2014 Senior Bowl South Team Roster Preview

*Rosters subject to change

Quarterbacks:

Players: Derek Carr (Fresno State), David Fales (San Jose State),Jimmy Garoppolo (Eastern Illinois)

-Carr is the best quarterback in attendance on either squad this year and currently is a borderline 1st round prospect. A big week could rocket him up up the draft boards into the top 10. Fales and Garoppolo are two intriguing guys from mid-tier programs who are fighting to be atop the 2nd tier of quarterbacks taken. Both have upside and the potential to rise this week and could end up in the 2nd or 3rd round discussion. Garoppolo was a late add and is coming off a strong East West Shrine Game week that has already boosted his stock.

Running backs/Fullbacks:

Players: Antonio Andrews (Western Kentucky), Jerick McKinnon (Georgia Southern), Lorenzo Taliaferro (Coastal Carolina), FB Jay Prosch (Auburn)

-Running back is never the easiest position to evaluate at All-star games and it typically doesn’t have a lot of top talent since many of top guys are Juniors, but this is a bad year for the South squad. All three  backs are small school guys, and right now only Antonio Andrews from Western Kentucky really looks like a draftable guy. Even then with so many backs coming out he’s probably pushed to the 6th or 7th round (if he doesn’t fall). Now McKinnon and Taliaferro could show they warrant a draft pick with a strong week, but it definitely looks like an uphill climb. Fullback Jay Prosch though is one of the top fullbacks in the country and should definitely be drafted late.

Wide Receivers:

Players: Mike Davis (Texas), Cody Hoffman (BYU), Jordan Matthews (Vanderbilt), Ryan Grant (Tulane), Kevin Norwood (Alabama), Solomon Patton (Florida), Jalen Saunders (Oklahoma)

-Similar to running back wide receiver is a position that sees a lot of underclassmen declare every year. That means that typically the senior class isn’t the strongest, but here we still see a nice collection of talent.  Jordan Matthews has a real shot of being a first rounder. He’s a smart, smooth wide receiver who just always finds ways to win, despite playing in the SEC and not being surrounded by elite talent. Mike Davis and Cody Hoffman are two mid-round guys with nice college careers and the potential for much more at the next level. With strong weeks they can really cement their status for the draft. Ryan Grant is a really intriguing guy from a smaller school, if he fares well against top defensive backs he could really increase his draft stock. Norwood, Patton and Saunders had up-and-down college careers, but all have some natural talent and could be interesting sleepers.

Tight Ends:

Players: Arthur Lynch (Georgia), Marcel Jensen (Fresno State)

-It’s likely another tight end will be added to this list, but right now there are two very intriguing tight ends. Lynch from Georgia has developed into a nice mid-round tight end prospect. He’s a good size tight end with good hands and decent speed. He won’t be the type to catch 100 balls a year, but he has starting potential as a traditional inline tight end. Jensen wasn’t used a lot at Fresno State, but he showed good promise and has plenty of size.

Offensive Tackles:

Players: Ja’Wuan James (Tennessee), Morgan Moses (UVA), Billy Turner (North Dakota State)

-This is another position where they could look to add one more guy. Right now they don’t have any top players, but James and Moses are two  guys who could jump into the 2nd round discussion. Both have been overlooked somewhat throughout their careers, but have shown all the tools to be starting quality NFL tackles. Billy Turner is a small school guy with some nice buzz heading into this week. If he can handle the South pass rushers on a consistent basis he will get a big boost to his draft stock.

Guards:

Players: Gabe Jackson (Mississippi State), Jon Halapio (Florida), Wesley Johnson (Vanderbilt), Joel Bitonio (Nevada)

-This is a strong solid group of guards. While none of these guys will likely go in the top 75 (Jackson has a chance), all four look to be mid-round guys with a lot of promise. Jackson is a big power guard and could quickly be looked at as a starter. Halapio and Johnson also could be starters early in their careers (by year two). They both succeeded (like Jackson) in the SEC, and look to have the tools teams look for. Bitonio isn’t as heralded of a prospect as the SEC boys, but he should go no later than the 5th round and could obviously be moving up with a quality week of practice.

Centers:

Players: Travis Swanson (Arkansas), Bryan Stork (FSU), Gabe Ikard (Oklahoma)

-This could be a big week for Swanson who comes in as the best center in this draft and looks to push for a late first round pick. That seems high for him right now, but he’ll have a great opportunity to impress scouts if he can shutdown the top DT’s that are down here. Stork looks like a nice mid-round prospect in that 4th-5th round range. Ikard is coming off and up and down East-West Shrine week. On one hand he showed great work ethic and was very technically proficient, on the other hand he got dominated on too many occasions by top DT’s. If he struggles again it could knock him out of draft consideration, or if he has a bounce back week it will make up for last week’s struggles.

Defensive ends:

Players: Chris Smith (Arkansas), Brent Urban (UVA), Ed Stinson (Alabama), Dee Ford (Auburn)

-We’ve seen a number of first round picks from this group of guys in recent years (we could from the North squad), but that likely isn’t going to be the case here. There are four good prospects here, but none seem to be close to first round consideration. Chris Smith is probably the best well rounded prospect, he’s got good size and is coming off a year with 8.5 sacks. He’s a guy who can rise up the boards quite a bit, but it could be a stretch for the 1st round. Dee Ford is a very talented pass rusher as well, but he looks like a situational player given his lack of size. Perhaps if he shows enough flexibility, teams will view him as a rush linebacker worthy of a first round pick, but that could be a stretch. Urban and Stinson are two very talented defensive ends, but they are really 3-4 guys, and don’t figure to be first round guys.

Defensive Tackles:

Players: Will Sutton (Arizona State), Deandre Coleman (California), Daniel McCullers (Tennessee), Caraun Reid (Princeton)

-This is an intriguing group of guys. Will Sutton could sneak into the first round and looks pretty solidly as a top 2 round guy. McCullers is a good nose tackle prospect and could rise up to the 2nd round with a strong week. Coleman and Reid probably won’t go in the first two days of the draft, but both are interesting guys with a good amount of potential.

Outside Linebackers:

Players: Jeremiah Attachou (Georgia Tech), Kyle Van Noy (BYU), Adrian Hubbard (Alabama), Telvin Smith (FSU), Jordan Tripp (Montana)

-Intriguing group of guys led by a pair of quality pass rushers in Attachou and Van Noy. Van Noy has a shot to crack the first round and looks to follow in the footsteps of his former teammate, Ziggy Ansah and shoot up draft boards with a strong Senior Bowl week. Attachou looks to be more of a 3rd-4th round prospect, but with pass rushers being a premium he could be on the rise. Telvin Smith had a great senior season at FSU and was a big part of that national championship defense. How Smith does in coverage will go a long way to determining his draft stock.

Inside Linebackers:

Players: Christian Jones (FSU), Lamin Barrow (LSU)

-Jones had a great career at FSU and looks to be one of the top ILB’s in this draft. Barrow was overshadowed some at LSU, but he too brings a lot of talent and potential to the table.

Corners:

Players: Chris Davis (Auburn), Aaron Colvin (Oklahoma), Walt Aikens (Liberty), Jaylen Watkins (Florida), Keith McGill (Utah), Lavelle Westbrooks (Georgia Southern)

-This is not the deepest group as really only Colvin and maybe Watkins are top 2 day picks, but there is definitely some potential for these other guys to move up draft boards. McGill and Davis both have shown some nice things this season and are trending upwards.

Safeties:

Players: Terrence Brooks (FSU), Kenny Ladler Vanderbilt, Craig Loston (LSU), Jemea Thomas (Georgia Tech)

-Not the deepest position group, but some solid names here. Loston has shown a lot of potential, Brooks had a strong season on one of the best defenses in the country. Ladler and Thomas both have had nice careers as well.