Senior Bowl North Practice Report – Day 3 Led by Eric Fisher & Mike Glennon

Wednesday’s North Practice Report. Check out South’s Wednesday Practice Report here!

Quarterbacks:

Mike Glennon, NC State:

Glennon continues to be the best quarterback on the North Squad. He is at his best when he can set his feet and throw deeper and intermediate routes. When asked to move around he struggles a bit more and always seems to sail a couple of throws. Overall though he had a strong practice and did a nice job improving his touch, especially in 1-on-1’s.

Ryan Nassib, Syracuse:

Nassib doesn’t have the big arm or velocity of Glennon, but makes up for it with his mobility and decision making which both are above Glennon. Overall he might not be able to match Glennon this week, but he’s done a good job of keeping his draft stock on the plus side. He had a number of really nice throws in 7-on-7’s and did a good job overall.

Zac Dysert, Miami (Ohio):

Zach Dysert in North practice.

Dysert continues to struggle at practice, he’ll make some big throws, but follows them up with too many mistakes. He’s got nice toughness and you can see some mobility, but right now he’s a guy that will need to develop for a couple of years.

Running backs:

Jonathan Franklin, UCLA:

Franklin has had a big week overall, but this was probably his best practice. He is so fluid in his running that he changes direction on a dime and doesn’t  slow down when making moves. He was very effective throughout practice but was at his best during the scrimmage. He runs with nice pad level and decision making.

Kenjon Barner, Oregon:

Barner can really run, and he looks explosive when the ball is in his hands, unfortunately some limitations are clear as well. He doesn’t have natural hands dropping a reception and bobbling another (something that has occurred throughout the week), and he really struggles in pass protection drills. It’s also not clear if he’ll be capable of breaking too many tackles, seems to be wrapped up easily enough.

Wide Receiver:

Aaron Mellette, Elon:

Mellette had another strong showing. He has nice speed and quickness and is one of the best route runners down here this week. He had a really good day catching the football and getting separation on some big plays. I also like that even when he doesn’t get separation he still makes a fair number of catches. That is what he’s going to have to deal with in the NFL, so it is nice to see him able to get an early start on catching the football in tight windows.

Aaron Dobson, Marshall:

Dobson had a really nice day showing his size and speed. He catches just about everything thrown his way and does well when working outside the numbers. I like that on more than one occasion he did a nice job of making sure to toe tap or drag his feet along the side line/end zone.

Markus Wheaton, Oregon State:

Wheaton really looks to be a nice slot receiver prospect. He is very fluid in his route running and shows a lot of short area quickness as well as some long speed. His hands are pretty good as well as he doesn’t let many balls get into his body. My lone concern is his ability to get off a jam, but other than that he looks to be a very interesting WR.

Denard Robinson, Michigan:

It may have been a bit better for Robinson in his first day of full contact, but for every nice play he made there were 4-5 poor plays. The biggest concern continues to be his inability to field punts and kicks cleanly. He’s going to have to make it as a special teamer to start, and right now that is very shaky. While he does show great quickness, his long speed isn’t perhaps as elite as advertised. Corners had little issue running with him down the seem or on a post route.

Offensive Line:

Eric Fisher, CMU:

Another great day for Fisher who dominated all day. He rarely gives and inch showing a great base, footwork and power.

Defensive line:

Margus Hunt, SMU:

A bit of an up-and-down day for Hunt, but he continues to show excellent power and speed as a bull rusher.

Cornerback:

Desmond Trufant, Washington:

Trufant continued to have a great week of practice. He did get beat a couple of times initially, but recovered on just about every play. The one concern is can he still recover when the receivers he’s going against are guys like A.J. Green, Calvin Johnson, and Roddy White. Still makes a lot of flashy plays, but would like to see him show better technique.

Jordan Poyer, Oregon State:

Poyer didn’t have many memorable plays today, but partly that is due to not allowing receivers to get separation in the first place. He’s probably the most technically sound corner here and should easily be able to start right away.

Safety:

T.J. McDonald, USC:

He did get beat once, but otherwise had a really strong practice, he all but shut down tight ends today, and diagnosed the play multiple times during full team scrimmage drills. He’s got really good athleticism and is playing far better this week than his senior year at USC.

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