Posted by SpartaRick
on 2/23/2009, 8:28 am, in reply to "Returning Spartans -- Wide Receivers"
98.207.134.246
It is difficult for a receiver to achieve a large number of "yards per catch" when our passes vary from being behind our line of scimmage to no more than three yards beyond it.
--Previous Message--
: Although it's been hard to keep up with all
: the comments to my post on running backs,
: it's time to move along and take a look at
: returning wide receivers.
:
: The returning candidates are:
:
: Marquis Avery, JR, 6-4, 195: Avery is a
: highly-rated JC who transferred last Fall
: from Fullerton College, where he was a
: first-team all conference pick as a
: sophomore, catching 60 passes for 766 yards
: and 7 touchdowns. He also scored 7
: touchdowns in his freshman year, on 28
: catches for 435 yards. He was a three-time,
: first-team all league pick in H.S. I think
: the term is he "gray-shirted" the
: Fall semester, and is technically listed
: with the signing class of 2009. But because
: we've been aware he's on the team for a
: while, now, I'm including him in the
: "returning" series. I'm sure many
: Spartan fans, including myself, are looking
: forward to seeing Marquis in a Spartan
: uniform, and we are hoping for stardom for
: him. At 6-foot 4-inches, he brings great
: height, and should be a real weapon. You
: just know Terry Malley will find ways to get
: him the ball.
:
: Michael Avila, SO, 5-9, 165: Avila got
: into 11 games in 2008, started one (against
: Fresno), and had 18 catches for 152 yards,
: no TDs. His best game was probably his four
: receptions at Nevada, although against
: Fresno he tallied 40 yards on just two
: catches. Avila was the Monterey Herald's
: Male Athlete of the Year in 2006. He set 17
: high school football records at Seaside
: H.S., tallying 2,167 total yards and 25 TDs
: his senior season. He was also a sprinter
: on the H.S. track and field team, with a
: lifetime best of 10.76 in the 100 meters.
: At 5-9, Avila would figure to be a bit too
: short to compete at the FBS level. But if
: he has the quick and the moves to get open,
: he doesn't need to be real tall to win a
: Best Supporting Actor award for his role as
: a reserve receiver in 2009. He has a resume
: that says, "real athlete" and may
: figure more prominently in our 2010 season.
:
: Jalal Beauchman, SR, 6-4, 220: In 2007,
: when most folks were talking about Dave
: Richmond and Kevin Jurovich, I was noticing
: how often Radar called Beauchman's name on
: our M.A.S.H. P.A. system. ( Before he made
: the catch, of course. ) He was quietly
: productive, and seemed to catch a lot of
: clutch passes. It was my impression that he
: was the check-off guy when both Richmond and
: Jurovich were covered, and in that role
: became a real asset to Adam Trafalis.
: Beauchman caught 36 passes in 2007, for 332
: yards and one TD, that being the first TD of
: the season scored by the Spartans, at
: K-State. While others may have been looking
: forward to the return of Richmond and
: Jurovich in 2008, I was wanting to see how
: big a season Jalal would have. And then,
: after playing in just four games, starting
: all of them, he took a wrong step off of a
: bus. But in those four games, he caught 13
: passes for 133 yards, and was on his way to
: having another good year. Jalal was a
: first-team All Central Coast football
: player, and the West Catholic Athletic
: League's 2005 Receiver of the Year. He was
: a S.F. Chron All Metro pick after his
: stellar senior season at Bellarmine. His
: father, Leon, played basketball for SJSU
: from 1971 - 1973. I hope Jalal's ankle is
: fully recovered for 2008. If it is, I think
: he will have a great season.
:
: Josh Harrison, SO, 5-11, 182: Harrison
: appeared in 10 games in 2008 as a red-shirt
: freshman, starting five of them. He caught
: 19 passes for 135 yards, no TDs. His best
: game was against Utah State, in which he
: snagged 5 for a total of 26 yards. Some
: observors believe Josh is the fastest guy on
: the team, and he may be, but he needs to
: improve his 7.10 yards per catch average
: because otherwise he is just "going
: nowhere fast." His average per catch
: may have had more to do with last year's
: playbook, which seemed to emphasize the
: " sideline out " route. This
: year, it would be nice to seem him have a
: chance to show his speed. Harrison was a
: two-time all-league pick at Rio Mesa H.S. in
: Oxnard, where he caught 40 balls for 876
: yards and 10 TDs as a senior. He was also a
: track & field athlete.
:
: Patrick Horan-Walker, JR, 6-1, 215:
: Walker made no appearances in 2008. He is a
: JC transfer from Monterey Peninsula College.
: I have very little information about him.
