Mohamed Sanu facts for kids
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Sanu with the Falcons in 2018
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| No. 12, 14, 6 | |||||||||||||||
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| Position: | Wide receiver | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born: | August 22, 1989 New Brunswick, New Jersey, U.S. |
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| Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight: | 210 lb (95 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school: | South Brunswick (Monmouth Junction, New Jersey) |
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| College: | Rutgers (2009–2011) | ||||||||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 2012 / Round: 3 / Pick: 83 | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||
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| Player stats at PFR | |||||||||||||||
Mohamed Sanu Sr. (born August 22, 1989) is a former professional American football player. He was a wide receiver in the NFL. Sanu played college football for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. He was chosen by the Cincinnati Bengals in the third round of the 2012 NFL draft. Sanu also played for the Atlanta Falcons, New England Patriots, Detroit Lions, San Francisco 49ers, and Miami Dolphins.
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Early Life and Sports
Mohamed Sanu grew up in Sayreville, New Jersey. His family is Muslim. When he was a child, he also lived in Sierra Leone, where his parents are from. Later, he returned to the United States and lived in Dayton, New Jersey.
At South Brunswick High School, Sanu was a star triple option quarterback. In his last year, he helped his team, the Vikings, reach the playoffs for the first time in almost 40 years. He even scored three long rushing touchdowns in one game!
Sanu also excelled in track & field. He was one of New Jersey's best jumpers. He placed second in the triple jump and third in the long jump at a big championship. He also ran short races. Besides football, Sanu is a big fan of soccer and supports the team West Ham United.
College Football Career
Mohamed Sanu started playing for Rutgers University in 2009. As a freshman, he played as a wide receiver. He caught 51 passes for 639 yards and scored three touchdowns. He also ran the ball 62 times for 346 yards and five touchdowns. He was the first freshman wide receiver to start for Rutgers under coach Greg Schiano. Sanu was named the Most Valuable Player at the 2009 St. Petersburg Bowl.
In 2011, Sanu set a Big East record by catching 13 passes in a game against North Carolina. The very next week, he broke his own record with 16 catches! That year, he also broke the Big East record for most catches in a single season with 115 receptions for 1,206 yards.
Over his three years at Rutgers, Sanu caught 210 passes for 2,263 yards and 19 touchdowns. He also gained over 3,000 total yards. He even threw four touchdown passes and made one interception!
College Statistics
| Season | Team | GP | Receiving | Rushing | Scrimmage | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Tch | Yds | Avg | TD | |||
| 2009 | Rutgers | 13 | 51 | 639 | 12.5 | 3 | 62 | 346 | 5.6 | 5 | 113 | 985 | 8.7 | 8 |
| 2010 | Rutgers | 12 | 44 | 418 | 9.5 | 2 | 59 | 309 | 5.2 | 4 | 103 | 727 | 7.1 | 6 |
| 2011 | Rutgers | 13 | 115 | 1,206 | 10.5 | 7 | 4 | −2 | −0.5 | 0 | 119 | 1,204 | 10.1 | 7 |
| Total | 38 | 210 | 2,263 | 10.8 | 12 | 125 | 653 | 5.2 | 9 | 335 | 2,916 | 8.7 | 21 | |
Professional Football Career
Mohamed Sanu was chosen by the Cincinnati Bengals in the third round of the 2012 NFL draft. He was the 83rd player picked overall.
Cincinnati Bengals
2012 Season Highlights
In his first NFL game on September 23, 2012, Sanu did something amazing! He played as a "wildcat" quarterback (a player who usually isn't a quarterback but takes snaps directly). On the very first play, he threw a 73-yard touchdown pass to his teammate, A. J. Green. This made him the first Bengals wide receiver to ever throw a touchdown pass. He threw a touchdown pass before he even caught his first NFL pass!
Sanu scored his first touchdown catch in Week 10 against the New York Giants. In Week 12, he had his first game with two touchdowns against the Oakland Raiders. Unfortunately, his season ended early due to an injury.
2013 Season
Sanu played in all 16 games during the 2013 season. He caught 47 passes for 455 yards and scored two touchdowns. The Bengals had a great year, finishing with 11 wins and 5 losses. They made it to the playoffs, but lost in the first round.
2014 Season
In 2014, Sanu became a very important player for the Bengals. Other receivers were injured, so he stepped up. He had two games where he gained over 100 receiving yards. In Week 2, he caught a 76-yard touchdown pass, his longest ever, from quarterback Andy Dalton.
In the next game, Sanu showed off his throwing skills again! He threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Andy Dalton. This was his second career touchdown pass. In Week 6, he caught a career-high 10 passes for 120 yards and a touchdown. The Bengals made the playoffs again but lost in the first round.
