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2009 SENIOR BOWL PRACTICE REPORTS
Wednesday afternoon South practice:
GBN Staff report
One of the unfortunate side effects of the Senior Bowl is that it’s football and players get injured playing football and a number of players have been dinged in Mobile this week. The most serious may have been to Tennessee T/G Ramon Foster who was carted off the field with a suspected knee injury. Meanwhile, Cincinnati CB Mike Mickens lasted only one day in Mobile after his previously injured knee became inflamed. North Carolina WR Brooks Foster also returned home early with an undisclosed injury, while both Washington State WR Brandon Gibson and Tnnessee RB Arian Foster left Wednesday’s practice sessions with what appeared to be a hamstring injuries, while Georgia WR Mohamed Massaquoi missed Wednesday’s practice with an ankle injury. To fill in the ranks, players added to the roster this week include Florida State WR Greg Carr, Oklahoma WR Manuel Johnson and Michigan CB Morgan Trent.
The best part of the watching the Senior Bowl are the one-on-one pass rush duals between the offensive and defensive linemen. Because there is more space to operate than in a real game, the defense has a bit of an advantage in these drills, however, the offensive linemen should still win the bulk of the time. That hasn’t been the case in Mobile this week as the defensive linemen have dominated their offensive counterparts. And that was the case again yesterday afternoon at the South practice where the issue wasn’t whether the pass rushers would actually get to the QB, but who got there the fastest. Meanwhile, for the offensive linemen the question wasn’t whether anyone could stop their man on a consistent but could anyone stop anyone at all.
As such, it was tough to get a consistent read on the individual performances. Among the defensive linemen, it wasn’t hard to notice that Ole Miss DT Peria Jerry was again pretty much unblockable in the one-on-one drills. Georgia DT Corey Irvin also had another solid day, while fellow DTs Fili Moala of USC and Vance Walker of Georgia Tech had their moments but weren’t quite as dominant. Meanwhile, unheralded DEs David Veikune of Hawaii and Richmond’s Lawrence Sidbury were consistently able to get to the edge in the one-on-one drills. Sidbury, though, had bigger problems holding the point of attack in the 11-on-11 scrimmage.
And while the defensive linemen generally dominated a couple of interior G/Cs held up reasonably well. Alabama C Antoine Caldwell, in particular, showed good quickness and functional strength as he stood up Walker at the line of scrimmage on a couple of snaps. Meanwhile, Green played with a solid wide base and really battled to the whistle. On the other hand, it was another perplexing day for Ole Miss T Michael Oher. On some plays Oher looked like the top 10 prospect he is supposed to be as he got in a devastating punch as slid easily about the pocket mirroring the DE. On others, though, Oher appeared stiff and flat-footed and was beaten cleanly on a couple of outside-inside moves. He also was knocked right off his pins by USC LB Clay Matthews who took a few reps at DE in the one-on-one drill. Florida OT Jason Watkins also struggled as he appeared to play too high and struggled to change direction.
It was also hard not to miss 382-pound LSU OG Herman Johnson who literally blocks out the sun. Unfortunately, it was about the only thing Johnson blocked. He got completely turned around on one rush by Jerry, and then was driven back into the QBs, again by Jerry. Again, the problem for Johnson, especially in this particular drill, was that he just doesn’t move all that well.
This hasn’t been a great week for the QBs in Mobile. Indeed, a case can be that the best arm and throwing motion at the Senior Bowl belongs to Pat White of West Virginia, who is expected to play another position in the pros. White, though, has surprised with his velocity and accuracy, although he is still awfully slight in the pocket such that if he is to play QB in the pros it still would seem to be more likely in Canada than in the NFL. Meanwhile, Cullen Harper of Clemson also showed a live arm, but wasn’t real accurate. Alabama’s John Parker Wilson has also been throwing the ball harder than most people expected, but looks slow setting up in the pocket and delivering the ball.
We have noted in the past that all-star games are lousy venues for RBs to show their stuff as they just don’t get enough carries, plus there isn’t any real tackling in the practice sessions. That said, both 224-pound Andre Brown of North Carolina State and 232-pound Arian Foster of Tennessee have both shown good vision and made some precise cuts into the hole in limited carries this week. Unfortunately, though, as noted above, Foster appeared to hurt a hammy after a botched hand-off in Wednesday’s workout.
Neither Brown nor Foster showed much in the way of blocking skills when the backs took on the LBs in a pass-blocking drill. In fact, the LBs, led by USC’s Rey Maualuga pretty much dominated the drill. Maualuga, in particular, had scouts raving after yesterday’s practice as he was aggressive all over the field. The problem for Maualuga, though, just about everything the backers were doing this week in Mobile was very in his comfort zone coming forward and attacking the line of scrimmage. What Maualuga wasn’t asked to do much of, in contrast, and where the questions lie regarding his ultimate draft status are playing in reverse. Meanwhile, Maryland OLB Moise Fokou also impressed with his quickness, while USC LB Brian Cushing also was always around the ball. On the other hand, LSU MLB Darry Beckwith had some trouble getting off blocks, while USC OLB/DE Clay Matthews, primarily an edge rusher in college, didn’t always look all that comfortable playing in space.
