Senior Bowl Day 2 North Practice Notes:

These will be brief and i will go with more in depth notes tonight as the 2nd practice is within the hour:

Quarterbacks:

-Bryce Petty was clearly the top QB on the North squad and I don’t think it’s very close. Petty isn’t a great QB prospect right now, but he’s head and shoulders above the competition on this squad. He had a couple really nice passes today in some tighter windows. Shane Carden struggled throwing the ball down the field for much of practice.

Running backs:

-Didn’t watch the running backs as much today, but David Cobb stood out every time I did. He did a nice job finding the hole and accelerating through it in team drills. Also did well in receiving and pass blocking drills. Didn’t see as many Jeremy Langford reps, but I saw a couple nice runs from him as well.

Wide Receivers:

-Justin Hardy gets open a lot, but he did have a couple bad drops that set his day back. I liked seeing Devin Smith run a lot of underneath routes to expand his game, he still needs to get some polish there, but it was a solid practice for him. Vince Mayle from Washington State had some really nice catches over the middle and down the field.

Tight Ends:

-Will get more in depth later, but I’ve liked what I’ve seen out of Nick Boyle from Delaware. Real physical blocker, strong at POA and can move people with ease. Receiving may need some work, but he’s not just a plodder out there. He can move some in the intermediate range.

Offensive line:

T.J. Clemmings from Pitt showed that he was the best OL on the North squad today (and arguably on either squad) In the first group of 1-on-1’s and double team drills he showed great power and finish to his blocks. He did well both in run and pass blocking sets. His 2nd set of 1-on-1’s he struggled a little bit, but he bounced back in team drills. One note I do have is he did seem more comfortable at RT than LT (not surprising) this could give some team’s pause who are projecting a quick transition to the left side. Laken Tomlinson fared well when he wasn’t facing off vs Danny Shelton or Carl Davis, when he faced one of them though he lost a couple of battles pretty bad. Robert Myers from Tennessee State flashed for me today, I liked the power and base from what I saw.

Defensive Line:

Danny Shelton plays with great strength and leverage. He’s nearly impossible to block 1-on-1, and was disruptive in both run and pass block drills. When he was facing double teams he wasn’t pushing the pocket and was pretty well handled. Now this might seem like nit-picking, but as a NT at the next level double team’s are going to be a major part of what he faces, Shelton will need to show that like other top NT’s he can will his fair share of battles against two OL. After Shelton Carl Davis was probably the best DL from the North squad, he was giving OL fits all throughout the day. Deion Barnes had a rough day, he did win a couple of battles with nice inside moves, but overall the OL handled him. Marcus Hardison similarly had a rough go of it today, too often he lost the initial battle and was out of the play.

Linebackers:

I will have more notes on LB’s later but two pass rushers Hau’oli Kikaha and Nate Orchard really stood out today. Kikaha is the more athletically gifted of the two and probably has a better chance of being a right side rusher. Both both edge players did well for themselves today. Orchard didn’t do as well versus the run, but he showed some nice burst and closing speed off the edge. A couple of times he played too upright and wasn’t able to counter the OT/TE but overall a good day.

Defensive backs:

-I am very impressed with Josh Shaw, Steven Nelson  and Doran Grant among the corners. Shaw is so physical in press, but he also runs well down the field. I didn’t see him have too many issues on vertical routes. Also think he does a nice job of knowing when he has help over the top. Grant and Nelson both did some nice things today and had some of the best WR/CB match-ups of the day. Eric Rowe from Utah was playing more safety today, he’s a nice versatile player who you will find a spot for on your team. Kurtis Drummond looked good as safety as well and made some nice plays. He shows good range and finds the football well. I liked the angles he was taking in pursuit.