We are off and running here in Dallas at the Cowboys’ practice facility for the 99th edition of the East-West Shrine Bowl.
This year, myself, Joe Clark, Dr. Melanie Friedlander, and Tony Calderone are in Dallas to cover the Shrine Bowl for Steelers Depot. The crew jumped in an Uber and headed over to The Star and the Ford Center in the Dallas/Frisco area for the first day of the East-West Shrine Bowl.
Below is a compilation of our notes from Saturday’s first practice for the East and West teams.
JOSH CARNEY’S NOTES:
EAST TEAM —
Things got off to a bit of a sloppy start for the East team, as expected. Early on, when the East team was in a team session, there were a lot of dropped snaps, missed assignments and struggles grasping the scheme. That’s not a surprise, considering it’s the first on-field work for the team for the week.
But once things transitioned to individuals, things really started to pick up. During the initial individual drills, I spent quite a bit of time watching the East’s offensive and defensive lines, as the groups are loaded with talent.
James Madison defensive lineman Jamree Kromah (6031, 271) really opened eyes initially. He has great pop in his hands and flashed his power time and time again. In the reach block drills against the offensive linemen, Kromah had good hand usage and strength to win consistently in the drill. That carried over into the 1-on-1 pass rush drills. He again had great hand usage and really flashed his power throughout, winning consistently, opening eyes.
So, too, did Charlotte’s Eyabi Okie-Anoma, the former No. 3 recruit in the country that spent time at five different schools, including Alabama and Michigan before playing the 2023 season at Charlotte. Okie-Anoma (6037, 253) was arguably the best defender on the field in the morning session for the East team.
He showed great bend running around the arc in pass rush bag drills, and then dominated in 1-on-1 drills. He beat Illinois’ Julian Pearl on an inside spin to win the first rep, using his speed to set up the inside counter. Then, after flashing the spin and inside spin, Okie-Anoma buried Oklahoma’s Walter Rouse with an outstanding bull rush, winning the rep.
Offensively, Penn State right tackle Caedan Wallace (6043, 322) had a terrific day. He’s an experienced lineman who was a multi-year starter at Penn State. He was locking guys up in pass protection throughout the day and won consistently in the reach block and drive block drills. He has great feet for the position and really made things look easy at times.
I was also really impressed with Boston College guard Christian Mahogany (6024, 318). He really plays with an edge, utilizes good pad level and really flashy his power throughout the morning session, looking like one of the best interior linemen in the setting. Kansas State’s Kaitori Leveston (6035, 337) really flashed, too, showing off a good anchor throughout. He some heavy feet though, which makes him vulnerable against smaller, quicker defenders, which gave him a challenge.
Once the teams moved to a team scrimmage session, the defense dominated. The defensive line gave the offensive line group fits, and the quarterbacks really couldn’t get on the same page with receivers, leading to the offense having a very sloppy day, which is concerning considering the East has the best QB group by far.
WEST TEAM —
With the East practice over, all eyes turned to the West team, which has some of the best talent at the Shrine Bowl. The West team didn’t disappoint in the practice setting.
After watching the East offensive and defensive lines, I decided to focus on the West defensive backs and wide receivers. I wasn’t disappointed.
Pitt cornerback M.J. Devonshire (5111, 179) had an outstanding day. He locked guys up in man coverage much like he did throughout his time at Pitt. He is just so smooth in his backpedal, changes directions with ease and plays through the hip pocket consistently. Playing on an island at Pitt in Pat Narduzzi’s defense helped him immensely.
Very strong day for Devonshire.
Virginia wide receiver Malik Washington (5081, 192) looks like the best player here — by far. He’s a rock-solid dude with a great frame. He lived up to the hype on the first day. He had a tremendous leaping grab in 1-on-1 drills against West Virginia defensive back Beanie Bishop, who had a rough first day. Bishop (5091, 182) dropped a pick-6, was beat in coverage a few times and had some issues in an initial position drill, leading to the drill stopping and him needing to be coached up. He’ll bounce back though.
Washington is an outstanding route runner with incredible twitch. He makes it look so easy. Remember the name.
Mississippi State wide receiver Lideatrick Griffin (5097, 175) made a great play on a deep ball in 1-on-1 drills, tracking it perfectly and making a play for the touchdown.
Tulane defensive back Jarius Monroe (6005, 204) looked very good throughout the session at safety and cornerback. He showed great ball skills and communicated well. The versatility is really impressive so quickly in the week.
