Nyan Boateng
Encyclopedia
Nyan Boateng, is an American football
wide receiver
currently a member of the Chicago Rush
of the Arena Football League
. He was signed by the New York Giants
as an undrafted free agent in 2010. He played college football at the University of Florida
later transferred to the California Golden Bears football
.
, and handling all of the Railsplitters' kicking, punting, and punt return duties. He also lettered in basketball at Lincoln, where he played with future NBA star Sebastian Telfair
and was featured in Through the Fire
, winning three consecutive New York City PSAL basketball championships. After his senior year, he went to Florida on a football scholarship.
At the end of his high school playing days he was ranked by Scout.com as the 10th-best wide receiver prospect in the country while Rivals.com ranked him 12th at his position.
. Appeared in the Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi State, Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Iowa contests and caught 4 passes for 55 yards in the win over Mississippi State, including 2 for 28 yards also gained 50 yards on 5 carries against Alabama, including one for a 36 yard run. He made his collegiate debut by catching a 44 yard pass from classmate Josh Portis in the win over Kentucky and had one reception for 19 yards against Vanderbilt. After a modest sophomore year Boateng transferred to the University of California, Berkeley
.
Towards the end of the season, even with the team's passing game and struggles on offense, Boateng was becoming a team leader. Boateng was instrumental in one of the key plays in the Golden Bears' season, catching a 53-yard touchdown pass from Kevin Riley on a flea flicker to break open a close game early in the 4th quarter in California's 41-20 win over UCLA.
for 39 yards. In Cal's first away game of the season against Minnesota
on September 19, he fractured his right foot. Boateng had surgery to insert a pin into the foot and was expected to be out for four to six weeks.
Made 15 receptions for 291 yards receiving and two touchdowns over 11 contests off the bench, missing two contests with a broken foot after suffering the injury in the third game of the campaign at Minnesota ... had touchdown receptions in the season-opener vs. Maryland and at Washington in the regular-season finale, connecting with Kevin Riley on both plays with a season-long 69-yard strike against the Terrapins and a 42-yard vs. the Huskies ... had two receptions in five different games (vs. Maryland, at Minnesota, at UCLA, at Arizona State, at Washington) with his 84 yards receiving against the Terrapins a season-high ... elected second-team preseason All-Pac-10 by Phil Steele.
Boateng went undrafted in the 2010 NFL Draft
. He participated in a rookie minicamp with the New York Giants
in May, but was not offered a contract. He was later signed by the Giants in August who waived wide receiver Adam Jennings to make room on their roster.
Chicago Rush
Boateng was also a member of the Arena Football Team Chicago Rush, having signed a contract on October 8, 2010. He was a league exemption during his stint with the New York Giants after being signed to the practice squad on Nov 6, 2010. He then returned to the Rush on December 20,2010 after being released by the Giants.
and moved to the United States
when he was eight years old. He is majoring in mass communications, and speaks three languages - English
, French
and Twi
, spoken in Ghana by six million people. His older brother, Dominic Osei, played basketball for Fordham University
and cousins, Derick Boateng,Kevin Prince Boateng competed innn the FIFA World Cup
for Ghana.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
wide receiver
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
currently a member of the Chicago Rush
Chicago Rush
The Chicago Rush is an arena football team based in Rosemont, Illinois. It is a member of the Central Division of the National Conference of the Arena Football League. The team was founded in 2001 and is co-owned by Mike Ditka, the Hall of Fame player and coach.The Rush have qualified for the...
of the Arena Football League
Arena Football League
The Arena Football League is the highest level of professional indoor American football in the United States. It is currently the second longest running professional football league in the United States, after the National Football League. It was founded in 1987 by Jim Foster...
. He was signed by the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
as an undrafted free agent in 2010. He played college football at the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
later transferred to the California Golden Bears football
California Golden Bears football
The California Golden Bears football team is the college football team of the University of California. The team plays its home games at California Memorial Stadium, however the team played at San Francisco's AT&T Park in 2011 while Memorial Stadium was being renovated, the team will return to...
.
High school
Boateng suffered a preseason ankle injury in August 2004 that forced him to miss his senior season of football at Abraham Lincoln High School. He was named to the U.S. Army All-American team as one of the top wide receivers in the country. As a junior, he led the team to an undefeated season while playing wide receiver, cornerbackCornerback
A cornerback is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in American and Canadian football. Cornerbacks cover receivers, to defend against pass offenses and make tackles. Other members of the defensive backfield include the safeties and occasionally linebackers. The cornerback position...
, and handling all of the Railsplitters' kicking, punting, and punt return duties. He also lettered in basketball at Lincoln, where he played with future NBA star Sebastian Telfair
Sebastian Telfair
Sebastian Telfair is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Minnesota Timberwolves. Telfair was the 13th overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft by the Portland Trail Blazers out of Abraham Lincoln High School...
and was featured in Through the Fire
Through the Fire (film)
Through the Fire is a 2005 Documentary film. The movie focuses on Sebastian Telfair as he goes through his senior year at Abraham Lincoln High School in New York City...
, winning three consecutive New York City PSAL basketball championships. After his senior year, he went to Florida on a football scholarship.
At the end of his high school playing days he was ranked by Scout.com as the 10th-best wide receiver prospect in the country while Rivals.com ranked him 12th at his position.
