24 DAYS UNTIL THE DRAFT...
Emmanuel Sanders is a wide receiver that played for the SMU Mustangs. Sanders has been one of the best players for the Mustangs in the last couple of years. Last year, his senior year, was his best. The best game of his career came when the Mustangs faced off against Washington State (2009). He caught 18 passes for 178 yards in that game.
Sanders was an instant contributor from day one at SMU. His freshman year in '06, he was able to bring in 46 passes for 605 yards with 9 touchdowns (the most ever by a freshman at SMU). He was named honorable mention for the Freshman All-Freshman at the wide receiver position as well as kick returner.
In Sanders' sophomore year, he started 12 games and had a phenomenal season hauling in 74 passes for 889 yards with another 9 touchdowns to add to the previous years total. The 74 receptions was the third most by any receiver in SMU's history. Most folks thought that he was going to go in to his junior year and break the school record. There were a lot of reasons at this point for Mustang fans to be excited.
However, 2008 was a bit of a drop off in production and somewhat of a disappointing year for Sanders. He still had a decent yearthough and managed to bring in 67 passes for 958 yards. It was somewhat of a plateau from the year he had before. He again brought in 9 touchdowns that season. Sanders did however become the first player in SMU's history to have three consecutive seasons with 600+ yards that year.
The SMU wide out decided to return for his senior year and he is one of the few that made the right decision to do so. He finished his collegiate career with a stellar season by catching 98 passes (the most in school history), for 1,339 yards with 7 touchdowns. He leaves SMU with 285 career receptions, 3,791 yards, and 34 touchdowns.
Below, we'll take a look at some of Sanders' other accomplishments.
This is a short video that showcases some of Sanders' highlights in 2008. This success carried over in to the 2009 season and he only got better from what we see in this feed.
AWARDS AND HONORS:
- 2009 First Team All-C-USA
CAREER STATS:
| Stats Overview | Receiving | Rushing | Fumbles | |||||||||
| YEAR | REC | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD | ATT | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD | FUM | LST |
| 2006 | 46 | 605 | 13.2 | 56 | 9 | 2 | 6 | 3.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2007 | 74 | 889 | 12.0 | 54 | 9 | 6 | 28 | 4.7 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2008 | 67 | 958 | 14.3 | 77 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2009 | 98 | 1339 | 13.7 | 75 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 6.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2009 Regular Season Game Log | Receiving | Rushing | Fumbles | |||||||||||
| DATE | OPP | RESULT | REC | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD | ATT | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD | FUM | LST |
| 9/5 | Stephen F. Austin | W 31-23 | 8 | 66 | 8.3 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9/12 | @UAB | W 35-33 | 9 | 148 | 16.4 | 44 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9/19 | @Washington State | L 30-27 | 18 | 178 | 9.9 | 45 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10/3 | @TCU | L 39-14 | 8 | 74 | 9.3 | 34 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10/10 | East Carolina | W 28-21 | 4 | 62 | 15.5 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10/17 | Navy | L 38-35 | 6 | 53 | 8.8 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10/24 | @Houston | L 38-15 | 6 | 47 | 7.8 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10/31 | @Tulsa | W 27-13 | 5 | 79 | 15.8 | 35 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 6.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11/7 | Rice | W 31-28 | 6 | 136 | 22.7 | 37 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11/14 | UTEP | W 35-31 | 7 | 134 | 19.1 | 37 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11/21 | @Marshall | L 34-31 | 8 | 94 | 11.8 | 43 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11/28 | Tulane | W 26-21 | 6 | 144 | 24.0 | 75 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2009 Postseason Game Log | Receiving | Rushing | Fumbles | |||||||||||
| BOWL | OPP | RESULT | REC | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD | ATT | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD | FUM | LST |
| SHERATON HAWAII BOWL | Nevada | W 45-10 | 7 | 124 | 17.7 | 58 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
SUMMARY AND PROJECTION:
Sanders elevated his stock a bit at the combine a few weeks ago with top performances in the 40-yard dash (4.41), vertical jump (39.5), broad jump (10'6"), 3-cone drill (6.60), and the 20-yard shuttle (4.10). The combine is perfect for a guy like Sanders that doesn't have a ton to lose and everything to gain. I believe that Sanders could end up being a diamond in the rough in this years draft. I expect to see him starting somewhere in a couple of years after proving himself in the kick return game and the limited time as he will get to play on offense. Sanders is the type of player that doesn't watch opportunity pass him by. I fully expect him to capatilize on his chances. Some people have him slotted all the way in to the 7th Round and others even have him going undrafted, but I expect him to go a lot higher than that. Sanders measured at 5'11" and weighed in at 186 at the combine.
Possibilities -- 5th Round: Picks 132-169, 6th Round: Picks 170-207.
For more on 100 in 100, click on the link below: