Senior Bowl Day 2 South Team Practice Report

Quarterbacks:

-Not a lot here, Blake Sims continues to underwhelm me in practice. He was better in day 2, but still missing some easy throws and not a lot of zip, particularly when moving in the pocket. It’s not all bad by any means, and he should get a shot in the late rounds, but I don’t think there is a lot of potential or progression there. Bryan Bennett took over for Nick Marshall as the 3rd team QB and he had a nice first day throwing the football. HIs footwork is raw, but he had some nice zip on his throws for the most part. The best quarterback of the bunch continues to be Garrett Grayson from Colorado State. By no means a top prospect, Grayson shows a real nice deep ball and does a good job with the intermediate routes. A couple times in team drills he stared down receivers which allowed the DB to break-up the pass, but overall it was a good day for him.

Running backs:

-No real running back notes today, didn’t watch them as much and what I did see no one really stood out.

Wide Receivers:

-This is a strong WR group on the South squad and we are starting to see some guys pull away from the pack. Tyler Lockett and Phillip Dorsett are smaller receivers, but both show incredible burst and top end speed. Both had really good practices and were extremely tough match-ups for opposing DB’s in practice. Small school guy Dez Lewis has a great combination of height and speed. He is a little raw with the route running and creating separation, but the upside is there and he could be a riser in this group. Sammie Coates has been a mixed bag, he shows well on one rep and then on the next rep he loses position to the DB or drops the pass. Consistency is going to be very important for him going forward.

Tight Ends:

-Clive Walford was just putting on a show today, whether he was catching sideline passes against air, facing LB’s in 1-on-1’s or working in team drills, Walford was making highlight catches, and wowing the Jaguars coaching staff. There was consistent praise among the Jaguars staff for Walford’s performance and it was easy to see why. He was clearly the best tight end on the field, and it wasn’t particularly close. After Walford yesterday showed good blocking ability, having a receiving day like this points to him be a complete every down TE, which every team should be looking for.

Offensive linemen:

-A rough day for a couple of highly touted offensive linemen. OT Ty Sambrailo and C Reese Dismukes both had major struggles today in both pass blocking and run blocking drills. There performance didn’t improve much in full team work either. That is not to say every single rep for these players was poor, but rather that there was more bad reps than there should have been, and their stock may have taken a hit. Another top OL prospect La’El Collins had a mixed day, considering he’s getting some top 20 hype you probably want to see him win, and win convincingly more of his battles. Collins struggled with some speed rushers and didn’t show good feet that had him losing battles. He can’t afford to do that at the next level, particularly if he was to be tried at LT. Shaq Mason isn’t as highly rated as Collins but he had a similar day where he had some really bad reps mixed in with good reps.

A couple OL that really did impress were OT Daryl Williams, OT/OG Austin Shepherd, G Tre Jackson and G Arie Kouandjio. Williams has really been the most consistent OT down here on the South squad as he shows himself to be a classic power right tackle who just envelops defenders. Even when he’d “lose” battles, he typically got a hand on the defender to slow him down slightly so in a real game it would have been more like allowing a pressure vs a sack. Shepherd shows nice versatility being able to play inside or outside. He probably is better suited at guard in the NFL, but he held his own in some tackle reps. Jackson started out practice slow with a couple bad reps in a row, but he really improved throughout practice. I liked his drive and power in run blocking, and he had a nice punch in pass block drills that stunned the defender. Kouandjio had a really nice practice as well (though he did get a little chippy with a couple DT’s), showing a really strong base and nice hand usage. He is very strong and he finishes blocks as well as anyone down here.

Defensive linemen:

-Gabe Wright, Grady Jarrett and Preston Smith were my big winners of the day. All three consistently won their battles in one-on-one drills and in team drills. Wright is very quick of the snap an gets nice leverage on the defender. He’s got good strength to take advantage of OL who aren’t in the proper position, but he’s not going to win a ton of battles in the run game. Jarrett is similar to Wright as he’s undersized, but he’s a little less of a pass rusher and does more vs the run.Both are guys who will cause havoc in the middle of a defense. Smith is a long edge rusher and he had a really nice day today vs the top South OT’s.

Linebackers:

-I haven’t gotten the chance to say much on Clemson’s Stephone Anthony so far, but he is a player that is really fun to watch. He shows really nice recognition and has a nice quick first step. This allows him to be in position to make a lot of plays. It’s not live full hitting, but you can see how violently he attacks the ball carrier and how he’s going to be a sure tackler. Lynden Trail is a small school guy and really he’s a 3-4 edge rusher, but he handles himself adequately in coverage (which NFL teams will like). He doesn’t take many false steps and can stay with most tight ends/backs.

Defensive backs:

-Kevin White continues to be one of the best cover guys here. He’s so smooth in transition that he doesn’t lose a lot of speed and it allows him to close any gaps fast. All around he’s been the best corner of this group. Ladarius Gunter is a bigger more physical corner, but he showed well today being able to run with some of the speedier receivers of the South squad. If eh can prove he can run well at his size he’s going to have a lot of teams interested. Safety Clayton Geathers is very quick and smooth out of his breaks and looks like he could be a free safety at the next level. Cody Prewitt is one of those guys who just always makes plays and is around the football. He had a great all-around practice today and was praised a fair amount by the Jaguars coaching staff. He played both SS and FS today, and made nice plays showcasing why he could do either at the next level. On one play where he was lined up at SS, about 10 yards off the LOS on the right side, the offense tried a reverse. As soon as the running back handed the ball off to the ultra fast Tyler Lockett, Prewitt changed direction and tore off after the ball carrier from the middle of the field, he got to the backfield before Lockett got back across the field and easily would have had him for a big 8 yard loss if it was full hitting. On that play Prewitt showed everything you are looking for in a SS in run support (and skills that apply elsewhere as well), reaction time, change of direction, speed, angle of pursuit and breaking down the play to make a proper tackle (he easily could have over ran it). Later in practice on two passes Prewitt was playing FS and closed nicely on a couple of passes (didn’t get the chance to make a play on the ball though) by reading the QB.