When Bowling Green played at Maryland last season, Dino Babers probably didn’t think it’d be an audition to recruit a player on the other sideline.

Then-BGSU quarterback Matt Johnson threw for six touchdowns. Roger Lewis, now a New York Giants wide receiver reeled in 15 passes for 200 yards. Three wide receivers racked up 79 or more yards.

Even when Maryland threatened, tying the game at 27, Bowling Green rattled off 21 straight points.

On the other side of the field, Amba Etta-Tawo watched as Johnson picked apart the Terrapins defense. Etta-Tawo led all UMD receivers with just five catches and 49 yards.

“I didn’t really remember Amba in the game,” Babers said.

“There was no sales pitch. We played Bowling Green last year, so I got an opportunity to watch his offense live,” Etta-Tawo said, “and from that moment on I wanted to play for (Babers).”

Now it’s Etta-Tawo’s numbers dwarfing other receivers’. He’s 436 yards and 28 catches into a season that could go down in Syracuse lore as one of the best by a wide receiver. While it’s unlikely Etta-Tawo will keep this pace, he’s set to reach 1,744 yards and 112 catches if he does.

It might be surprising Etta-Tawo’s stats have landed him among the top receivers in the country. He’s a transfer wide receiver who had never tallied more than 500 yards in a season.

But it shouldn’t be shocking.

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The offense is conducive to deep threats and fast wide receivers making a difference in games. The pace he’s on would break SU’s current yards per game in a season, receiving yards in a season and receptions in a season records. Etta-Tawo’s season is shaping up like former Tulsa receiver Keyarris Garrett, who underperformed for four years of his college career until being introduced to the Baylor-style spread.

“Amba has been outstanding. He has been a pleasant surprise,” Babers said. “Obviously we had no idea he’d be able to do the things he has done so far. But it doesn’t surprise me.”

The one-season turnaround the offense can provide statistically may have been demonstrated best by the season Garrett had last year. After Tulsa head coach Philip Montgomery took over the program — which jumped from 2-10 before Montgomery arrived to 6-7 in 2015 — Garrett capitalized on the potential he always had.

He racked up 1,588 yards on 96 catches and added another eight touchdowns for good measure. In his career, Garrett never had more than 67 catches and 845 yards in one season. His 96 receptions were 27 short of the number he had in his career prior to 2015 and he ended the season 33 yards shy of the total yards he came into the season with.

Etta-Tawo is 33 catches and 502 yards away from clearing his own career numbers. At the end of each season he played at Maryland, Etta-Tawo finished behind eight other players in receiving yards. Save for Stefon Diggs and Deon Long, none had more than 1,122 yards in their careers. Etta-Tawo is on pace to pass all their career numbers in just one season at Syracuse.

On Tuesday, Etta-Tawo was placed on the Biletnikoff Award watch list — given to the nation’s top receiver. On Sept. 29 of last year, Garrett was placed on the same list. The Tulsa standout had 26 receptions and 454 yards in three games — similar stats to Etta-Tawo.

The latter has shown skill improvements: his ability to haul in catches on the sideline, find open space on broken down plays and burn cornerbacks. Against Colgate, Etta-Tawo out-jumped a Colgate cornerback to make a sideline catch.

“There was a lot of technique that he has worked on since he transferred here,” Babers said after Etta-Tawo’s first game against Colgate, “and you saw all of that in that one play on the sideline.”

What Garrett’s and Etta-Tawo’s seasons have in relation is that each has finally been showcased in an offense that fits their skills.

Etta-Tawo is clearly an improved player from his time at Maryland. But some of that is also the system he’s playing in. The route tree is simplified and is built around his ability to blow by cornerbacks and make the most out of screens.

“Like with Roger Lewis, Bowling Green’s No. 1 wide receiver last year, great at converting downfield, great at being able to stack cornerbacks, was a great target for Matt Johnson,” NFL.com scout Mark Dulgerian said, “but he wasn’t that good of a route runner, and he wasn’t asked to do much.”

While Etta-Tawo’s numbers are up and historic, they’re partially a result of the system that surrounds him.

Published on September 22, 2016 at 12:39 am

Contact Chris: cjlibona@syr.edu | @ChrisLibonati