Outside of the receivers and defensive backs, I also kept an eye on the linebackers, since the West has some good names in Penn State’s Curtis Jacobs (6010, 236), Ohio State’s Steele Chambers (6004, 223) and Toledo’s Dallas Gant (6024, 224). Chambers was flying around making plays against the run and in coverage, showing off his range. He’s a former running back that converted to linebacker and stood out at Ohio State.
Gant was impressive in coverage, making a great play on the ball in coverage working across the field against Memphis running back Blake Watson (5093, 189), breaking up the pass. Gant is a former Ohio State linebacker that transferred and put up strong numbers of the Rockets.
Worth noting, too, that Southern Mississippi running back Frank Gore Jr. (5071, 199) is built like tank. He moves very well and showed off good speed and impressive hands out of the backfield. You should feel old reading that name. Frank Gore was in attendance to watch his son work.
One thing to point out here, too: the West QB play was very rough on Day 1. UCF’s John Rhys Plumlee (5111, 200), BYU’s Kedon Slovis (6021, 214) and Maryland’s Taulia Tagovailoa (5102, 200) really struggled with accuracy on the day. They were spraying balls everywhere.
Fortunately, they have the wide receivers to bail them out. USC’s Tahj Washington made the play of the day late in the West session, beating Bishop down the right sideline and pulling in a one-handed catch with Bishop getting flagged for holding his left arm. It was a strong throw from Plumlee, which was rare on the day.
JOE CLARK’S NOTES:
EAST TEAM —
Georgia DL Zion Logue had some flashes, but did have some issues with coming out of his stance too high
JMU DL Jamree Komrah showed off good lower body power and some good pop in his hands. One of the standouts with his session
BC OL Christian Mahogany was a standout, along with Penn State OT Caedan Wallace. Mahogany has such a strong base and is a tough guy to move around. Dominated all session, has great power generated through his hips
Penn State OT Caedan Wallace was the best tackle all day and showed off good power and technique. Definitely a guy to watch closer.
Ole Miss CB Deantre Prince was really good in WR/DB 1v1s, batting a ball out of the receiver’s hands and was super sticky in coverage.
Charlotte EDGE Eyabi Okie-Anoma was the most explosive player on the field, blowing over Oklahoma OT Walter Rouse in a 1v1 and winning another rep with a quick swim move. Really good speed to power.
Cincinnati DL Jowon Briggs won twice in OL/DL 1v1 with his bull rush. Powerful player
Liberty OG X’Zauvea Gadlin had some issues with oversetting in 1v1 drills
Kentucky QB Devin Leary had a lot of zip on the ball and looked like the best quarterback of the day
Clemson EDGE Xavier Thomas has a lot of speed and bend, interesting prospect
WEST TEAM —
-Tulane CB Jarius Monroe is a really fluid mover who has good hips in coverage. Stood out early and maintained a high level of play.
-Miami OL Matt Lee struggled a little bit against the bull rush in 1v1 drills, but he was able to get good push in team drills and moved well in space. Needs to work on blocking bigger defenders as he’s a bit undersized.
Texas Tech safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson was a little bit too physical in 1v1 drills, getting flagged once and he should’ve been flagged twice. Did have some flashes but needs to work on being too grabby.
TCU OL Willis Patrick had issues oversetting in 1v1 but recovered nicely and was largely able to hold his own.
Howard OT Anim Dankwah struggled with speed around the EDGE, getting beat by USC EDGE Solomon Byrd. Dankwah tried to adjust but overset and then was beat to the inside. He looked better in team but he needs to work on blocking quicker EDGE rushers.
Virginia WR Malik Washington may have been the best player on the field. Made a lot of impressive catches despite not getting much help from his quarterbacks
USC WR Tahj Washington was right behind Malik, making a really impressive one-handed catch on a poorly thrown deep ball. Has really good speed.
BYU QB Kedon Slovis really struggled with his accuracy. Not a good day in general for the quarterbacks, as neither John Rhys Plumlee nor Taulia Tagovailoa was able to stand out. Tagovailoa may have been the best of the group, though.
Iowa DL Logan Lee was a monster in 1v1, winning three reps handily before getting challenged on his fourth. He has super quick hands and is able to use that to blow by offensive linemen. A really fun player to watch.
Washington DL Tuli Letuligasenoa showed off an impressive bull rush, and he was the player who Matt Lee struggled the most against. Letuligasenoa was one of the better players on the field.
SMU DL Jordan Miller is really quick for an interior guy, and had an impressive swim move.
Grambling State EDGE Sundiata Anderson won with his speed a few times and looked good in OL/DL 1v1 drills
UTSA WR Josh Cephus was also impressive, showing off a wide catch radius and really precise route-running. Was able to separate well in OL/DL 1v1s.
