Due to inclement weather the Senior Bowl practice was moved indoors to day to the University of Southern Alabama Field House so media was unable to attend. But they did supply some notes for us and I was able to watch some of the practice film from today.
Some notes the Senior Bowl provided for the North:
Duke QB Daniel Jones threw the first interceptions of the week, 2 of them actually on consecutive passes to the left side. Delaware DB Nasir Adderly and South Dakota’s DB Jordan Brown were the recipients of those passes.
Stetson TE Donald Parham had to leave practice early after a couple nice catches early after tweaking an ankle.
Louisville WR Jaylen Smith struggled to making the catch for the second straight day with a couple of drops.
Georgia State WR Penny Hart stood out again getting separation from DB’s
“Guys from small schools like (Keelan) Doss and Hart are really helping themselves,” Jon Gruden said. “And Isabella has got something, He is quick. And this (Charleston DL John) Cominsky kid is also making people check the rosters to see who he is.”
NC State QB Ryan Finley and Missouri QB Drew Lock were solid, while Penn State QB Trace McSorley struggled at times with his footwork at times and had several throws miss low and away. Jones looked the best of the four until his interception.
Notre Dame RB Dexter Williams continued to impress the scouts in attendance with his quickness and ability to get to the second level.
Some things I saw on the practice film:
Memphis RB Tony Pollard and Michigan RB Karan Higdon each showed nice quickness on a two way go out of the backfield.
Notre Dame LB Drue Tranquill looked to be trying to guess which directions RB’s were going to go and got beat one on one.
Penn State DB Amani Oruwariye had a nice rep going on against a go route on the left sideline but stumbles a bit while looking back for the ball.
Utah DB Marquise Blair looked good playing tight man coverage against UMass WR Andy Isabella.
Isabella is very quick but does a little too much shake at times not realizing he has already beat the DB to get separation.
UC Davis WR Keelan Doss ran a nice stutter-go- stutter-comeback to get separation and a catch vs Washburn DB Corey Ballentine who looked more comfortable today.
Blair tries to use his right arm to feel for a the receiver on a deep ball along the right sideline while looking back but NC State WR Jakobi Meyers swiped his arm causing him to lose his balance and fall.
Parham with a cross chop arm over on a post route left Texas DB Kris Boyd in his rear-view.
UNC-Charlotte OL Nate Davis handled a bull rush from Maryland DL Byron Cowart
Cowart came back later with a chop swim over Wisconsin OL Michael Deiter.
Oregon DL Jalen Jelks beats Northern Illinois OL Max Scharping with a swim move while lined up at right tackle.
TCU DL L.J. Collier with a big bull rush to the center to put him on his back.
Washington OL Kaleb McGary is able to handle the outside speed rush of TCU LB Ben Banogu and push him up the arc.
Boston College OL Chris Lindstrom uses strong hands and good feet to slide with Collier and keep him at bay. They chirp at each other a little after the play.
Northern Illinois LB Sutton Smith tries a speed rush up the outside but Kansas State OL Dalton Risner just throws him aside.
Some notes the Senior Bowl provided for the South:
West Virginia quarterback Will Grier throwing two notable deep balls, the first to teammate David Sills during 7-on-7 drills and the second to Samuel during the 11-on-11 session.
Samuel wasn’t quite as prolific as he was during Tuesday’s practice, but he made the play of the day on a double move down the right sideline when going against Temple cornerback Rock Ya-Sin.
Marshall WR Tyre Brady made a leaping catch in traffic in the middle of the field on a throw from Washington State QB Gardner Minshew.
Mississippi State DL Montez Sweat was prominent throughout the practice. On the pass play to Brady, Sweat got around big right tackle Oli Udoh from Elon. Later in the session, the offense tried an outside run to Sweat’s side. He stayed on his feet and helped bottle up the running back behind the line of scrimmage.
