SANTANA MOSS

'Santana Terrell Moss' (born June 1, 1979 in Miami, Florida) is an American football player who currently plays wide receiver for the Washington Redskins of the NFL.

Contents

Early years

College career

NFL career

2001 NFL Draft

New York Jets

Washington Redskins

2005 season

2006 season

Playing style

Personal

References

External links

Early years

Moss played high school football at Miami Carol City Senior High where he led Carol City with 25 receptions for 600 yards and 12 TD as a senior, and amassed 450 yards on 12 kickoff returns with one TD that year. Moss earned third-team all-state football honors following his senior season.

College career

Moss joined the Miami Hurricanes in 1997 as a walk-on, before being awarded a scholarship after the season's third game. He went on to break the school's record (previously held by Michael Irvin) for most receiving yards (with 2,546 yards). He finished the 2000 season with 1,604 all-purpose yards. He was chosen to the "All-Big East Conference First Team" as a senior. Moss was the first player to earn Big East Offensive and Special Teams Player of the Year honors in the same season.
Moss also ran track at the University of Miami, and was named the "Most Outstanding Field Performer" for the 2000 Big East Outdoor Track and Field championships. In 1999, Moss finished the 60-meter dash in 6.83 seconds.
Moss is an important figure in Miami Hurricanes football history, generally considered (along with Michael Irvin) one of the most accomplished wide receivers in the university's history. He graduated as the school's all-time leader in receiving yards (2,546), punt return yards (1,196), and all-purpose yards (4,394).

NFL career

2001 NFL Draft

Moss was a first round (16th overall) pick in the 2001 NFL Draft by the New York Jets out of the University of Miami. Moss's agent is fellow University of Miami alumnus Drew Rosenhaus, a member of the so-called Miami mafia, who is widely considered one of the most aggressive agents currently representing NFL players.

''Pre-draft measureables''
Wt	40y	20ss	3-cone	Vert	BP	Wonderlic
181 lb ★	4.31s ★	X	X	42 in ★	X	15 ★ [1]

(''
★ represents NFL Combine'')

New York Jets

Moss played 51 games with the Jets and finished with 3,899 receiving yards, 19 touchdowns, 127 rushing yards, and 1,799 return yards.

Washington Redskins

2005 season

Following the 2004 season, Moss was acquired by the Redskins in a trade with the Jets for former Jet Laveranues Coles.
Known for his big play potential, Moss started the season off with a bang in just Week 2 against the Dallas Cowboys, where he caught two touchdown passes of 39 and 70 yards from Mark Brunell in the last five minutes to beat the Cowboys 14-13 on ''Monday Night Football''. This dramatic finish immediately endeared him to his new hometown fans, and set the stage for a season that would turn him into a fan favorite in Washington.
His 2005 season with the Redskins was the best in his professional career, with 84 receptions for 1,483 yards, setting a new Redskins single-season receiving record. In 2005, Moss also was selected to his first NFL Pro Bowl. Moss recorded 18 rushing yards and 3 catches for 39 receiving yards at the Pro Bowl.

2006 season

The 2006 season got off to a slow start for Moss. In the first three games, he recorded only 13 catches for 188 yards as the Redskins got off to a disappointing 1-2 start. On October 1, 2006, however, Moss exploded for a season-high 138 yards on 4 catches, hauling in three touchdowns of 55 and 8 yards, as well as a 68-yard game-winning touchdown to give Washington the victory in overtime over the visiting Jacksonville Jaguars 36-30 [1].
Due to injuries that kept him inactive much of the year and less than 100% when he did play, Moss finished the year with 790 yards on 55 receptions and the Redskins finished the year a disappointing 5-11.

Playing style

While Moss does not have the size of prototypical wide receiver, he does have excellent speed and quickness which allows him to consistently separate from defensive backs.[2] Also, due to his size, Moss does not receive a lot of jump balls, he is adept at making leaping grabs due to his 44-inch vertical.[3]

Personal

Moss attended Scottlake Elementary and Parkway Middle School, both located in Miami. He majored in liberal arts at the University of Miami.
Moss has two children, Santana, Jr. (a son) and Saniya (a daughter). He is the older brother of current New York Giants wide receiver Sinorice Moss, who was drafted in the second round of the 2006 NFL Draft.

References

1. http://www.nfldraftscout.com/ratings/profile.php?pyid=60411

External links

★ Santana Moss Official Web Site.

★ Santana Moss biography at NFLplayers.com.

★ Santana Moss collegiate statistics at University of Miami Athletics Web Site.

★ Santana Moss NFL statistics at NFL.com.