MOBILE, Ala. — For the third and final day of Senior Bowl practices, the energy level was lower than the previous two days. Many of the standout players either sat out or were not on site at all as they already showed what they needed to show this week.
The media sessions were also light as most of the players avoided coming to the side of the field where interviews were taking place. Yesterday featured a full hour of interviews, so it is understandable for them to be over it at this point.
ROSS MCCORKLE’S REPORT
SENIOR BOWL NATIONAL TEAM
-Top standouts like Michigan WR Roman Wilson, UCLA EDGE Laiatu Latu, and Toledo CB Quinyon Mitchell did not participate.
-Arizona WR Jacob Cowing, who told me that the Steelers are showing a lot of interest, was carted off the field. It didn’t look major but likely enough to keep him out of the Senior Bowl game on Saturday.
-NC State ILB Payton Wilson has a lot of hustle. He blitzed on one play and then turned around and ran 30 yards downfield to make a tackle. He is very fast in a straight line. During one-on-ones in coverage, he struggled a bit at the top of running backs’ routes and gave up a little too much separation.
-Washington ILB Edefuan Ulofoshio was really solid in the coverage one-on-ones. He has great closing speed and fluid hips to turn and run with receivers in their routes. He is built well and has a quick trigger. Very little wasted movement.
-UCF WR Javon Baker had a nice grab high-pointing a 50-50 jump ball in the end zone. He has impressed throughout the week and finished the final practice strong.
-UNC ILB Cedric Gray plays well in space. He had a couple PBUs in the one-on-ones defending running backs out of the backfield. He is light on his feet and showed off nice change of direction. He threw an arm up in front of RB Kimani Vidal to break up a pass.
-Notre Dame CB Cam Hart had one of the better weeks and with Quinyon Mitchell sitting out the final day he got more reps. He is patient and has good eye discipline. I noticed receivers try subtle moves to get him to bite, but Hart did a great job keeping his eyes and mirroring the movement of whomever he was covering.
SENIOR BOWL AMERICAN TEAM
-A fair amount of practice was spent on installs for the game on Saturday and walkthrough-type activities. It also ended with OL/DL running routes on each other. Like the National Team practice, it was less intense than the previous two days.
-UK ILB Trevin Wallace had a quick trigger coming downhill against the run in the team session today. He was right around the ball carrier on most snaps he played. They don’t do much tackling in these practices to protect players, but Wallace was in the right area most of the time. He navigates through traffic well.
-Cal ILB Jackson Sirmon intercepted Joe Milton III today over the middle and nearly had another. Both came in zone drops. He has good eyes and looks comfortable in coverage. He was a huge winner today.
-UTEP ILB Tyrice Knight showed the ability to take on blockers and keep them off his chest. He had a couple of nice stops against the run today. On one, a guard climbed up to the second level, and Knight used his inside arm to keep the guard off his chest and make the tackle with his outside arm.
-Tennessee QB Joe Milton III had a rough day. He was not seeing inside linebackers at the second level and making risky throws trying to thread the needle. At least one was intercepted. He is athletic and has a big arm, but the accuracy and vision looked spotty today.
-Texas OT Christian Jones continued to impress. He uses his length well to get his hands on pass rushers early and keeps a nice wide base while moving laterally to mirror. He also does a nice job resetting his hands throughout a rep. There were many impressive offensive linemen at this event, but Jones did a lot to help his draft stock.
-UCONN OT Christian Haynes has impressed at guard this week and got some center snaps in today’s practice.
JONATHAN HEITRITTER’S REPORT
SENIOR BOWL NATIONAL TEAM
-Washington LB Edefuan Ulofoshio is impressive looking body in person. Rocked-up muscular frame with a chiseled physique, very similar to Daiyan Henley last year.
-Oregon QB Bo Nix has noticeably more zip on his passes than Washington QB Michael Penix Jr. as the latter lofts his passes.
-Penix overthrew his first several passes of practice in the red zone 1-on-1s. He needs to do a better job of dropping the ball in the bucket over the receiver’s shoulder. The 2023 Heisman Trophy runner-up was picked off by LB Cedric Gray, who stepped in front of an in-breaking route.
-Nix showed good ball placement to start 1-on-1s, getting the back-shoulder throw to the pylon for the touchdown on his first rep and placing the ball just in front of the receiver out of reach from the defensive back on a slant route for another TD.
-UNC WR Tez Walker scored on easy TD on the out and up against Penn State CB Kalen King, who’s had a rough week of practice.
-NC State LB Payton Wilson had a nice PBU while covering USC RB Marshawn Lloyd in one one-on-ones, recovering after initial separation and getting his hand in to break up the pass at the last second.
-UCF WR Javon Baker skied over the defensive back in one-on-ones to snag the jump ball in the back of the end zone for the score. He’s had a good week of practice.
-Nix and Minnesota TE Brevyn Spann-Ford connected on a post corner in one-on-ones with Nix placing the ball perfectly and Spann-Ford making the good catch in traffic.
-Nix had a good completion in the team session. After getting pressured in the pocket, he threw a dime with a defender his face for a completion over the middle for the first down.
-Notre Dame QB Sam Hartman looked solid throughout the third day of practice, showing good anticipation and quick processing. He had good ball placement in the red zone and scrambled a couple of times when the play broke down. He’s looking like a solid Day Three option as a backup/spot starter.
-Penix had a nice play in the team session after one play broke down. He found his man in the back of the end zone for the pretty touchdown throw and catch.
-Nix had a great day of practice. He threaded the needle on a few throws in the team session and looked solid in one-on-ones and team drills. Best quarterback in the National practice.
SENIOR BOWL AMERICAN TEAM
-Tennessee QB Joe Milton III has looked impressive at times, showcasing his arm talent and athleticism at the position. He’s fit in some nice completions in coverage and shown good overall ball placement. He’s been a winner here at Mobile.
-South Carolina QB Spencer Rattler throws a really pretty ball with good velocity and arc. Has had some misses with miscommunication with receivers, but overall has played well.
-Tulane QB Michael Pratt has been steady all three days here at the Senior Bowl, not having crazy highs but no crazy lows either. He throws an accurate ball and has looked like a solid developmental option in the middle rounds. Pratt had a ball go high on him in 7-on-7 drills, going off the hands of his intended target into the hands of Georgia S Tykee Smith for the interception.
-Rattler threaded the needle to Louisville WR Jamari Thrash in 7 on 7, putting the ball right at the sideline in the end zone with Thrash making the tough catch in coverage while getting both feet down for the touchdown. Thrash looked good in the last two days of practice.
-Milton threw it right to Cal LB Jackson Sirmon in 7-on-7, failing to see Sirmon sitting in the middle of the field when he fired it into the end zone, resulting in an interception. Milton’s accuracy became inconsistent as practice wore on with throws high and outside. Has the tools, but his accuracy will be the thing that needs to improve for him to get a starting shot in the league.
-Georgia WR Ladd McConkey has been basically uncoverable this week at practice, separating with ease in one-on-ones, 7-on-7, and team sessions. Easily the best receiver on the American team this week.
