Senior bowl Thursday . . .
http://www.draftcountdown.com/features/SeniorBowl/reports/Practices/North-127.phpNORTH
Boise St. WR Austin Pettis had a nice touchdown catch in which he elevated and over Joe Lefeged and snatched the ball out of the air.
San Diego St. WR Vincent Brown has been fantastic all week and today was no different. On one play Brown extended to snare a Ricky Stanzi pass over the middle.
Indiana OT James Brewer had an average day. Brewer held his own physically against rushers like Jeremy Beal and Christian Ballard when they did not get proper leverage, but he got beat by a power move from Cameron Jordan inside. Looked like a right tackle, not left tackle.
Wisconsin OT Gabe Carimi had another solid day. Carimi has shown great power and uses his hands well. Stonewalled Ian Williams once in one-on-one’s.
Boston College OT Anthony Castonzo had another okay day, but he wasn’t great. Castonzo certainly knows how to use his hands and he is fine if he gets good leverage from the start. Had a battle with Ryan Kerrigan at one point and won.
Wisconsin OG John Moffitt had another nice day. Moffitt gets good leverage but needs to work on feet a bit more. As a whole, Moffitt impressive.
Pittsburgh OT Jason Pinkston was beat twice by Casey Matthews when Matthews was put through defensive end drills. Pinkston idn’t have a very good day and showed he may be more of a backup type.
Michigan OG Stephen Schilling was average. Didn’t get beat quickly, but never completely stopped another player throughout practice.
Colorado OT Nate Solder had his best day yet. Since players were not in full shells, most did not get very physical with him. Dominated Herzlich in the defensive end drills and looked extremely athletic.
Nebraska DE Pierre Allen didn’t stand out. Allen has good lower body strength and used it in 11-on-11’s to drive Kowalski back.
Iowa DT Christian Ballard had another very good day and looked powerful. Ballard has extremely quick feet and keeps them churning. Overpowered Stephen Schilling at one point and beat Pinkston on another play with a swim move.
Stanford DT Sione Fua did not flash today. Fua seemed to eat up space well, but did not get penetration. Got pushed back by Brandon Fusco in one rep.
California DE Cameron Jordan continues to dominate. Unstoppable. Uses a variety of moves and beat Solder, Castonzo, Pinkston, and Brewer.
Purdue DE Ryan Kerrigan Got good leverage. Kerrigan beat Gabe Carimi using power and forced a hold. Gets to the edge very quickly, but sometimes goes too long.
Notre Dame DT Ian Williams tried to use more pass rush moves today, but struggled. Brandon Fusco held him in check three plays in a row. John Moffitt drove him back at one point in 11-on-11’s.
South Florida DT Terrell McClain did well for his first day of practice. He used a great swim move to beat Kevin Kowalski. John Moffitt got the best of him and drove him back in one-on-one’s and appeared to be in his gap in 11-on-11’s consistently.
Oklahoma’s Jeremy Beal got some work at outside linebacker today and didn’t look out of place. In fact, Beal looked downright comfortable playing standing up.
Michigan St. ILB Greg Jones had a ton of trouble in coverage. Not only did Jones show poor awareness when he lost a ball while running with DeMarco Murray, but he also fell down while trying to stick with Mike McNeill.
Boston College OLB Mark Herzlich isn’t great in coverage but he did a solid job on Da’Rel Scott, keeping up with the smaller, speedier player. I also liked how when the ball was in the air Herzlich started flashes his hands in front of Scott’s face, which was quite heady.
North Carolina CB Kendric Burney was todays star, intercepting two passes, one from Locker and one from Stanzi, but he dropped a third from Kaepernick.
Colorado CB Jalil Brown isn’t even considered to be the top corner prospect out of Colorado this year but he may be the best cover guy in Mobile. Brown held his own against Titus Young today and that is no small feat.
http://www.draftcountdown.com/features/SeniorBowl/reports/Practices/South-127.phpSOUTH
South Alabama WR Courtney Smith made a few great catches with good body control, but he isn’t overly fast and is just very raw. Looks like a late round pick.
TCU WR Jeremy Kerley didn’t do much in practice today. Kerely did some off his outstanding quickness in drills, but really wasn’t targeted much.
USC WR Ronald Johnson had a very good day at practice today. "RoJo" howed off some great hands. He did drop a touchdown pass in the red zone drills, but made up for it by beating teammate Sharece Wright for a touchdown catch later. Drops his hips very well and doesn’t round off his routes. Slot guy at the next level.
