6 DRFFOOTBALL FAYTOK

Former Rutgers wide receiver Mohamed Sanu, pictured here playing in the 2008 NJ-NY all-star classic, will play WR for the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl 51. (Photo by Chris Faytok | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Talk to Rick Mantz for 10 minutes and the former South Brunswick coach will share two dozen anecdotes on why he believes Mohamed Sanu is one of the best all-around athletes in Rutgers football history.

Mantz, who now serves as the Rutgers football program's director of high school relations, had a front-row seat to Sanu's exploits during his final two seasons at South Brunswick High.

"His athleticism was just unbelievable,'' Mantz said Monday, a day after watching Sanu help the Atlanta Falcons earn a trip to Super Bowl LI thanks to a 44-21win over the Green Bay Packers at the Georgia Dome. "He'd screw around in practice and throw the ball 70 yards on a rope. He was our punter. He'd kick off. One day he was at track practice, just kind of screwing around, and said, 'Coach, can I throw the javelin?' Our top guy, who had a pretty good arm, had gotten hurt and wasn't going to compete.

"So Mo picks up the javelin -- I kid you not -- and he broke the school record in his first day. It was unbelievable, the kid could do anything. He'd play volleyball the tail end of his junior year just because it was a challenge for him. He just annihilated the ball. It was mind-boggling.''

In 2007, after a successful 12-year