: Anyone with more info, please feel free to
: post it below.
:
: Jordan Johnson, RS/FR, 5-10, 175: I have
: learned that Johnson reportedly traveled to
: many 2008 away games, but was intentionally
: red-shirted. In 2006, Johnson played
: receiver, corner, and punt returner at
: Foothill H.S. in the East Bay Athletic
: League, and was the league MVP. Foothill
: went undefeated until losing in the NCS
: final to De La Salle. Johnson was a
: first-team All Metro pick, and an All State
: nominee. He is from Pleasanton. (Thanks to
: Sparta96 for the info.)
:
: Kevin Jurovich, SR, 6-0, 183: A lot of us
: have spent a lot of time trying to figure
: out where our 2008 team went wrong.
: Injuries played a key role, and perhaps none
: was more costly than the illness that
: sidelined Jurovich for most of the season.
: He was supposed to be all-world in 2008. He
: was supposed to make the last-second snag
: that won the WAC conference title for the
: first time in SJSU history. He was supposed
: to be the guy who beat Boise State, and
: Fresno, and anybody else who got in our way.
: He did make 15 catches in the first two
: games of the year, for 183 yards and 1 TD
: (at Nebraska!). And then he played no more.
: After moving from Safety to wide receiver
: in 2007, he took our breath away with a
: school-record 85 catches, good for 1,183
: yards, third-best ever at SJSU (and we've
: had some pretty good receivers over the
: years). He was second-team All-WAC, 13th
: nationally in receptions, 9th in yards --
: and that was in a 5-7 year. He played hurt
: the last games of the 2007 season, but still
: finished with 9 TDs. The guy has what the
: old-timers call sand . His absence in 2008
: probably cost us one or two wins.
:
: Khalil Paden, SO, 6-1, 165: Paden got
: into 6 games in 2008, starting none, but
: caught 4 balls for 31 yards. He should be a
: contributor in 2009, certainly on the
: special teams.
:
: Andrew Reyes, RS/FR, 6-1, 180: Reyes did
: not make a game appearance in 2008, and
: enters 2009 as a red shirt freshman. He is
: from Palma High in Salinas, where he was
: first-team all-league and an all-county pick
: in football. He was also a sprinter on his
: high school track & field team. Reyes
: is another sleeper who will probably figure
: more into Sparta's future than into 2009,
: but he could begin to notch playing time and
: some catches in 2009.
:
: Chris Ward, JR, 5-11, 175: Chris got into
: one game in 2008, but did not make a catch.
: He joined in the Spartans in the Spring of
: 2008, as a JC transfer from San Jose City
: College.
:
: Terrence Williams, SR, 6-5, 225: Terrence
: saw action in 11 games in 2008, starting 7.
: He was the team's second-leading receiver,
: behind Dave Richmond, with 22 catches for
: 288 yards, and 2 TDs. The transfer from
: City College of SF has great height and got
: open regularly, but he dropped a few more
: passes than he should have. It looked to me
: like he wanted to run before he secured
: the ball. He can improve on that with more
: practice and better self-discipline. I look
: for Williams to be one of our starters in
: 2008, and I think he will be improved.
:
: Analysis
:
: In 2008, SJSU averaged just 6.1 yards per
: pass attempt , and 10.0 yards per
: completed pass. Average passing yards per
: game was 196.2, and the team scored a paltry
: 12 TDs by air.
:
: Our QBs (and a couple of others) threw 383
: passes, and connected on 249 of them.
: Unfortunately, 13 of those connects were to
: the wrong team. Two of those arguably
: cost us the La-Tek game, and a bowl bid.
:
: The overall 61.1% completion rate is
: misleading, as many were sideline passes
: that went for little, no, or negative yards.
:
: That's the bad news. The good news? I'll
: betcha' didn't know we had this many wide
: receivers on hand, did 'ya? This position
: is deep, particularly if Jurovich is granted
: an additional year. Jurovich, Beauchman,
: Williams and Avery are a tremendous
: receiving corps, and there are promising
: back-ups.
:
: I honestly believe SJSU will have one of the
: better receiving units in the WAC in 2009.
: The real question is will we have a
: quarterback who can hit them on seam routes
: and post patterns? Or an offensive line
: that can get the quarterback enough time to
: throw without being panicked and rushed.
:
: We will have Terry Malley calling plays and
: coaching the quarterbacks, and I think that
: will be a huge plus. He will be
: challenged to improve that 6.1 yards per
: pass average, but most knowledgable fans
: believe he can do it.
:
: Once again, thanks for reading, and for your
: comments. Next up: Quarterbacks. Don't
: forget the light.
:
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