have a hard time making season predictions based on a guy who has never produced.  Manning or no Manning, our offense's success is dependent on the O-Line, and Martinez.  I think having a normal full spring and fall will result in several good receiving options making Manning a lot less crucial imo.  

 
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