The play of the day for the South squad was turned in by Wake Forest CB Alphonso Smith who made a great break on an underneath route run by Kenny McKinley of South Carolina, then tipped the ball in the air o himself for a highlight reel pick. Later, though, Smith was beaten on a nice move by rangy USC WR Patrick Turner. Turner, in fact, showed some very precise moves for a 6-5 receiver, but didn’t catch the ball all that cleanly. Meanwhile, San Jose State CB Coye Francies again was tough in press coverage as he really got into the face of receivers, but wasn’t as comfortable reacting to the ball in a zone scheme. Jackson State CB Domonique Johnson, one of the fastest players in Mobile, also didn’t play that fast as he also tended to be very tentative coming out of his backpeddle.
A bit of a hush came over the crowd when Southern Miss TE Shawn Nelson, one of the biggest surprises in Mobile this week uncharacteristically dropped a pass right in his mid-section when he inexplicably left his feet to try and catch the ball. Nelson, though, came back a few plays later to extend himself to snare a TD pass in the end zone. Better for Nelson, who was thought to be an undersized H-back type coming into Mobile, was that he continued to show terrific explosion and aggressiveness blocking. While not very big, Nelson was consistently getting into his man off the snap before the latter could react. Also saw some nice blocking from North Carolina State TE Anthony Hill.
Wednesday morning North practice:
GBN Staff report
This morning’s North practice was a sloppy affair which included as many as four botched snaps as well as at least one fumbled hand-off. In fact, it was another rather pedestrian day all-around for the North QBs. Texas Tech gunslinger Graham Harrell at least showed some nice touch and accuracy as well as a smooth delivery, but the ball takes awhile to get there. Sam Houston State’s Rhett Bomar, on the other hand, has a live arm and a compact delivery, but too many passes ended up on the receiver’s back shoulder.
Wednesday’s practice also confirmed what we’d seen the first couple of days from the North receivers. Ohio State possession WR Brian Robiskie has excellent size, runs nice routes, and has sticky hands, but isn’t going to run by anyone. Same for Brandon Gibson of Washington who can find the open space and uses his body effectively to shield off defenders from the ball, but struggles to get much separation on deep routes. Meanwhile Derrick Williams of Penn State is super-quick but not all that physical, while Cal Poly Ramses Barden is a huge target with decent hands, but lacks much in the way of agility or explosion. Oklahoma WR Juaquin Iglesias also hasn’t looked very smooth running, but seems to get open and has good hands and concentration.
And speaking of North receivers, arguably the most interesting story of the day involved Connor Barwin of Cincinnati. Barwin lined up at TE the first two days of practice, the position he played earl in his career at Cincinnati, but switched back over to DE, the position he played in 2008, at this morning’s practice. And Barwin, who has also played for the Bearcats hoop squad in the past, didn’t look at all out of place on the defensive side of the ball. Barwin showed some very good quickness and explosion coming off the edge in the one-on-one pass rush drills as he blasted past Oklahoma OT Phil Loadholt, and then blew up a running play with some great penetration in the 11-on-11 portion of practice.
As with this week’s earlier practices, the best player on the field for the North was Boston College DT BJ. Raji. Raji was unblockable in both the one-on-one pass rush drills and the full scrimmage sequence; in the latter, Raji personally stuffed two running plays in the backfield, the second of which he ranged far down the line of scrimmage, and also regularly collapsed the pocket rushing the passer.
Illinois DE Will Davis also had a strong practice, as did Northern Illinois DE Larry English. Davis showed a nice swim move as well as a solid change of direction, while English was consistently able to beat his man to the corner. UConn DE Cody Brown also had his best day of practice. While more of a tweener, Brown was able to get into the pads of Illinois OT Xavier Fulton and put the bigger man on his back and generally showed a little more quickness and creativity than earlier in the week.
For the most part, it was an up-and-down day for the North offensive line. Two guys who had more downs than ups were the afore-mentioned Loadholt and Oregon State G/T Andy Levitre. With Loadholt, its game over when he gets his long arms into an opposing DE, however, he struggles to cut off the edge by quick outside rushers and has limited ability to change direction. Same story for Levitre, who was strong enough at the point of attack, but really struggled to move laterally. On the other hand, UConn William Beatty, Oregon C/G Max Unger and Virginia Tech C Ryan Shuman were solid enough on the day. The unheralded Shuman, in particular, got big Ron Brace, the other Boston College DT in Mobile, on the ground on several plays.
Back in the secondary, Western Michigan DB Louis Delmas continued to provide very aggressive run support, while Uconn CB Darius Butler, also filled nicely on one run. There were a couple of nice coverages by LBs Nik Harris of Oklahoma and Pitt’s Scott McKillop. Meanwhile, Virginia LB Clint Sintim, who led all NCAA backers in sacks this fall, got a few reps with the defensive linemen in the one-on-one pass rush drill with the offensive linemen and showed some initial quickness off the snap, but not much in the way of lateral movement. Sintim also got caught flat-footed reacting to a running play.
<>By Jon Cozart, GBN Chief Scout
Tuesday afternoon South practice:
Unfortunately, there was less to be taken from this afternoon’s South practice than from the North practices this week. The practice ended early and a significant portion of it was dedicated to special teams which made it difficult to evaluate the individual players at their resoective positions. Plus, a lot of the plays run when the South went into an 11-on-11 series were gadget type plays - screens, draws, reverses and the like - which may have been just as well as the South defense appears to be way ahead of the defense.
