Getty Randy Moss during the January 20, 2013 NFC title game between the 49ers and Falcons.
The interviewing process is still on going for aspiring NFL athletes for the 2022 season. And that includes representatives of the San Francisco 49ers making themselves available for these NFL Draft prospects.
Well, the latest name to surface on the 49ers‘ radar not only held an interview with the franchise on Monday, April 4, but once shattered a collegiate record previously held by one former S.F. wide receiver who is now in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Randy Moss.
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Who Interviewed With the 49ers
Per NBC Sports Bay Area columnist Matt Maiocco, the 49ers and new wide receivers coach Leonard Hankerson scheduled an interview with Nebraska wide receiver Samori Toure.
Nebraska WR Samori Toure (6-3, 191) has an interview today with #49ers WR coach Leonard Hankerson, says league source. Toure had 46 catches for 898 yards and five TDs last season.
Toure is a towering target at 6-foot-3 and 191-pounds. As Maiocco pointed out, Toure was four catches away from hauling in 50 passes in his first and only season with the Cornhuskers — which was also his lone experience in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) realm.
However, while Toure may not have put up the most astronomical of numbers in Lincoln, he once put up the kind of numbers that would mimic someone playing a Madden video game.
Toure breezed past Southeast Louisiana for 12 catches for 303 yards on December 7, 2019 during the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) playoffs — getting the Montana Grizzlies to thrash SELU 73-28 and advance on in the postseason. Toure’s yardage shattered the previous mark held by Moss, which was 288 on November 30, 1996 versus Delaware when Moss starred at Marshall University.
Toure left Missoula, Montana with a decorated resume: Earning First Team All-American honors with Phil Steele, claiming All Big Sky Conference First Team honors in 2019 and 2020 and landed on the Fred Biletnikoff Award watch list (which honors the nation’s best wide receiver in college football).
How Did Toure Fare Versus Power 5 Talent?
While he wasn’t with Nebraska very long, Toure still managed to average 19.5 yards per catch while predominantly going against the Big 10 slate.
He also proved that he wasn’t going to be a former FCS receiver overwhelmed by the talent in the FBS realm. Instead, he found ways to overwhelm his own opponents. Here’s what Toure was able to accomplish while playing for the ‘Huskers:
Multiple 100-yard games: Toure delivered five 100-yard outings for Nebraska. Three were against Big 10 foes.
Toure torched top five opponent: Furthermore, Toure racked up his most yardage against an Ohio State team that was ranked fifth in the nation — putting together 150 yards on 4 grabs in their November 6, 2021 meeting.
Play of the Day: @samori_toure 72 yard Touchdown vs Ohio State #Huskera @HuskGuys
Samori Toure is lighting Ohio State up ‼️‼️ Huskers back within 6 ‼️
Top 15 opponent also struggled bottling him: The Buckeyes weren’t the only one who struggled covering Toure. So did No. 15 ranked Wisconsin — as the grad transfer caught 7 passes for 113 yards in the November 20 contest.
#Huskers First Offensive Play against Wisconsin.
Adrian Martinez finds Samori Toure for a 42 Yard Gain.
Ft. Husker Sports Radio🌽🚨
What Scouts Have Said
Is Toure shaping up to be a rising name for the end of the month when the NFL Draft rolls around?
Toure is part of a deep lineup of wide receivers for this class that features multiple 4.4 40-yard dash runners. Sports Illustrated’s The NFL Draft Bible described him as one with “good play speed” and displayed “good spatial manipulation to move DB’s off their spot using pace and leverage” in their review of him.
However, his flaws were he lacked explosiveness, lacked an attack plan on defensive backs on occasion and has struggled versus press coverage.
Meanwhile, The Draft Network’s Brentley Weissman called him an “uber-productive receiver” with excellent hands, body control and ball skills. But again, his weakness is the run-after-the-catch aspect of his game. Lastly, Weissman compared his game to Jakobi Myers of the New England Patriots…another team Moss is familiar with.
Weissman believes that Toure has a fourth round value. The 49ers hold only one selection during that part of the draft at No. 134. But per 49ers Web Zone, Toure becomes the third wide receiver who has met with 49ers officials.