FRISCO, Texas — Things wrapped up here at the Dallas Cowboys’ practice facility for the 99th edition of the East-West Shrine Bowl Tuesday with the final day of practice ahead of Thursday’s game.
This year, Joe Clark, Dr. Melanie Friedlander, Tony Calderone, and I are in Dallas to cover the Shrine Bowl for Steelers Depot. The crew jumped on a hotel shuttle and headed over to The Star and the Ford Center in the Dallas area for the East-West Shrine Bowl practice.
Below is a compilation of our notes from Tuesday’s fourth and final practice — a walk-through — for the West and East teams.
JOSH CARNEY’S NOTES:
EAST TEAM —
A very, very light day overall as the team had a walkthrough to wrap up the final day of practice. Despite it being a walkthrough, I found myself watching the East defensive line throughout the early portion of the session. In bag drills under DL coach Brian Bing of the Indianapolis Colts, the East defensive line flashed some impressive athleticism.
Florida Atlantic defensive lineman Evan Anderson (6004, 319) really popped in pass-rush drills. He had a quiet week leading up to the fourth day as he struggled in 1-on-1 drills and needed coached up quite a bit, but things seemed to click for him on the final day. He moves really well for his size and showed off loose hips while getting through the bags and running around the corner.
Florida State’s Fabien Lovett (6033, 307) is a guy I had my eyes on coming into the week. He has great length with 34 5/8-inch arms. It’s freaky watching him in this defensive line group. He can touch his knees standing straight up. That length showed up throughout the week, but he struggled at times in 1-on-1 pass-rush drills. He just doesn’t have much in his toolbox as a pass rusher. But on Tuesday he really flashed great hands against the pad and moved extremely well. There’s a moldable piece in there.
Clemson EDGE Xavier Thomas (6016, 244) and Charlotte EDGE Eyabi Okie-Anoma (6037, 254) are just on different levels as polished pass rushers in this group. Great athletes who move more like cornerbacks and receivers than they do EDGE defenders. Freakish athletes who should be coveted in the NFL.
I liked what I saw from Kentucky QB Devin Leary (6010, 215) on the day. He has the strongest arm here and he just rips balls without fear. He made two great throws in the two-minute drill to end practice. He had a great hole shot to Illinois WR Casey Washington (6006, 197) down the left sideline and then on a 4th and 15 fired a dime to Oregon State wide receiver Anthony Gould (5080, 172) down the middle. He put the ball perfectly into Gould’s numbers over the outstretched hand of Wisconsin linebacker Maema Njongmeta (5115, 234) for a huge gain.
WEST TEAM —
Much like the East, it was a very light walkthrough for the West Tuesday morning. The sidelines and the stands were largely empty as scouts and team personnel cleared out to head to Mobile, Ala., for the Senior Bowl but that didn’t stop the West team from having some players stand out.
UCF QB John Rhys Plumlee (5116, 200) flashed throughout the day during team session. He has good accuracy on his throws, can put the ball wherever he wants, and is a very mobile quarterback. Two-sport star in college having also played baseball at Ole Miss and UCF. Name to watch late in the draft.
BYU QB Kedon Slovis (6021, 214) had a really rough week, but he closed Tuesday on a high note. Accuracy was a major issue all week for Slovis, but he fired a dart to Virginia wide receiver Malik Washington (5081, 192) for a touchdown on a speed out in red zone drills, beating the outstretched hand of a defender for the score. It a high-level throw.
UTSA WR Josh Cephus (6022, 189) continued to catch my eye throughout the day. He’s a smooth route runner with tremendous hands. He gets in and out of his breaks quickly and just plucks the ball out of the air with late hands. It’s impressive watching him. Great catch radius; makes plays all over.
Pitt CB M.J. Devonshire (5111, 179) is just so smooth. He glides around the field. Light feet, loose hips, plays with a ton of confidence. The guy thrived on an island at Pitt under Pat Narduzzi and it showed all week here. It was great to see Narduzzi in town this morning, too. He got a chance to watch not only Devonshire but also Pitt DB A.J. Woods (5095, 186) and Pitt WR Bub Means (6006, 222) during the morning session.
MELANIE FRIEDLANDER’S NOTES:
EAST TEAM —
Injuries were the theme for the East team yesterday, but a number of players returned to practice today.
Charlotte EDGE Eyabi Okie-Anoma, who sat out yesterday with what he described as a tweaked left hip, looked fine as he went through drills.
Georgia IDL Zion Logue did not seem limited at all by the mild turf toe that kept him out yesterday.
Florida State CB Jarrian Jones, who took a one-day break for a bone bruise on his foot was also back in action.
Tennessee CB Tarheeb Still remained out with a hand injury. He easily tossed a ball with his right hand yesterday and today was using only his left hand. No brace or swelling on either hand but I assume the right hand is the area of concern.
Michigan CB Josh Wallace was a new addition to the injury list. He was an observer today with an undisclosed injury but moved around the field with his position group with no visible limp or limitation in movement.
Per Eric Galko, both Still and Wallace are expected to play in the Shrine Bowl game Thursday night.
Florida State CB Renardo Green, whose foot had been stepped on and had some bruising, did not participate in the walkthrough. He was on the sideline again today but told me later this afternoon that he will play Thursday.
Oregon State RB Deshaun Fenwick had been ruled out for practice and the game due to an undisclosed injury. He had a slight limp yesterday but was moving easily and was an active participant with his position group and the play calling.
Western Carolina WR David White was a no-show for the second day in a row. Per Shrine Bowl staff, he is no longer in Frisco. When I asked, I was told “no word” on whether this was illness, injury, or other reasons.
WEST TEAM —
UCLA RB Carson Steele sustained a left leg injury yesterday getting tackled on a catch and run. He finished practice and did the initial stretching session with the team today. He kept his helmet on but was just an observer with the RB group on the sidelines, observing team drills and discussing plays with his coach. He was wearing a very light stretchy brace on his left knee and had some mild swelling on his lower thigh.
Side note: QB coaching guru Jeff Christensen, who works with Patrick Mahomes, Kirk Cousins and many other NFL QBs, has been on the sidelines this week. He told me he is here for Jack Plummer and John Rhys Plumlee. He also spent time after practice coaching up SDSU WRs Jadon and Jaxon Janke and TE Zach Heins for a good while after practice today and Monday. He is officially not a fan of Matt Canada.
JOE CLARK’S NOTES:
EAST TEAM —
Florida Atlantic iDL Evan Anderson showed off a powerful punch in individual drills. Hasn’t flashed like I was hoping/expecting this week, but there’s something to work with there.
Northern Iowa iDL Khristian Boyd moved quick and had a lot of power in individual drills. Strong week for him.
Florida State CB Jarrian Jones almost had an interception but couldn’t make the grab and then had a nice run stop a few plays later.
Kentucky QB Devin Leary had two high-level throws, including a nice strike to Oregon State WR Anthony Gould.
The most interesting part of the day was a fight between two personal trainers on the sideline that resulted in the two of them being separated.
WEST TEAM —
Texas Tech’s Tyler Owens had fluid hips during individual drills. Definitely moves well.
UCLA EDGE Gabriel Murphy had a forced fumble. He’s been a stud all week.
BYU QB Kedon Slovis had his best day of practice, had a few accurate balls.
Maryland QB Taulia Tagovailoa had a well-thrown deep ball, nice touch on it.
Another solid day for UTSA WR Josh Cephus. A talented route runner, Cephus is going to be a good pick for someone in the middle rounds.
TONY CALDERONE’S NOTES:
EAST TEAM —
Both Maryland QB Taulia Tagovailoa and UCF QB John Rhys Plumlee have taken a lot of snaps out of the read option. It will be interesting to see how much of that they use on Thursday in the game.
Mississippi State WR Lideatrick Griffin seemed like the main kick returner for the squad today. I’m surprised he got reps there over Isaiah Williams.
USC EDGE Solomon Byrd looked pretty active today, even though it was just a walkthrough.
WEST TEAM —
Florida State CB Jarrian Jones and Ole Miss CB Deantre Prince seemed like the main two slot corners for the West. Both have had up-and-down weeks, but Jones especially has a lot of potential.
Kentucky QB Devin Leary has flashed the highest ceiling of all the QBs. He’s had spells of inaccuracy, but so have all the QBs, and his raw arm talent is in a league of it’s own here in Frisco.