And if the South ever needs a nickname for its squad they could call them the 'Late Bloomers' as most of the best players on the field today were less heralded prospects who really didn't emerge as national prospects unil their senior campaigns. Georgia DT Corey Irvin, for example, combined with Georgia Tech DT Vance Walker for a thunderous sack on the 11-on-11 and then later blew up a running play for a TFL. On both plays Irvin bested Louisville C Eric Wood. Wood was also victimized for a sack by Ole Miss DT Peria Jerry who literally ran through an attempted double team by Wood and Arkansas C Jonathan Luigs. On the afternoon, Jerry consistenly got great leverage as he kept his pads low and was relentless in pursuit. Meanwhile, small school DE Lawrence Sidbury of D-1A Richmond flashe plenty of explosion and quickness coming off the edge, as did DEs Robert Ayers of Tennessee and Kyle Moore of Southern Cal. Moore, though, wasn't the only USC player to make his presence felt as DT Fili Moala showed both the ability to spin off a block and get to the passer as well as collapse the pocket off a bull-rush.
While he struggled in the 11-on-11 series, C Wood held up better in the one-on-one drills when he battled to draws with Irvin. Alabama C Antoine Caldwell also more than held his own in the one-on-one drills involving offensive and defensive linemen as he anchored well against both Irvin and Walker. Caldwell was able to lock on to his opponent, set a firm base and shut them down in individual drills.
Something of a hush came over the gathering of pro scouts when Ole Miss OT Michael Oher, arguably the highest rated player in Mobile this week, made like a statue on his first series in the one-on-one drills. Indeed, unheralded Hawaii DE David Veikune blew past Oher like he was standing still - well actually he was standing still - on their first two reps. Clearly, someone on the Jacksonville coaching staff, which is running the South practces, got in Oher'sear hole as he dominated on his next series; in fact, Oher pretty much shut everything done in front of him the rest of the day. The fact that he needed to be jumpstarted isn't going to enhance Oher's grade as he came to Mobile with a reputation for turning it on and off at times during his Ole Miss career.
While the South defense has generally dominated the offense so far this week, arguably the most impressive player on the South team has been Southern Mississippi TE Shawn Nelson. Regarded mostly as a WR in a TE's body, Nelson has proven to be a solid all-around playerat the position ashe has blocked well and caught everything in sight with soft hands and great body control when the ball is in the air. Arizona WR Mike Thomas, a late addition to the Senior Bowl lineup after an outstanding week at the Shrine game, also looked good showing excellent quickness out of his breaks' Thomas, though, isn't overly big and did struggle at times to beat the jam at the line of scrimmage. Georgia WR Mohamed Massaquoi also looked smoth coming off the line of scrimmage, although he dropped a pass today that was a little underthrown, but he should have come up with.
There has also been a bit of a buzz growing in Mobile about San Jose State CB Coye Francies, yet another South prospect who is hardy a household name outside his own neighborhood. Francies, a track star who originally signed at Oregon State before transferring because of some legal difficulties was very aggressive in press coverage, although he won't be able to hand-check like he was doing in Mobile in the pros. Francies also showed that he can turn and run with any receiver in town this week. And in keping with the 'no-mame' theme, West Virginia CB Ellis Lankster, yet another South late bloomer who may not even be a household name in his own home, also provided consistently tight coverage.
Tuesday morning North practice:
The big news pehaps from this mornings North pracice was that the offensive line, which appeared to have missed the wake-up call from their pre-practice naps yesterday afternoon, was collecively much sharper. C Alex Mack and Okalhoma OT Phil Loadholt have looked good. In fact, I haven’t witnessed Loadholt getting beat in either practice so far. Loadholt has consistently gotten great arm extension and has displayed much more active feet than expected. Mack hasn’t been as dominate but is taking care of business in his own right. He gives himself a solid base and can anchor against the big men like 340-pound Boston College DT Ron Brace. Meanwhile, Illinois OT Xavier Fulton also had a solid workout this morning as he also showed quick feet in transition. Oregon State T/G Andy Levitre also showed plenty of strength, but didn't show much in the way of lateral quickness and doesn’t appear to have the feet to play tackle. I’d like to see him at guard where he wouldn’t have to battle the quicker defensive ends on an island.
While the North offensive line was improved today, Boston College DT B.J. Raji continued to dominate. The 334-pounder is living in the backfield making interior lineman look ridiculous. The backside of this stud defensive tackle is enormous and he looks like he was born to demolish the squat rack. That strength transfers to the field as he can bull rush anyone. In individual drills he threw Oregon OL Max Unger to the ground in a move reminiscent of Reggie White in Super Bowl XXXI. However, brute strength isn’t the only impressive aspect of this mauler’s game. His pass rush repertoire is special. Raji’s first step is very quick and he gets his hips underneath him to create great leverage. He can turn the corner and make himself small to beat the man in front of him. Honestly, I have to make myself focus on other players because I could watch him all day. Raji is a top five pick in my opinion and has been by far the most impressive player on the North. Raji's BC teammate Ron Brace is also stout along the defensive front, but seems to lack the pass rush moves necessary to beat his man on a consistent basis. Missouri DT Ziggy Hood has looked solid; he could use some refinement, but the strength and talent is evident. Same for Purdue DT Alex Magee who demonstrated a quick first step and good lateral movement. Meanwhile, Northern Illinois DE Larry English has the quickest first step among the North DEs and consistently turned the corner on the offensive tackle across from him, although he also got stuffed a couple of times when he spent too much time at the line of scrimmage head-faking rather than exploding into the backfield. On the other hand, UConn DE/OLB Cody Brown really struggled to disengage from blockers and got engulfed on a couple of sequences.
