Thread: Senior bowl

practice notes:

*********South Practice Notes Monday Afternoon: by Matt B. (DD) ********

A stiff wind tore across the field at Fairhope, helping the kickers but impacting the quarterbacks' collective accuracy on intermediate and long throws. The low level of quarterback play slightly affected the scouts' ability to properly evaluate the wide outs and defensive backs. Despite this less than ideal situation, several players stood out in practice today:

Southern Miss TE Shawn Nelson was a natural receiver, the most reliable of the South TE today in that aspect of the game. Nelson shows burst, crisp route running and separates from the coverage, without dropping any balls. Interesting side-note, former Carolina Panthers TE Kris Mangum (now a Southern Mississippi assistant coach) was in attendance, and it's apparent he's been sharing the tips of the trade with Nelson.

Liberty RB Rashad Jennings was very impressive today. He excelled in pass blocking, as a one-cut and go tailback, and also looked good running routes out of the backfield. As the weigh-in implied, Jennings is a premium athlete. Although he's a little taller and runs a little more upright than some teams would ideally like for the tailback position, recent rookies have shown that players like Jennings can be successful, even with an unorthodox style.

Wake Forest CB Alphonso Smith showed great awareness and football savvy, recording a pretty pick in 11-on-11s and several passes defended in drills. Smith showed today that his production at Wake was not an accident; he's a legit ball hawk whose stock is on the rise.

Ole Miss DT Peria Jerry was a beast in the pit 1-on-1 drills. His functional strength is simply on another level than the opposition, and one notable bull-rush became a reverse pancake with the offensive lineman flat on his back! Jerry has several pass rush moves, including an effective swim move, but he doesn't really need to get fancy to beat his man. Some reps he knows what he's gonna do, the other guy knows what he's gonna do and it still happens. By practice's end he was drawing double-teams in 11-on-11 drills. In the game, it will be interesting to see if the North's linemen can have better luck than the South's linemen had in trying to contain him.

The Pit battle of the day was between Ole Miss OT Michael Oher and Tennessee DE Robert Ayers. This was a back-and-forth bout, with early rounds going to Ayers and his quick first step. Ayers is a tough, feisty and competitive player, aggressive, showing good hands and a nose for the quarterback. After reps, Ayers would holler and clap, getting emotional and loud.

However, not to be out done, Oher rose to the challenge. He looked at Ayers, said "Ok let's get it [on]!" and ended the session by riding Ayers into the ground for a brutal looking pancake. Oher seemed to find his stride as the practice went on, and his potential is evident. His technique is spotty at times however and he needs to continue to work to bring his game to the point where it's not just physicality which carries him through.

http://draftdaddy.com/features/senior_2009.htm

Senior Bowl practice report, Day 1

By Tony Pauline, Special to SI.com, TFYDraft.com

RISERS

BJ Raji/DT/Boston College: The Eagles' massive interior lineman was almost unblockable throughout the day in the North's practice. Raji displayed a very quick first step off the snap, which gave offensive linemen fits. He made it harder on his opponents by swatting blockers to the ground as they were left wondering how he got by them so easily.

Shawn Nelson/TE/Southern Mississippi: Nelson looked formidable during weigh-ins this morning, then took his athletic frame onto the field and impressed scouts. He's fluid moving around the field and fast -- very fast. Nelson was constantly beating opponents in the secondary and made a number of good plays in the secondary.

Cullen Harper/QB/Clemson: The Tigers quarterback was much maligned during the season and at one point was benched for poor play. On Monday, he showed the reason why scouts were so high on him coming into the season. Harper displayed poise, threw with accuracy and made good decisions in the pocket. He tossed several nice deep passes, connecting with USC's Patrick Turner for a long gainer of 40 yards in one instance.

Darius Butler/CB/Connecticut: Butler stood head and shoulders above all other cornerbacks from the North squad in Day 1. The former Husky was very smooth in coverage and used his athleticism and size to deny opponents a chance at the ball. None of the North wide receivers was able to shake Butler throughout the entire practice.

Rashad Jennings/RB/Liberty: Jennings is the top small school player in Mobile this week and proved as much in Day 1. His 234-pound frame looked impressive this morning during weigh-ins, then Jennings looked athletic and fast on the field at practice. He has a burst through the hole and looks frighteningly powerful running in the open field. Jennings also caught the ball well and stood out in blocking drills.

Mike Thomas/WR/Arizona: Scouts compare Thomas to All-Pro Steve Smith in style and the Arizona senior was one of the top receivers on the field on Monday. He ran crisp pass routes and had cornerbacks twisting in the wind in their attempt to stay with him on the field. Thomas also displayed solid hand and natural pass catching skills. His size (5-foot-8) will discourage teams from using an early selection on Thomas, but he proved today he can play with the best.

Ashlee Palmer/LB/Mississippi: Palmer was a bit of a surprise invitation to the Senior Bowl yet proved Monday he is worthy of a spot in the event. Palmer practiced with a lot of explosion, quickness and strength. He also aggressively chased the action and worked hard in every single aspect.


SLIDERS

Rey Maualuga/LB/USC: Maualuga looked rusty today, both physically and mentally. He's not in the best of shape and was very hesitant to make decisions on the field. Maualuga seemed to get his bearings as the day proceeded, but his play was not reminiscent of a potential top-five pick.