Miami (FL) WR Leonard Hankerson had an amazing catch tapping his feet on the sideline. However, "Hank" did have one drop in the endzone. Hankerson continued to find holes in the zone and after he caught passes would turn it upfield immediately. Really abused DeMacrus Van Dyke in the two-minute drill.
Hawaii WR Greg Salas isn't flashy, but he continued to catch nearly everything. Salas had a great catch in the back corner of the end zone over Marcus Gilchrist.
Baylor OG Danny Watkins continued to look strong and also looked excellent when on the move or pulling. After practice Watson was pulled aside to be coached up and run through some center drills. Watkins struggled at times but that is to be expected since it’s something new for him.
Miami (FL) DE Allen Bailey stood out as much as he has all week, consistently generating a good amount of pressure.
Arizona DE Brooks Reed flew by Alabama OT James Carpenter in 11-on-11’s then later used that same speed to get the best of Auburn’s Lee Ziemba.
Mississippi St. DE Pernell McPhee beat Auburn’s Lee Ziemba in 11-on-11’s.
Texas DE Sam Acho batted down an Andy Dalton pass inside the ten yard line during 11-on-11’s. Acho may not have the ideal physical tools you look for but after a rough start he has just found a way to make plays. As I've said all week, Acho is such an impressive young man that if he isn't playing for an NFL team he may eventually own one.
Auburn ILB Josh Bynes showed some quick feet and decent closing speed, but not much past that shown.
North Carolina State ILB Nate Irving had a great day of pass coverage. Broke up a pass in the end zone in the red zone drills where he leapt in the air to bat down an Andy Dalton pass. Still had some trouble shedding blocks, but looked like a starter.
Miami OLB Colin McCarthy showed a nice back pedal in coverage drills and looked improved at this practice. Instincts are still a bit suspect at time and had trouble adjusting to the run game.
LSU OLB Kelvin Sheppard continued to be impressive. He showed major range despite his size. Playing in the zone, he reacted very well to runs and even got behind the line of scrimmage when Greg McElroy decided to run in a red zone drill.
Mississippi State ILB Chris White was in good position against the run, but was often eaten up and simply not effective. Looks like more of a late round selection.
Florida S Ahmad Black has performed well all week but the focus today was on his hips. Black’s hips aren’t perfect, but he was able to turn himself in coverage with relative ease. They appear to be good enough to at least consider a move to corner.
Texas CB Curtis Brown had the best day of any defensive prospect. After struggling to adjust to the ball early, Brown made some great plays. He had a great break-up against Dwayne Harris and got in front of Ronald Johnson in the end zone and nearly intercepted a ball. He looked like he finally “got it” after the week of practice and showed off his athleticism.
Auburn S Zac Etheridge looked pretty good in the box, but lacks the hips to flip in coverage. Just didn’t quite match up in coverage.
Clemson CB Marcus Gilchrist was fairly average today. Gave up a few plays when playing man-to-man and seemed to do better in zone. Hips looked very stiff.
Clemson S DeAndre McDaniel had a very good day today. Had great closing speed on runners and receivers. Looked very good against the run game. He shed some blocks and got into the backfield a few times. Had a nice play to contain Charles Clay in red zone drill.
Miami CB DeMarcus Van Dyke had another average day. Was beat by Leonard Hankerson a few times in 2 minute drill. Seemed to have some mental mistakes in coverage and could not anticipate what the receivers will do.
USC CB Sharece Wright did alright. The physical ability is there, with fluid hips and a good backpedal, but Wright was often out of position which sometimes led to shaky coverage in 11-on-11’s of Trojan teammate Ronald Johnson. Wright just seemed one step too late in many instances.
All that is left now is Friday’s walk-through and then on Saturday it is game time. Most scouts have already gone home but those still in Mobile were treated to gorgeous weather, a lot of talent and some high-quality football. The question now becomes whether the North squad can take what they’ve learned this week and carry it over into the game. If that happens the South will have their hands full.
When the final whistle blew on this session the hay was basically in the barn for both the North and South squads, with only the walktrhough on Friday and the game on Saturday before the 2011 Senior Bowl week is officially in the books. As with the North squad, it seemed as though there were some uneven performances throughout the week of practices. Certain players would look good one day, then not so good the next. Perhaps the actual game will serve as the tie-breaker.