Nobody was describing the North passing attack as a clinic this morning. None of the three North QBs - Graham Harrell of Texas Tech, Sam Houston State's Rhett Bomar and Nathan Brown of Central Arkansas - threw the ball all that well. Bomar, the one-time big-time recruit at Oklahoma, at least showed plenty of arm strength and a smooth release, but needs to improve his footwork team. Meanwhile, both Harrell and Brown needed too much wind-up to get on even intermediate routes, while too many of Brown's passes wobbled. Scouts, though, have reportedly been impressed by Harrell's work while tying to learn the intricacies of working under center. It also wasn't the greatest day for the North receivers. Brandon Gibson of Washington State did a nice job getting open underneath, however, dropped a couple of easy passes when he let the ball get into his body, while 6-6, 227-pound Cal Poly WR Ramses Barden was almost impossible to cover on a couple of simple slant routes, but didn'tlook very smooth or quick on other routes. On the other hand, Penn State WR Derrick Williams continued to look like the quickest guy on the North team.
While the North receivers struggled at times, several DBs had very good days. Virginia Tech CB Victor ' Macho' Harris was very physical at the line of scrimmage jamming receivers and also was very quick running with receivers in the open field. Oregon State CB Keenan Lewis, who has nice size for a cover corner, was also very smooth on the break. Meanwhile, North safeties Patrick Chung of Oregon and Louis Delmas of Western Michigan had excellent practices, however, Missouri FS Will Moore, one of the highest rated players coming into Mobile continued to struggle, Moore just hasn't looked very quick or smooth and has fallen down way too much.
Day One Highlights…
Day one at the Senior Bowl has come to a close. It was a beautiful day here in Mobile while much of the country has been enduring a frigid climate lately. Hopefully we’ll have a full week of great weather before the game on Saturday.
Monday morning started out with the weigh-in and if physical build has anything to do with who wins the big game my money is on the South. The South squad really passes the eyeball test and has considerably more studs than the North. However, one guy on the South Team that didn’t conform to the rest of his peers and showed up at 382 pounds was the mountainous man Herman Johnson. The room was relatively quiet for the seventy minute or so weigh-in with the exception of the thirty seconds after Johnson’s weight was announced to the room. Collective whispers filled the room as Johnson blew away Phil Loadholt, who was the second heaviest, by almost 40 pounds. Loadholt tipped the scales at 343 pounds and although he was bulky he didn’t appear to be soft. He carried the weight well and will probably be asked to drop a few pounds once he’s drafted, but he won’t have to lose much as the bulk fit his 6-8 frame better than expected. He at least assuaged my concerns about his weight. Here are a few others that seemed to stand out either positively or negatively at the weigh-in:
Clemson QB Cullen Harper Just looked like a guy
Liberty RB Rashad Jennings Thick and muscular
USC MLB Rey Maualuga Big legs; soft torso
Alabama TE Travis McCall Short and overweight
SMU P Thomas Morstead Thick build for a punter
Tennessee OG Anthony Parker Gut hangs over his waist; looked soft
Georgia Tech DT Vance Walker Soft gut
West Virginia QB Pat White Has descent muscle tone but lean; not built like a QB.
Alabama QB John Parker Wilson Very little muscle tone
Cal Poly WR Ramses Barden At 6-6, 227 looked like he belonged; Tall and Strong
Boston College DT Ron Brace Looked fat
Missouri DT Ziggy Hood Really stood out. Barrel chest with thick legs, but still a very lean 298
Oregon State T/G Andy Levitre Soft gut
Oklahoma State TE Brandon Pettigrew Good looking kid
Boston College DT B..J. Raji Soft belly, but big legs and huge backside
Virginia LB Clint Sintim Huge legs that look like they belong to a 325-pounder
Monday Afternoon North Practice: Both the North and South teams practiced at the same time today and I chose to go to the North practice. Practice only lasted 90 minutes and there were multiple drills going on so I didn’t get a look at everyone. I’d like to get a better look at everyone before I offer an opinion on someone, but that’s no fun for our readers so here is what caught my eye today. Western Michigan DB Louis Delmas was agile and confident today and more than held his own. Missouri DB William Moore fell once during a drill for defensive backs, but looked big and fast before that so we’ll see if he can recover from that stumble. Oregon DB Patrick Chung dropped a ball today and didn’t show much agility to further hurt his stock. DB Mike Mickens of Cincinnati didn’t look as quick as his teammate DB DeAngleo Smith and was burned for a touchdown when Washington State WR Brandon Gibson just ran past him. As you can tell I spent most of my time watching the defensive backs and a bit of the wide receivers. However, I was really impressed in the short amount of time I watched Boston College DT B.J. Raji. Tomorrow I’ll definitely spend more time watching him as he blew up the interior linemen in front of him multiple times. Oklahoma State TE Brandon Pettigrew made a tough catch with a defender bumping him all over the field. Cal Poly WR Ramses Barden takes awhile to get to top speed, but the kid is a specimen at 6-6, 227. Oklahoma WR Juaquin Iglesias runs a little unusual and had a drop and a fumble today. The former number one high school recruit in the nation, WR Derrick Williams of Penn State, showed he shouldn’t be overlooked as he seemed to stop on a dime when going full speed and beat DBs deep on multiple occasions. He had my eye more than any other receiver today for sure. Virginia Tech DB Macho Harris looked a step behind his peers today and was beat deep by Ohio State WR Brian Robiskie.
Expect the action to really start to heat up Tuesday as both teams will be in full pads. We'll have full reports on the North practice in the morning and the South's afternoon session later in the day.