UCLA EDGE Gabriel Murphy batted a pass down at the line of scrimmage and was able to beat South Dakota State OL Garret Greenfield handily during a 1v1 rep. Greenfield adjusted well and won the next rep and generally looked solid throughout the day, despite largely playing out of position.
TONY CALDERONE’S NOTES:
EAST TEAM —
Syracuse S Isaiah Johnson had the best effort of the day in the early individual drills but did struggle a bit down the field in one-on-one coverage.
Kentucky QB Devin Leary had the strongest arm of all the QBs on either side today. He did tend to put a little too much zip on short, open passes, however, causing some inaccuracy.
Western Kentucky QB Austin Reed was the most accurate quarterback of the day, and got some looks out of the read option as well.
Louisville QB Jack Plummer struggled with accuracy on medium-distance throws – something he’ll have to keep working on through the process.
Maryland CB Tarheeb Still had a bit of an up-and-down practice, but showed off impressive down-the-field man coverage skills.
Amazing day for Michigan WR Cornelius Johnson. Maybe the best player I watched today. His combo of size and route running is unmatched at the Shrine Bowl.
Oklahoma WR Drake Stoops wasn’t a name I had on my radar going into the day, but he looked incredibly shifty, including one rep where he burned Florida State CB Jarrian Jones.
Florida State CB Renardo Green was one of the better defensive backs of the day, more than holding his own in coverage.
Florida State IDL Fabien Lovett had a few noticeable plays, and showcased his ability to be a disruptor in the run game.
I’m certainly a believer that Illinois WR Isaiah Williams can make an impact at the next level as a wide receiver, but he also was the most natural punt returner on the East. Dude is just an incredible athlete.
Alabama State CB Mikey Victor is an intriguing prospect at 6-3. His speed and acceleration both looked up to snuff, but he struggled against some of the better route runners. One to watch the rest of the week.
Houston EDGE David Ugwoegbu is an intriguing speed rusher of the edge, he had a few great flashes today.
WEST TEAM —
Tulane CB Jarius Monroe impressed me all day, including in the individual drills. Should be a playmaker at the next level.
Toronto Argonauts CB Qwan’Tez Stiggers was inconsistent but had flashes that he could hang with traditional college players today for sure. He had some great reps in the 1v1s.
West Virginia OG Doug Nester actually got some reps at tackle today. He looked agile, and looked very solid in the run game.
UCLA EDGE Gabriel Murphy is one of the more athletic defensive linemen here. He created some disruption in the run game today as well.
UCLA LB Darius Muasau brought huge energy today. He showed some ability as a downhill thumper as well.
UCF OT Tylan Grabel, had some nice push downfield on a few plays, but often got beat to the outside in 1v1 reps.
Holy Cross WR Jalen Coker made a nice catch in traffic today, and impressed all around.
Texas Tech S Dadrion Taylor-Demerson brought major energy today as well, but it resulted in him getting a little too physical in 1v1s and drawing multiple flags.
UCF QB John Rhys Plumlee had flashes of brilliance, such as a deep throw to USC WR Tahj Washington, but also failed to make a few easy throws. He took some snaps out of the read option.
Virginia WR Malik Washington and USC WR Tahj Washington were the two best wideouts in this session, as both made incredible acrobatic grabs.
Mississippi State DL Nathan Pickering was probably my favorite defensive player of the day. He showed both power and finesse in the pass rush.
Howard OT Anim Dankwah had an interesting day. He had a few reps where he got exposed but was later able to adjust and make improvements. At his size, it’s great to see that he can take feedback well and effectively adjust. I still think he is a bit too upright at times, however.
Pittsburgh OL Matt Goncalves is one of my favorites. He didn’t even play today due to injury, but his energy was infectious. He had the West offensive line FIRED UP during 1v1s. Would be an awesome fit for the Steelers.
Iowa DL Logan Lee had a great day and would be right up there with Pickering for the top defensive player over either session for me. He doesn’t have the flashiest game or pass rush moves, but always seemed to beat his matchup in 1v1s. Incredibly quick hands. One of my favorites.
Holy Cross OG CJ Hanson got some run at center today. He was tough to move all day and was one of the better offensive linemen I watched.
Miami OG Matt Lee had an up-and-down day. He got beat with the bull-rushed a few times but was great in space.
UTSA Josh Cephus didn’t have any standout reps, but always seemed to win his matchup. A guy to keep watching this week for sure.
South Dakota State OG Mason McCormick was up there with Hanson as the best offensive lineman. He looked incredibly strong and was tough to move.
Melanie Friedlander’s Notes:
East Team —
