NEPD Editor: Mike Loyko
The first day of the Senior Bowl is in the books and what a whirlwind it was. There is so much information to be gathered throughout this process that’s it’s almost impossible to keep up with all the goings on. After watching the first practices and the official weigh-in, I’ve put together my thoughts and observations on the day. One day won’t define the draft stock of the participants, but the information gathered is another piece to the puzzle. Here is what I learned from the first day in Mobile.
North Practice
Quarterbacks
It’s definitely not a stand out group this year. None of the QBs in particular stood out to me during this practice session. All of the QBs have mediocre throwing arms with average NFL tools. Each of the three struggled with accuracy at times, especially to the perimeter. Remember these kids are throwing to new receivers, but never the less, this group failed to change any opinions I had of them leading into the week. We’ll see if anyone steps it up tomorrow once the full pads go on.
Running Backs
Nebraska RB Ameer Abdullah’s quickness and explosion stood out. He’s clearly the most dynamic back on the roster as he showed an ability to make cuts at high speed and looked dangerous catching the ball out of the backfield. He’s going to be a tough cover for LB at the next level. Tyler Varga out of Yale caught a lot of scouts attention during the second half of practice. Not only was he a “weigh-in warrior” this morning, but he looked like he fit in on the practice field. He looked natural catching the football today and has a great build for the position.
Wide Receivers
This is a deep and talented group that I was able to get a close look at today. Tony Lippett started off practice great destroying the gauntlet drill and attacking the football in the air. As practice went on and became more physical he faded slightly. Devin Smith, WR, Ohio State has plenty of work to do in order to run a complete route tree, but he’s going to be very dangerous right away in the NFL running “9″ routes and hook/hitch routes. He can stop on a dime and created huge seperation at the top of his comeback routes. His hands looked solid throughout the day. Justin Hardy had a very solid day all around. His hands looked strong in the gauntlet drill and he consistently got open in 1-on-1s, 7-on-7s. Dukes’ Jamison Crowder dropped a bunch of balls early on, but once the competition ramped up and the reps became competitive he started to win consistently. He’s a tough kid to cover and seems to run his routes very well. Ty Montgomery and Antwan Goodley both struggled catching the ball today. Each one had at least 4 drops.
Tight Ends
Like QB, this isn’t the strongest Tight End group. Ben Koyack looked like the best of the bunch at first glance. He caught the ball consistently today and that’s more than I can say for the other two Tight Ends.
Offensive Line
A group I didn’t get to focus on too much today. I will saw that every time I watched 1-on-1s Dukes’ Laken Tomlinson was handling his business. He’s got such long arms and uses his length to keep defenders off him. He also moved his feet well and was able to stonewall the bullrush. I have to watch this group closer tomorrow.
Defensive Line
Danny Shelton was difficult to handle for Centers today. His game looks like it translates seamlessly to the NFL. He can create push on every play, draws multiple blocks on most plays, and surprised me with his lateral movement today. He was also a weigh-in warrior showing up with Watermelon-like Calves and a Barrel-Chested upper body. Henry Anderson is a battler and never takes plays off. Anderson is a player who gets the most out of his physical talent. In terms of edge rushers Nate Orchard looked the most dangerous on the North team. His burst out of a 3-point stance is better than most and he looks like the best athlete of the bunch. Hau’oli Kikaha was asked to do a lot of dropping into coverage today and it was quickly realized that is not a strength of his. Zach Hodges also looked very, very raw when asked to cover Tight Ends.
Linebackers
Cincinnati’s Jeff Luc is built like a “brick shithouse”. His 5’11″ frame is maxed out at a crazy 263 pounds. Luc is a downhill, run stopper that can handle he physicality of playing in traffic. I didn’t get to watch Jordan Hicks a lot during practices, but he impressed me greatly with his interview. Hicks is a well-spoken kid that seems hungry and driven to succeed after overcoming adversity at Texas.
Cornerbacks
Miami (OH) Quinten Rollins and Oregon State’s Steven Nelson are standouts for me. Rollins is a terrific looking athlete. He can open his hips fluidly, was able to change direction without wasting much motion, and picked up the press technique very quickly. It’s amazing to think this kid was not even playing football at this time last year. Nelson is a feisty and tenacious corner. He’s undersized and probably locked into a nickelback role, but he battles on every single rep. Few WR were able to lose him in cover today. Josh Shaw won the underwear Olympics with a Greek God like physique. On the field his athleticism is exposed when he has to make quick and sudden movements. Eric Rowe has awesome size for a Corner, but got yelled at a few times for not understanding directions.
Safeties
Damarious Randall was the best cover Safety for me today. He’s on the smaller side, but seemed to have the most natural man coverage ability of the group. Ibraheim Campbell of Northwestern was probably the next best in the group and made a couple standout plays on the football.