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Wednesday afternoon South practice:
GBN Staff report
One of the unfortunate side effects of the Senior Bowl is that it’s football and players get injured playing football and a number of players have been dinged in Mobile this week. The most serious may have been to Tennessee T/G Ramon Foster who was carted off the field with a suspected knee injury. Meanwhile, Cincinnati CB Mike Mickens lasted only one day in Mobile after his previously injured knee became inflamed. North Carolina WR Brooks Foster also returned home early with an undisclosed injury, while both Washington State WR Brandon Gibson and Tnnessee RB Arian Foster left Wednesday’s practice sessions with what appeared to be a hamstring injuries, while Georgia WR Mohamed Massaquoi missed Wednesday’s practice with an ankle injury. To fill in the ranks, players added to the roster this week include Florida State WR Greg Carr, Oklahoma WR Manuel Johnson and Michigan CB Morgan Trent.
The best part of the watching the Senior Bowl are the one-on-one pass rush duals between the offensive and defensive linemen. Because there is more space to operate than in a real game, the defense has a bit of an advantage in these drills, however, the offensive linemen should still win the bulk of the time. That hasn’t been the case in Mobile this week as the defensive linemen have dominated their offensive counterparts. And that was the case again yesterday afternoon at the South practice where the issue wasn’t whether the pass rushers would actually get to the QB, but who got there the fastest. Meanwhile, for the offensive linemen the question wasn’t whether anyone could stop their man on a consistent but could anyone stop anyone at all.
As such, it was tough to get a consistent read on the individual performances. Among the defensive linemen, it wasn’t hard to notice that Ole Miss DT Peria Jerry was again pretty much unblockable in the one-on-one drills. Georgia DT Corey Irvin also had another solid day, while fellow DTs Fili Moala of USC and Vance Walker of Georgia Tech had their moments but weren’t quite as dominant. Meanwhile, unheralded DEs David Veikune of Hawaii and Richmond’s Lawrence Sidbury were consistently able to get to the edge in the one-on-one drills. Sidbury, though, had bigger problems holding the point of attack in the 11-on-11 scrimmage.
And while the defensive linemen generally dominated a couple of interior G/Cs held up reasonably well. Alabama C Antoine Caldwell, in particular, showed good quickness and functional strength as he stood up Walker at the line of scrimmage on a couple of snaps. Meanwhile, Green played with a solid wide base and really battled to the whistle. On the other hand, it was another perplexing day for Ole Miss T Michael Oher. On some plays Oher looked like the top 10 prospect he is supposed to be as he got in a devastating punch as slid easily about the pocket mirroring the DE. On others, though, Oher appeared stiff and flat-footed and was beaten cleanly on a couple of outside-inside moves. He also was knocked right off his pins by USC LB Clay Matthews who took a few reps at DE in the one-on-one drill. Florida OT Jason Watkins also struggled as he appeared to play too high and struggled to change direction.
It was also hard not to miss 382-pound LSU OG Herman Johnson who literally blocks out the sun. Unfortunately, it was about the only thing Johnson blocked. He got completely turned around on one rush by Jerry, and then was driven back into the QBs, again by Jerry. Again, the problem for Johnson, especially in this particular drill, was that he just doesn’t move all that well.
This hasn’t been a great week for the QBs in Mobile. Indeed, a case can be that the best arm and throwing motion at the Senior Bowl belongs to Pat White of West Virginia, who is expected to play another position in the pros. White, though, has surprised with his velocity and accuracy, although he is still awfully slight in the pocket such that if he is to play QB in the pros it still would seem to be more likely in Canada than in the NFL. Meanwhile, Cullen Harper of Clemson also showed a live arm, but wasn’t real accurate. Alabama’s John Parker Wilson has also been throwing the ball harder than most people expected, but looks slow setting up in the pocket and delivering the ball.
We have noted in the past that all-star games are lousy venues for RBs to show their stuff as they just don’t get enough carries, plus there isn’t any real tackling in the practice sessions. That said, both 224-pound Andre Brown of North Carolina State and 232-pound Arian Foster of Tennessee have both shown good vision and made some precise cuts into the hole in limited carries this week. Unfortunately, though, as noted above, Foster appeared to hurt a hammy after a botched hand-off in Wednesday’s workout.
Neither Brown nor Foster showed much in the way of blocking skills when the backs took on the LBs in a pass-blocking drill. In fact, the LBs, led by USC’s Rey Maualuga pretty much dominated the drill. Maualuga, in particular, had scouts raving after yesterday’s practice as he was aggressive all over the field. The problem for Maualuga, though, just about everything the backers were doing this week in Mobile was very in his comfort zone coming forward and attacking the line of scrimmage. What Maualuga wasn’t asked to do much of, in contrast, and where the questions lie regarding his ultimate draft status are playing in reverse. Meanwhile, Maryland OLB Moise Fokou also impressed with his quickness, while USC LB Brian Cushing also was always around the ball. On the other hand, LSU MLB Darry Beckwith had some trouble getting off blocks, while USC OLB/DE Clay Matthews, primarily an edge rusher in college, didn’t always look all that comfortable playing in space.
The play of the day for the South squad was turned in by Wake Forest CB Alphonso Smith who made a great break on an underneath route run by Kenny McKinley of South Carolina, then tipped the ball in the air o himself for a highlight reel pick. Later, though, Smith was beaten on a nice move by rangy USC WR Patrick Turner. Turner, in fact, showed some very precise moves for a 6-5 receiver, but didn’t catch the ball all that cleanly. Meanwhile, San Jose State CB Coye Francies again was tough in press coverage as he really got into the face of receivers, but wasn’t as comfortable reacting to the ball in a zone scheme. Jackson State CB Domonique Johnson, one of the fastest players in Mobile, also didn’t play that fast as he also tended to be very tentative coming out of his backpeddle.