Practice was generally more physical than it was on Tuesday, largely because of the run session. There were no fights, but some after-the-play shoving between Alabama State OL Tytus Howard and Florida State DL Demarcus Christmas and later between Old Dominion WR Travis Fulgham and Clemson DB Mark Fields.
Slippery Rock RB Wes Hills easily was the most prominent, beginning in one-on-one drills when he caught several passes. That continued during the 11-on-11 session. He also had a long run to the outside left.
The newest addition to the South team roster, BYU LB Sione Takitaki, played outside linebacker on Wednesday.
The session ended with several field-goal strikes from LSU’s Cole Tracy, including a 58 yarder to end the practice.
Among the notables watching practice: Alabama head coach Nick Saban (he left early), Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, Giants coach Pat Shurmur, Washington’s Doug Williams, Seattle’s John Schneider and Bill Polian.
Some things I saw on the practice film:
Alabama DL Isaiah Buggs began to wake up during 1 on 1 drills using a nice club rip while lined up as the 1 tech. He seemed to be going through the motions a bit on day one.
Texas A&M DL Daylon Mack plays with good leverage and was able to walk back Mississippi State OL Elgton Jenkins deep into the backfield.
Oklahoma OL Dru Samia handle a club move from Jonathan Ledbetter and showed good footwork to mirror him after that.
Old Dominion DL Oshane Ximines uses a chop swim to beat Alabama State OT Tytus Howard.
Oklahoma OL Ben Powers and Auburn DL Dontavius Russell trade good reps with Russell winning with a powerful bull rush and then Powers dominating Russell when he tries to cut inside of him.
Texas A&M Dl Kingsley Keke shows good punch in his rush but Samia is able to re-anchor and hold him off. On the next rep Keke came back with a chop swim to win inside.
Hills shows another good run using vision to find a cut back lane at the line of scrimmage and another cut lane to the right on the second level.
Kentucky DB Darius West is not afraid to stick his nose in and fill a gap in the run game.
Stanford LB Bobby Okereke playing inside does nice job taking on the OL block, keeping his outside shoulder clean but can’t hand on to make a stop and Hills.
West Virginia WR Gary Jennings beat Houston DB Isaiah Johnson with just a straight go up the right sideline but Auburn QB Jarett Stidham’s throw is a step too long.
Keke again this time with a push pull against Mississippi OL Javon Patterson to get into the backfield in 9 on 7 drills.
Miami DB Jaquan Johnson playing in the box steps up to fill outside on the left cutting off the RB running lane.
Good rep by Russell holding his ground verses a double team block.
New Mexico State LB Terrill Hanks show good instincts and acceleration with a short scrape and burst into the backfield for a would-be tackle for a loss.
Alabama OL Ross Pierschbacher looked slow on and outside zone run to the right allowing a defender to get penetration.
Unfortunately I’ll be leaving Mobile in the morning so I’ll finish off with a few players who stood out for each squad that caught my interest for closer look.
North
Washburn DB Corey Ballentine – struggled early but looked to get better each rep.
3 WR’s – Georgia State WR Penny Hart – He is small but he seemed to win the majority of his chances. Ohio State WR Terry McLaurin – He was open all day, both days and UC Davis Keelan Doss – Good size and made contested catches.
Oregon DL Jalen Jelks – Showed solid pass rushing skills.
Washington OL Kaleb McGary – Great size and seemed consistent.
UNC Charlotte OL Nate Davis – Showed some good things today against higher competition then his used to.
South
New Mexico State LB Terrill Hanks – Flashed with a big hit yesterday and getting in the backfield today.
Slippery Rock RB Wesley Hills – Showed vision, strength and speed.
Kentucky DB Darius West – DB’s willing to fill in the run game always deserve a look.
3 DL – Texas A&M Kingsley Keke, Old Dominion’s Oshane Ximines and Auburn’s Dontavius Russell – Keke has played inside and outside, Ximines has some pass rushing ability and Russell was very disruptive.
South Carolina WR Deebo Samuel – I was impressed with him in the regular season the last two years.