Florida, 2005-2006
Boateng was a highly touted and recruited player coming out of high school and during a high school all star game, made the announcement that he was choosing to go to FloridaFlorida Gators football
The Florida Gators football team represents the University of Florida in the sport of American football. The Florida Gators compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletics Association and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference...
. Appeared in the Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi State, Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Iowa contests and caught 4 passes for 55 yards in the win over Mississippi State, including 2 for 28 yards also gained 50 yards on 5 carries against Alabama, including one for a 36 yard run. He made his collegiate debut by catching a 44 yard pass from classmate Josh Portis in the win over Kentucky and had one reception for 19 yards against Vanderbilt. After a modest sophomore year Boateng transferred to the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
.
2007
Due to the rules around transferring, Boateng sat out the 2007 season, while attending classes at Cal.2008
Made a solid contribution in his first season in a Golden Bears' uniform, leading the club with 38 catches and 585 receiving yards (No. 18 Pac-10) for an average of 17.1 yards per catch ... also second on the team with Six touchdowns receiving and third with an average of 17.1 yards per reception ... had at least one catch in nine consecutive contests (games 2-10) and 11 of the team's final 12 outings ... posted a career-high-tying 8 catches three times (at Washington State, at Maryland, at USC) and a career-high 107 yards receiving on only two catches vs. UCLA ... also had three other games with over 50 yards receiving at Maryland (4-90), vs. Oregon (3-86) and vs. Arizona State (3-101) ... caught touchdown passes in back-to-back home games twice (vs. Colorado State and Arizona State; vs. UCLA and Oregon) ... two of his TD receptions were on flea-flickers; the first came vs. UCLA when QB Kevin Riley got the ball back from TB Jahvid Best and hit Boateng for a 70-yard TD, before corralling a 50-yard pass from WR Jeremy Ross at Oregon State for his six and final touchdown catch of the season ... also recorded two tackles.Towards the end of the season, even with the team's passing game and struggles on offense, Boateng was becoming a team leader. Boateng was instrumental in one of the key plays in the Golden Bears' season, catching a 53-yard touchdown pass from Kevin Riley on a flea flicker to break open a close game early in the 4th quarter in California's 41-20 win over UCLA.
2009
Boateng caught his first touchdown pass of the season in Cal's home opener against Maryland2009 Maryland Terrapins football team
The 2009 Maryland Terrapins football team represented the University of Maryland during its 57th season in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Terrapins played in the Atlantic Division of the conference, and competed against all five divisional opponents, two Coastal Division opponents on a...
for 39 yards. In Cal's first away game of the season against Minnesota
2009 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team
The 2009 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team was the third under head coach Tim Brewster. They began play on September 5, 2009, at Syracuse, a member of the Big East Conference. On September 12, the Minnesota opened the new TCF Bank Stadium with a 20–13 win against Air Force, moving from the...
on September 19, he fractured his right foot. Boateng had surgery to insert a pin into the foot and was expected to be out for four to six weeks.
Made 15 receptions for 291 yards receiving and two touchdowns over 11 contests off the bench, missing two contests with a broken foot after suffering the injury in the third game of the campaign at Minnesota ... had touchdown receptions in the season-opener vs. Maryland and at Washington in the regular-season finale, connecting with Kevin Riley on both plays with a season-long 69-yard strike against the Terrapins and a 42-yard vs. the Huskies ... had two receptions in five different games (vs. Maryland, at Minnesota, at UCLA, at Arizona State, at Washington) with his 84 yards receiving against the Terrapins a season-high ... elected second-team preseason All-Pac-10 by Phil Steele.
NFL
New York GiantsNew York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
Boateng went undrafted in the 2010 NFL Draft
2010 NFL Draft
The 2010 NFL Draft was the 75th annual meeting of National Football League franchises to select newly eligible football players. Unlike previous years, the 2010 draft took place over three days, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, with the first round on Thursday, April 22, 2010, at 7:30 pm...
. He participated in a rookie minicamp with the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
in May, but was not offered a contract. He was later signed by the Giants in August who waived wide receiver Adam Jennings to make room on their roster.
Chicago Rush
Chicago Rush
The Chicago Rush is an arena football team based in Rosemont, Illinois. It is a member of the Central Division of the National Conference of the Arena Football League. The team was founded in 2001 and is co-owned by Mike Ditka, the Hall of Fame player and coach.The Rush have qualified for the...
Boateng was also a member of the Arena Football Team Chicago Rush, having signed a contract on October 8, 2010. He was a league exemption during his stint with the New York Giants after being signed to the practice squad on Nov 6, 2010. He then returned to the Rush on December 20,2010 after being released by the Giants.
Personal
Boateng was born in GhanaGhana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
and moved to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
when he was eight years old. He is majoring in mass communications, and speaks three languages - English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and Twi
Twi
Asante, or Ashanti, is one of three literary dialects of the Akan language of southern Ghana, and the prestige dialect of that language. It is spoken in and around Kumasi, the capital of the former Ashanti Empire and current subnational Asante Kingdom within Ghana.Along with the Akuapem dialect,...
, spoken in Ghana by six million people. His older brother, Dominic Osei, played basketball for Fordham University
Fordham University
Fordham University is a private, nonprofit, coeducational research university in the United States, with three campuses in and around New York City. It was founded by the Roman Catholic Diocese of New York in 1841 as St...
and cousins, Derick Boateng,Kevin Prince Boateng competed innn the FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
for Ghana.