A bit of a hush came over the crowd when Southern Miss TE Shawn Nelson, one of the biggest surprises in Mobile this week uncharacteristically dropped a pass right in his mid-section when he inexplicably left his feet to try and catch the ball. Nelson, though, came back a few plays later to extend himself to snare a TD pass in the end zone. Better for Nelson, who was thought to be an undersized H-back type coming into Mobile, was that he continued to show terrific explosion and aggressiveness blocking. While not very big, Nelson was consistently getting into his man off the snap before the latter could react. Also saw some nice blocking from North Carolina State TE Anthony Hill.
Wednesday morning North practice:
GBN Staff report
This morning’s North practice was a sloppy affair which included as many as four botched snaps as well as at least one fumbled hand-off. In fact, it was another rather pedestrian day all-around for the North QBs. Texas Tech gunslinger Graham Harrell at least showed some nice touch and accuracy as well as a smooth delivery, but the ball takes awhile to get there. Sam Houston State’s Rhett Bomar, on the other hand, has a live arm and a compact delivery, but too many passes ended up on the receiver’s back shoulder.
Wednesday’s practice also confirmed what we’d seen the first couple of days from the North receivers. Ohio State possession WR Brian Robiskie has excellent size, runs nice routes, and has sticky hands, but isn’t going to run by anyone. Same for Brandon Gibson of Washington who can find the open space and uses his body effectively to shield off defenders from the ball, but struggles to get much separation on deep routes. Meanwhile Derrick Williams of Penn State is super-quick but not all that physical, while Cal Poly Ramses Barden is a huge target with decent hands, but lacks much in the way of agility or explosion. Oklahoma WR Juaquin Iglesias also hasn’t looked very smooth running, but seems to get open and has good hands and concentration.
And speaking of North receivers, arguably the most interesting story of the day involved Connor Barwin of Cincinnati. Barwin lined up at TE the first two days of practice, the position he played earl in his career at Cincinnati, but switched back over to DE, the position he played in 2008, at this morning’s practice. And Barwin, who has also played for the Bearcats hoop squad in the past, didn’t look at all out of place on the defensive side of the ball. Barwin showed some very good quickness and explosion coming off the edge in the one-on-one pass rush drills as he blasted past Oklahoma OT Phil Loadholt, and then blew up a running play with some great penetration in the 11-on-11 portion of practice.
As with this week’s earlier practices, the best player on the field for the North was Boston College DT BJ. Raji. Raji was unblockable in both the one-on-one pass rush drills and the full scrimmage sequence; in the latter, Raji personally stuffed two running plays in the backfield, the second of which he ranged far down the line of scrimmage, and also regularly collapsed the pocket rushing the passer.
Illinois DE Will Davis also had a strong practice, as did Northern Illinois DE Larry English. Davis showed a nice swim move as well as a solid change of direction, while English was consistently able to beat his man to the corner. UConn DE Cody Brown also had his best day of practice. While more of a tweener, Brown was able to get into the pads of Illinois OT Xavier Fulton and put the bigger man on his back and generally showed a little more quickness and creativity than earlier in the week.
For the most part, it was an up-and-down day for the North offensive line. Two guys who had more downs than ups were the afore-mentioned Loadholt and Oregon State G/T Andy Levitre. With Loadholt, its game over when he gets his long arms into an opposing DE, however, he struggles to cut off the edge by quick outside rushers and has limited ability to change direction. Same story for Levitre, who was strong enough at the point of attack, but really struggled to move laterally. On the other hand, UConn William Beatty, Oregon C/G Max Unger and Virginia Tech C Ryan Shuman were solid enough on the day. The unheralded Shuman, in particular, got big Ron Brace, the other Boston College DT in Mobile, on the ground on several plays.
Back in the secondary, Western Michigan DB Louis Delmas continued to provide very aggressive run support, while Uconn CB Darius Butler, also filled nicely on one run. There were a couple of nice coverages by LBs Nik Harris of Oklahoma and Pitt’s Scott McKillop. Meanwhile, Virginia LB Clint Sintim, who led all NCAA backers in sacks this fall, got a few reps with the defensive linemen in the one-on-one pass rush drill with the offensive linemen and showed some initial quickness off the snap, but not much in the way of lateral movement. Sintim also got caught flat-footed reacting to a running play.
<>By Jon Cozart, GBN Chief Scout
Tuesday afternoon South practice:
Unfortunately, there was less to be taken from this afternoon’s South practice than from the North practices this week. The practice ended early and a significant portion of it was dedicated to special teams which made it difficult to evaluate the individual players at their resoective positions. Plus, a lot of the plays run when the South went into an 11-on-11 series were gadget type plays - screens, draws, reverses and the like - which may have been just as well as the South defense appears to be way ahead of the defense.
