New Era Pinstripe Bowl NFL Draft Preview: Rutgers vs. Iowa State

Rutgers doesn’t have a guy like Ray Rice, but in the New Era Pinstripe bowl, they definitely boast the top prospect in wide receiver Mohamed Sanu and one of the more intriguing matchups overall in the bowl season between Sanu and Iowa State cornerback Leonard Johnson.

Sanu is one of our top rated wide receivers who has good size and speed, and can make acrobatic catches look easy. Johnson is a cornerback with intriguing size and he has really shown some skills this season, building on what has been a pretty standout career at ISU.

Another top notch prospect in this game is Iowa State tackle Kelechi Osemele, who has shown he can be absolutely dominant at times. Scouts believe he is best suited to kick over to right tackle or play guard at the NFL level, and I think he could be a starter for a really long time at either position. He has great size at 6’5″ 335 pounds and has gotten a lot better this year with his overall technique and pass protection. One of his best assets is his toughness, and he has played injured this year.

I really like a wide receiver in this game, and not just Sanu. Iowa state has a 6’2″ 210 pound playmaker named Darius Reynolds who, despite bad quarterback play, has put together a fine senior season. Reynolds has great size and is averaging over 16 yards per catch this season. He leads the team with seven touchdowns and could have a big day against Rutgers today. Watch out for him, he wears number seven.

Speaking of poor quarterback play, Mohamed Sanu has really had a fantastic year for two different quarterbacks, catching 109 passes with seven touchdowns. He is a playmaker, and if he leaves school this year I think he would run well enough to be a first round pick and he could be a better overall prospect than another former Rutgers player, Kenny Britt.

He has a good matchup against Leonard Johnson, who only has one interception this year but has 67 tackles and seven passes broken up. Teams try to avoid throwing his way, but he is giving up about three inches of height to the 6’2″ Sanu, so Rutgers is going to have to take advantage of that.