Rookie Profile: Greg Salas

[r8rh8rmike]

Rookie Profile: Greg Salas
By Nick Wagoner/Senior Writer

Posted Jun 13, 2011

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Name: Greg Salas

Position: Wide Receiver

Number: 87

College: Hawaii

From: Chino, California

High School Career: Played at Chino High in California where was an All League selection as a defensive back and a wide receiver…Also lettered in track where he was one of the state’s best sprinters…Chose Hawaii over a variety of west coast schools…originally scheduled to play defensive back coming out of high school.

College Career: Switched to wide receiver from defensive back during his redshirt freshman season in 2006…Went on to become one of the most prolific wideouts in the Western Athletic Conference history…All told, Salas started 40 of his 49 games, posting 285 catches for 4,345 yards and 26 touchdowns…Reception total ranks third in WAC records and 15th in NCAA history…Receiving yardage total places him first in school history, third in WAC annals and tied for sixth in NCAA history…Had a breakthrough season in 2009, posting 106 catches for 1,590 yards and eight touchdowns…Followed with another huge season as a senior, putting up 119 receptions for 1,889 yards and 14 touchdowns on his way to third-team All American status.

Need to Know: Spent the majority of his time at Hawaii working out of the slot where he rarely faced press coverage. Has the hands and physical skills to be an impact pass catcher but will need to become a sharp route runner capable of beating press coverage to become a high level wideout in the NFL.

He Said It:

“I’m not too sure. I know I can catch the ball and that’s just the main focus as a receiver for me. Whatever the coaches want me to do as part of the Rams, that’s what I’ll do.” – Salas during draft weekend on what he expects his role to be in St. Louis.

They Said It:

“They’re tough. They’re both smart guys and they’re tough guys. That’s a thing that jumps out, and they’ve got great hands. That’ll be fun to watch those two guys work with Sam and the other quarterbacks and get into the flow of the offense. I think they’re both what you would describe as winners, also.” – Rams GM Billy Devaney on what Salas and fellow drafted WR Austin Pettis bring to the table.

“He can play everything also. He’s been an outside guy. He’s played a lot as an inside guy, so he gives us a lot of flexibility also.” – Devaney on where Salas fits into the depth chart.

Outlook: A polished, tough kid with the ability to make plays after the catch and the fearless attitude to go over the middle, Salas figures to come in and compete for playing time right away and could become a go-to type of wideout right away on third down.

[RAMpage28]

He will probably share time in the slot with Danny. He will probably be in the slot in the red zone as he is a bigger target. I think he is going to make a big impact his rookie year.

[TekeRam]

15th in NCAA history in catches and 6th in yards? Big time steal in the 4th in my opinion! So what if he played mainly in the slot? We can't use him in the slot now? We can't move him around to get free releases? Perfect kind of guy for the Pats style of offense.