And if the South ever needs a nickname for its squad they could call them the 'Late Bloomers' as most of the best players on the field today were less heralded prospects who really didn't emerge as national prospects unil their senior campaigns. Georgia DT Corey Irvin, for example, combined with Georgia Tech DT Vance Walker for a thunderous sack on the 11-on-11 and then later blew up a running play for a TFL. On both plays Irvin bested Louisville C Eric Wood. Wood was also victimized for a sack by Ole Miss DT Peria Jerry who literally ran through an attempted double team by Wood and Arkansas C Jonathan Luigs. On the afternoon, Jerry consistenly got great leverage as he kept his pads low and was relentless in pursuit. Meanwhile, small school DE Lawrence Sidbury of D-1A Richmond flashe plenty of explosion and quickness coming off the edge, as did DEs Robert Ayers of Tennessee and Kyle Moore of Southern Cal. Moore, though, wasn't the only USC player to make his presence felt as DT Fili Moala showed both the ability to spin off a block and get to the passer as well as collapse the pocket off a bull-rush.
While he struggled in the 11-on-11 series, C Wood held up better in the one-on-one drills when he battled to draws with Irvin. Alabama C Antoine Caldwell also more than held his own in the one-on-one drills involving offensive and defensive linemen as he anchored well against both Irvin and Walker. Caldwell was able to lock on to his opponent, set a firm base and shut them down in individual drills.
Something of a hush came over the gathering of pro scouts when Ole Miss OT Michael Oher, arguably the highest rated player in Mobile this week, made like a statue on his first series in the one-on-one drills. Indeed, unheralded Hawaii DE David Veikune blew past Oher like he was standing still - well actually he was standing still - on their first two reps. Clearly, someone on the Jacksonville coaching staff, which is running the South practces, got in Oher'sear hole as he dominated on his next series; in fact, Oher pretty much shut everything done in front of him the rest of the day. The fact that he needed to be jumpstarted isn't going to enhance Oher's grade as he came to Mobile with a reputation for turning it on and off at times during his Ole Miss career.
While the South defense has generally dominated the offense so far this week, arguably the most impressive player on the South team has been Southern Mississippi TE Shawn Nelson. Regarded mostly as a WR in a TE's body, Nelson has proven to be a solid all-around playerat the position ashe has blocked well and caught everything in sight with soft hands and great body control when the ball is in the air. Arizona WR Mike Thomas, a late addition to the Senior Bowl lineup after an outstanding week at the Shrine game, also looked good showing excellent quickness out of his breaks' Thomas, though, isn't overly big and did struggle at times to beat the jam at the line of scrimmage. Georgia WR Mohamed Massaquoi also looked smoth coming off the line of scrimmage, although he dropped a pass today that was a little underthrown, but he should have come up with.
There has also been a bit of a buzz growing in Mobile about San Jose State CB Coye Francies, yet another South prospect who is hardy a household name outside his own neighborhood. Francies, a track star who originally signed at Oregon State before transferring because of some legal difficulties was very aggressive in press coverage, although he won't be able to hand-check like he was doing in Mobile in the pros. Francies also showed that he can turn and run with any receiver in town this week. And in keping with the 'no-mame' theme, West Virginia CB Ellis Lankster, yet another South late bloomer who may not even be a household name in his own home, also provided consistently tight coverage.
Tuesday morning North practice:
The big news pehaps from this mornings North pracice was that the offensive line, which appeared to have missed the wake-up call from their pre-practice naps yesterday afternoon, was collecively much sharper. C Alex Mack and Okalhoma OT Phil Loadholt have looked good. In fact, I haven’t witnessed Loadholt getting beat in either practice so far. Loadholt has consistently gotten great arm extension and has displayed much more active feet than expected. Mack hasn’t been as dominate but is taking care of business in his own right. He gives himself a solid base and can anchor against the big men like 340-pound Boston College DT Ron Brace. Meanwhile, Illinois OT Xavier Fulton also had a solid workout this morning as he also showed quick feet in transition. Oregon State T/G Andy Levitre also showed plenty of strength, but didn't show much in the way of lateral quickness and doesn’t appear to have the feet to play tackle. I’d like to see him at guard where he wouldn’t have to battle the quicker defensive ends on an island.
While the North offensive line was improved today, Boston College DT B.J. Raji continued to dominate. The 334-pounder is living in the backfield making interior lineman look ridiculous. The backside of this stud defensive tackle is enormous and he looks like he was born to demolish the squat rack. That strength transfers to the field as he can bull rush anyone. In individual drills he threw Oregon OL Max Unger to the ground in a move reminiscent of Reggie White in Super Bowl XXXI. However, brute strength isn’t the only impressive aspect of this mauler’s game. His pass rush repertoire is special. Raji’s first step is very quick and he gets his hips underneath him to create great leverage. He can turn the corner and make himself small to beat the man in front of him. Honestly, I have to make myself focus on other players because I could watch him all day. Raji is a top five pick in my opinion and has been by far the most impressive player on the North. Raji's BC teammate Ron Brace is also stout along the defensive front, but seems to lack the pass rush moves necessary to beat his man on a consistent basis. Missouri DT Ziggy Hood has looked solid; he could use some refinement, but the strength and talent is evident. Same for Purdue DT Alex Magee who demonstrated a quick first step and good lateral movement. Meanwhile, Northern Illinois DE Larry English has the quickest first step among the North DEs and consistently turned the corner on the offensive tackle across from him, although he also got stuffed a couple of times when he spent too much time at the line of scrimmage head-faking rather than exploding into the backfield. On the other hand, UConn DE/OLB Cody Brown really struggled to disengage from blockers and got engulfed on a couple of sequences.
