Senior Bowl Day 1 Recap: Oregon QB Justin Herbert shines; S. Carolina State OT Alex Taylor is biggest player

Steve Shoup, Fanspeak co-owner and creator of On The Clock draft simulator, is covering the Senior Bowl. You can find his positional previews and Senior Bowl coverage here.

Below is a highlight of today’s first Senior Bowl practice from Shoup.

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Oregon QB Herbert looks good

Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert is in the mix to be the second QB selected. He’s looked sharp all day. Former Alabama and Oklahoma signal-caller Jalen Hurts, meanwhile, is making a push to be drafted on Day 2.

Carolina’s Javon Kinlaw vs. Clemson’s John Simpson

Javon Kinlaw (6-5, 315) is widely considered the second-best defensive lineman in the 2020 NFL draft, but when South Carolina faced Clemson earlier this season, guard John Simpson (6-4, 330) held his own, which helped propel him up draft boards. The two were at it again today during practice.

Weigh-ins of note

• Kinlaw (6-5, 315) showed off an 84-inch wingspan, but he’s not the biggest player at the Senior Bowl. That would be Alex Taylor of South Carolina State, who checked in at a massive 6-foot-8, 308 pounds with 36 1/8 inch-long arms and an 88-inch wingspan. He can almost touch his knees without bending.
• Akeem Davis-Gaither, linebacker for Appalachian State, checks in at 6-foot-1, 219 pounds.
• Hebert, as expected, has excellent size at 6-foot-6, 227 pounds. Hurts is 6-foot-1, 218 pounds. Utah State’s Jordan Love (6-3, 223) had some of the biggest hands at 10 5/8 inches. Shea Patterson (6-1, 204) had the smallest hands at 9 1/4 inches.
• Chase Claypool of Notre Dame and Collin Johnson of Texas have surprisingly similar measurables. Claypool checked in at 6-foot-4, 229 pounds with 33-inch arms and an 80-inch wingspan, while Johnson measured at 6-foot-5, 221 pounds with 33-inch arms and a 78-inch wingspan.

Pair of IOL look sharp

Teams are going to love LSU center Lloyd Cushenberry (6-3, 312), who’s considered one of the top centers in the draft. He’s also going to interview well, Shoup says. But the big surprise comes from Ben Bartch (6-5, 308) of tiny St. John’s, who could see his name called as early as Day 2.

Georgia Southern CB comes up big

Kindle Vildor (5-10, 185) of Georgia Southern had an interception against Colorado QB Steven Montez. Vildor is currently rated as a priority free agent in the latest Fanspeak-Steve big board.

Flagged for medicals

Five players were flagged for medical issues, per Yahoo Sports lead NFL draft analyst Eric Edholm, including Arizona State WR Brandon Aiyuk (5-11, 201), who is sitting out the game.