2015 Season
In 2015, Sanu caught 33 passes for 394 yards. He also scored his first NFL rushing touchdown on a 25-yard run. The Bengals had another strong season with 12 wins and 4 losses. They made the playoffs but lost a close game.
Atlanta Falcons
2016 Season and Super Bowl LI
On March 10, 2016, Sanu joined the Atlanta Falcons. In his first game with the Falcons, he caught five passes for 80 yards and scored a touchdown. He finished the season with 59 catches for 653 yards and four touchdowns.
The Falcons had an amazing season, winning 11 games. They made it all the way to Super Bowl LI! In the playoffs, Sanu scored touchdowns in both the Divisional Round and the NFC Championship game. In the Super Bowl, the Falcons played against the New England Patriots. Sanu caught two passes, but the Falcons lost in overtime.
2017 Season
In 2017, Sanu had a season-high 85 receiving yards in a win against the Green Bay Packers. He also threw another touchdown pass, a 51-yard throw to Julio Jones! Sanu finished the season with 67 catches for 703 yards and five touchdowns. The Falcons made the playoffs again, winning their first game but losing in the next round to the team that would win the Super Bowl.
2018 Season
Sanu had a great game in Week 4 of the 2018 season, catching six passes for 111 yards. In the last game of the season, he threw his fourth career touchdown pass to quarterback Matt Ryan. Sanu finished the 2018 season with a career-high 838 receiving yards and four touchdowns.
2019 Season with Falcons
In 2019, Sanu continued to play well for the Falcons. He had nine catches for 91 yards in one game and scored a touchdown in another. He had 33 catches and 313 yards with the Falcons before he was traded.
New England Patriots
On October 22, 2019, Sanu was traded to the New England Patriots. In his first game with the Patriots, he caught two passes. In Week 9, he had his best game with the Patriots, catching 10 passes for 81 yards and a touchdown. He finished the season with 26 catches and 207 yards for the Patriots.
Sanu was released by the Patriots in September 2020.
San Francisco 49ers (First Time)
On September 18, 2020, Sanu signed with the San Francisco 49ers. He played in three games before being released in October.
Detroit Lions
Sanu then joined the Detroit Lions practice squad in November 2020. He was later moved to the main team. He finished the 2020 season with 17 catches for 187 yards and one touchdown.
San Francisco 49ers (Second Time)
On March 30, 2021, Sanu re-signed with the 49ers. He played in eight games before an injury placed him on injured reserve. He finished the 2021 season with 15 catches for 177 yards.
Miami Dolphins
On July 26, 2022, Sanu signed with the Miami Dolphins. He was released by the team in August 2022.
NFL Career Statistics
| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | Rushing | Passing | Fumbles | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | TD | Int | Rtg | Fum | Lost | ||
| 2012 | CIN | 9 | 3 | 16 | 154 | 9.6 | 34 | 4 | 5 | 15 | 3.0 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 100.0 | 73 | 1 | 0 | 158.3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2013 | CIN | 16 | 14 | 47 | 455 | 9.7 | 32 | 3 | 4 | 16 | 4.0 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 100.0 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 118.7 | 1 | 1 |
| 2014 | CIN | 16 | 13 | 56 | 790 | 14.1 | 76 | 5 | 7 | 51 | 7.3 | 26 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 100.0 | 79 | 1 | 0 | 158.3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2015 | CIN | 16 | 4 | 33 | 394 | 11.9 | 52 | 0 | 10 | 71 | 7.1 | 25 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 |
| 2016 | ATL | 15 | 15 | 59 | 653 | 11.1 | 59 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 1 |
| 2017 | ATL | 15 | 15 | 67 | 703 | 10.5 | 25 | 5 | 4 | 10 | 2.5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 100.0 | 51 | 1 | 0 | 158.3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | ATL | 16 | 16 | 66 | 838 | 12.7 | 44 | 4 | 7 | 44 | 6.3 | 24 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 50.0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 95.8 | 2 | 1 |
| 2019 | ATL | 7 | 6 | 33 | 313 | 9.5 | 28 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1.5 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 |
| NE | 8 | 6 | 26 | 207 | 8.0 | 19 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 8.0 | 8 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | |
| 2020 | SF | 3 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 9.0 | 9 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | |
| DET | 7 | 4 | 16 | 178 | 11.1 | 21 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3.0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | |
| 2021 | SF | 8 | 0 | 15 | 177 | 11.8 | 21 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 136 | 96 | 435 | 4,871 | 11.2 | 76 | 27 | 42 | 226 | 5.4 | 26 | 2 | 7 | 8 | 87.5 | 233 | 4 | 0 | 158.3 | 6 | 3 | |
Personal Life
Mohamed Sanu is a practicing Muslim.