Nobody was describing the North passing attack as a clinic this morning. None of the three North QBs - Graham Harrell of Texas Tech, Sam Houston State's Rhett Bomar and Nathan Brown of Central Arkansas - threw the ball all that well. Bomar, the one-time big-time recruit at Oklahoma, at least showed plenty of arm strength and a smooth release, but needs to improve his footwork team. Meanwhile, both Harrell and Brown needed too much wind-up to get on even intermediate routes, while too many of Brown's passes wobbled. Scouts, though, have reportedly been impressed by Harrell's work while tying to learn the intricacies of working under center. It also wasn't the greatest day for the North receivers. Brandon Gibson of Washington State did a nice job getting open underneath, however, dropped a couple of easy passes when he let the ball get into his body, while 6-6, 227-pound Cal Poly WR Ramses Barden was almost impossible to cover on a couple of simple slant routes, but didn'tlook very smooth or quick on other routes. On the other hand, Penn State WR Derrick Williams continued to look like the quickest guy on the North team.
While the North receivers struggled at times, several DBs had very good days. Virginia Tech CB Victor ' Macho' Harris was very physical at the line of scrimmage jamming receivers and also was very quick running with receivers in the open field. Oregon State CB Keenan Lewis, who has nice size for a cover corner, was also very smooth on the break. Meanwhile, North safeties Patrick Chung of Oregon and Louis Delmas of Western Michigan had excellent practices, however, Missouri FS Will Moore, one of the highest rated players coming into Mobile continued to struggle, Moore just hasn't looked very quick or smooth and has fallen down way too much.
Day One Highlights…
Day one at the Senior Bowl has come to a close. It was a beautiful day here in Mobile while much of the country has been enduring a frigid climate lately. Hopefully we’ll have a full week of great weather before the game on Saturday.
Monday morning started out with the weigh-in and if physical build has anything to do with who wins the big game my money is on the South. The South squad really passes the eyeball test and has considerably more studs than the North. However, one guy on the South Team that didn’t conform to the rest of his peers and showed up at 382 pounds was the mountainous man Herman Johnson. The room was relatively quiet for the seventy minute or so weigh-in with the exception of the thirty seconds after Johnson’s weight was announced to the room. Collective whispers filled the room as Johnson blew away Phil Loadholt, who was the second heaviest, by almost 40 pounds. Loadholt tipped the scales at 343 pounds and although he was bulky he didn’t appear to be soft. He carried the weight well and will probably be asked to drop a few pounds once he’s drafted, but he won’t have to lose much as the bulk fit his 6-8 frame better than expected. He at least assuaged my concerns about his weight. Here are a few others that seemed to stand out either positively or negatively at the weigh-in:
Clemson QB Cullen Harper Just looked like a guy
Liberty RB Rashad Jennings Thick and muscular
USC MLB Rey Maualuga Big legs; soft torso
Alabama TE Travis McCall Short and overweight
SMU P Thomas Morstead Thick build for a punter
Tennessee OG Anthony Parker Gut hangs over his waist; looked soft
Georgia Tech DT Vance Walker Soft gut
West Virginia QB Pat White Has descent muscle tone but lean; not built like a QB.
Alabama QB John Parker Wilson Very little muscle tone
Cal Poly WR Ramses Barden At 6-6, 227 looked like he belonged; Tall and Strong
Boston College DT Ron Brace Looked fat
Missouri DT Ziggy Hood Really stood out. Barrel chest with thick legs, but still a very lean 298
Oregon State T/G Andy Levitre Soft gut
Oklahoma State TE Brandon Pettigrew Good looking kid
Boston College DT B..J. Raji Soft belly, but big legs and huge backside
Virginia LB Clint Sintim Huge legs that look like they belong to a 325-pounder
Monday Afternoon North Practice: Both the North and South teams practiced at the same time today and I chose to go to the North practice. Practice only lasted 90 minutes and there were multiple drills going on so I didn’t get a look at everyone. I’d like to get a better look at everyone before I offer an opinion on someone, but that’s no fun for our readers so here is what caught my eye today. Western Michigan DB Louis Delmas was agile and confident today and more than held his own. Missouri DB William Moore fell once during a drill for defensive backs, but looked big and fast before that so we’ll see if he can recover from that stumble. Oregon DB Patrick Chung dropped a ball today and didn’t show much agility to further hurt his stock. DB Mike Mickens of Cincinnati didn’t look as quick as his teammate DB DeAngleo Smith and was burned for a touchdown when Washington State WR Brandon Gibson just ran past him. As you can tell I spent most of my time watching the defensive backs and a bit of the wide receivers. However, I was really impressed in the short amount of time I watched Boston College DT B.J. Raji. Tomorrow I’ll definitely spend more time watching him as he blew up the interior linemen in front of him multiple times. Oklahoma State TE Brandon Pettigrew made a tough catch with a defender bumping him all over the field. Cal Poly WR Ramses Barden takes awhile to get to top speed, but the kid is a specimen at 6-6, 227. Oklahoma WR Juaquin Iglesias runs a little unusual and had a drop and a fumble today. The former number one high school recruit in the nation, WR Derrick Williams of Penn State, showed he shouldn’t be overlooked as he seemed to stop on a dime when going full speed and beat DBs deep on multiple occasions. He had my eye more than any other receiver today for sure. Virginia Tech DB Macho Harris looked a step behind his peers today and was beat deep by Ohio State WR Brian Robiskie.
Expect the action to really start to heat up Tuesday as both teams will be in full pads. We'll have full reports on the North practice in the morning and the South's afternoon session later in the day.
If you have comments or suggestions, e-mail the Editor, Great Blue North Draft Report. The GBN can also be reached by phone at (613) 692-1088 during regular business hours.
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