Pat White/QB/West Virginia: Scouts wanted to give White a chance to prove he can play quarterback at the next level, but the early returns have not been positive. White struggled throwing the ball. White was not accurate, could not drive deep passes even though he was throwing with the wind; and at this point, he looks like a college signal caller who may be better off at a different position in the NFL.

Graham Harrell/QB/Texas Tech: Harrell displayed good mechanics in Day 1 lining up under center after taking most of his snaps in college out of the shotgun. He was also relatively accurate. The problem for Harrell is poor arm strength as his passes had relatively no zip and he was unable to drive deep passes.

William Moore/S/Missouri: Moore has been labeled as a run defending safety with poor coverage skills and did nothing to shake that reputation on Monday. He struggled moving laterally and at one point was left lying on the ground after attempting to cover a receiver from the North squad.

Senior Bowl practice report, Day 2

By Tony Pauline, Special to SI.com, TFYDraft.com

RISERS

Derrick Williams/WR/Penn State: Williams' vaunted athleticism was on display as he established himself as the best receiver on the field. Williams displayed speed, effective route-running skills and reliable hands. He beat defenders for the deep reception or physically beat them down to make the underneath reception. There's no doubt scouts were excited by Williams, who showed signs of pulling it all togher.

Alex Magee/DT/Purdue: Magee was a late arrival to the Senior Bowl after a communications mishap but made up for lost time Tuesday. The Purdue product was impossible to block and consistently got penetration behind the line of scrimmage, beating blockers with quickness as well as power.

Trevor Canfield/OG/Cincinnati: Canfield has a reputation for being a nasty, fierce competitor and he showed why Tuesday. The former Bearcat starter was dominant at the point and handled almost everyone he faced. He's not only strong but also mean; he never let up. More than once he continued to play after the whistle, getting an extra shove in after the play had ended.

Louis Delmas/S/Western Michigan: Delmas has been the best safety on the field and the feisty defender consistently put himself in a position to make plays on the ball all day. He throws his body around the field in an effort to stop ball handlers and delivered a number of blows that made scouts take notice. Delmas was effective in run defense and against the pass.

Coye Francies/CB/San Jose State: Francies is another defensive back whose aggressive play impressed scouts. Francies knocked several defenders to the ground Tuesday with hard hits, which got a loud response from the crowd of approximately 1,000. More importantly he was effective in coverage, displaying top ball skills, which scouts wanted to see.

David Veikune/DE/Hawaii: Veikune has worked hard the past two days and improved his game. The former Warrior was tenacious in run defense and also flew off the edge as a pass rusher. Several of his battles against top-rated left tackle Michael Oher ended up in his favor. In one instance he had the potential first-round pick twisted like a pretzel as Oher failed to protect the quarterback from Veikune's speed.

Peria Jerry/DT/Mississippi: Jerry is standing out to NFL decision makers not only as a football player but also a leader on the field. He has displayed good quickness off the snap and really pushes the pocket as an interior defender. Jerry's ability to shoot gaps and disrupt offenses has been apparent to all at the Senior Bowl.

Alphonso Smith/CB/Wake Forest: The Demon Deacons' corner was yet another defensive back who stood out Tuesday. Smith looked fast, physical and very instinctive all day. He battled against larger receivers and his 5-foot-9-inch frame never backed down. Smith defended a number of passes and played like a starting NFL cornerback.


SLIDERS

DeAngelo Smith/CB/Cincinnati: Smith possesses the athleticism to play at the next level but was very hesitant and unsure of himself Tuesday. He consistently lost a half step to opponents off the line of scrimmage and gave up several long receptions and an even larger number of underneath routes.

Nathan Brown/QB/Central Arkansas: The small-school passer has struggled so far and done nothing to improve his status in the eyes of NFL decision makers. Brown throws with a three-quarter delivery and the result is poor accuracy and passes that scatter. His inability to throw the deep pass Tuesday resulted in a number of receivers slowing up in their routes and waiting for the ball to arrive.

John Parker Wilson/QB/Alabama: Wilson was another passer who struggled Tuesday. He showed a weak arm and was unable to get speed on passes and under threw a number of receivers who were open down the field. Late in the day Wilson threw a terrible interception into triple coverage.

Herman Johnson/OL/LSU: Johnson has lined up at both his natural position of guard as well as right tackle. His size (6-feet-7, 382 pounds) has not transitioned into the ability to dominate the opposition. Johnson's immobility is obvious to all and at one point he was knocked to the ground due to his inability to move. Much was expected from Johnson this week but he has not responded and his draft stock is plummeting.

I think he could make an Eddie Royal type impact. Love him as a player, I'll be interested to see what he does in the NFL.

You couldn't pay me to draft John Parker Wilson.

I was really surprised to see harrell suffers from a weak arm, every ttech game I've watched, which isn't many he really gunned passes all over the field. event he announcers mentioned how strong his arm is. Eh well.

However my boy bj raji is ripping the shit out of senior bowl practice. get him!!!

harrell went 36-58 for 364 and 4tds with 2 picks. I think he looked pretty damned good.

national champion florida lost to ole miss as well