East-West Shrine Game

[Aloysius]

Sounds like Jarron Gilbert is in for a Kendall Langford-like rise. I wouldn't be surprised to see this guy taken in Round 2.

And it's interesting that Victor Butler isn't looking good at linebacker. He's expected to be a mid/late round 3-4 OLB prospect, but he could easily go undrafted if teams don't think he can play LB.

[Mr. T]

Aloysius said:

Sounds like Jarron Gilbert is in for a Kendall Langford-like rise. I wouldn't be surprised to see this guy taken in Round 2.

And it's interesting that Victor Butler isn't looking good at linebacker. He's expected to be a mid/late round 3-4 OLB prospect, but he could easily go undrafted if teams don't think he can play LB.

core strength and great explosion!

Jarron Gilbert 2008 Senior highlight tape

Oregon State DE Victor Butler

Oregon State defensive end Victor Butler grabs four sacks in the Sun Bowl tying a record

[Aloysius]

The Draftguys are back this year covering the Shrine Game.

So nerdy. I love it.

You can find their full practice reports here. For now, I'll just quote their comments about two interesting prospects: one of Russ's favorite guys, Tyrell Sutton, and a a guy Heck likes as a Heiden replacement, Bear Pascoe.

Tyrell Sutton(Northwestern) gave us a good dose of the hard charging style that made him very productive in the physical Big Ten Conference. Sutton also had great hands as a receiver (as expected) and seemed to have the quickest feet of the East RBs. His game had the precision and top effort of an NFL player, and he definitely has the look of a player who will stick on an NFL roster despite preconceived notions about short running backs. He’s not as explosive as a Sproles or Jones-Drew, but he’s dependable and multi-talented.

Sutton drew a call of “great hands great hands” from his coach when he scooped a low pass on the run. Sutton is clearly the most polished receiver of the RBs in this game. Sutton’s feet were also impressive - he instinctively got through the trash at the line of scrimmage. Sutton’s legs never stop churning, and he also knows when to just put his head down and take what’s there. He also had a heady play when Johnny Williams bobbled an interception and Sutton plucked it out of the air on the run, breaking a big play in 11 on 11s. He froze Matt Shaughnessy with a stop-start that drew oohs and aahs at the end of practice. Sutton also fielded punts, and he was singled out by Bobby Ross for his performance in a post-practice interview.

Bear Pascoe(TE -Fresno State) was the most notable West TE, and he showed his prowess as both as blocker and receiver, but he also showed an almost comical tendency to try to bowl over the defender attempting to cover him instead of separating from him in his routes.

Pascoe must just like to run into the defender attempting to cover him. Watching Pascoe play the last few days has been like watching a wild horse race. You don’t know what is going to happen, but punishment will be doled out and someone will be bleeding at the end of it.

[Mr. T]

If you want to watch

JANUARY 17th, 3:00 P.M.

HOUSTON, TEXAS

TELEVISED ON ESPN2

http://www.shrinegame.com/

[Aloysius]

Finally, some good info from the weigh-in on Sunday is getting reported:

• Jarron Gilbert's got 35 5/8" vines for arms. Last year's top 3-4 DE prospect, Kentwan Balmer, only had 33 1/8" arms.

  Translation: Gilbert's a physical freak.

• Arizona WR Mike Thomas and Texas CB Ryan Palmer both measure in at 5'8 1/2" short. Penn State receiver Deon Butler is only 168 lbs.
• Cal ILB Worrell Williams is only 5'10 3/4". Both in terms of measurables and play on the field, Williams is a poor man's D'Qwell Jackson. I wouldn't mind us drafting him late on Day Two to serve as DQ's backup.
• Missouri QB Chase Daniel pulled a Troy Smith and measured in at exactly 6'0" tall.

[OconRecon]

Dude, this is a great thread. Tons of content. Kudos.

I'd take Chase McDaniels, but on in the 4th or 6th round, although I like QB's who have a Peyton Manning look in his eyes and he doesn't seem to have it.

I still say were 2 pass rush generating players away from being good on D. The secondary would be fine is they didn't have to cover guys for 15 seconds.

We're a lineman, RB, and FA WR away from being good on O.

With next season's schedule and some luck on IR, 9-10 wins is reasonable to hope for.

[Riffer X]

Good stuff on Sutton, Al.

I would be satisfied with a Curry and Sutton draft at this point. I'm starting to back off my Beanie kick, the concussion just solidified his injury proneness.

Sutton is also an oft-injured guy, but obtaining a third rounder and getting a guy like that would be a real coup by the new GM. Sutton is a flat out stud who just continues to be underrated his entire career.

A guy like Tyrell gives us a solid back who can step in and play right now while being able to address the defensive needs ahead of him. I'm already psyched about Mangini's offensive philosophy of game planning specifically for each game, and a guy like Sutton would give Daboll all sorts of creative options.....options that include a Sutton-Harrison combo. Sutton can block like a mother too, so don't be fooled into thinking of him as a scatback in the Leon Washington mold. He will also be able to step right in and pick up the passing game blitz packages, there will be no rookie learning curve. T and I formations with Vickers and Sutton would also be great for short yardage situations. I'd take Sutton to get me a yard over Lewis any day.

On another point, I fully expect this staff to put a kabosh on the Lewis fetish that RAC 'n ROLLS had. Once they see all the yards he left on the field after film review they will be gung ho to upgrade this position and start utilizing Harrison for real. If not, then we hired the wrong guys.

[Aloysius]

Sutton weighed in at 210 lbs. on Saturday. That, along with his solid play so far this week, should raise his draft stock; right now, he's projected to be a 5th Round pick.

This draft is going to be huge. I'm with Ocon; we're just a few pieces away from being a playoff team. And it's increasingly looking like Sutton could be one of those pieces.

Here are some other measurements from Sunday:

• Tyrell Sutton, RB, Northwestern
  • 5'8", 210 lbs.
  • Projected: Round 5
  • Russ is right: this guy could be worth taking in Round 3 (if we get a pick).
• Ian Johnson, RB, Boise State
  • 5'11", 204 lbs.
  • Projected: Round 7
• Gartrell Johnson, RB, Colorado State
  • 5'11", 222 lbs.
  • Projected: Round 7/UDFA
• Aaron Brown, RB, TCU
  • 6'1", 196 lbs.
  • Projected: UDFA
  • He's Leon Washington with a receiver's build. Not sure whether that translates into success at the next level.
• Bear Pascoe, TE, Fresno State
  • 6'5", 257 lbs.
  • Projected: late Round 5/early Round 6
  • Personally, I'd be fine with taking him in Round 4 to replace Heiden & bolster our run game
• Jamon Meredith, OG-OT, South Carolina
  • 6'5", 289 lbs.
  • Projected: Round 3
  • Good replacement for Shaffer (if we bring in an Alex Gibbs disciple like Tom Cable)
• Alex Boone, OT, OSU
  • 6'8", 330 lbs.
  • Projected: Round 4
• Dannell Ellerbe, LB, Georgia
  • 6'1", 236 lbs.
  • Projected: Round 3
• Robert Francois, LB, Boston College
  • 6'3", 243 lbs.
  • Projected: Round 7/UDFA
  • I like this guy as a 3-4 ILB
• Jasper Brinkley, LB, South Carolina
  • 6'2", 262 lbs.
  • Projected: Round 7/UDFA
• Kaluki Maiava, LB, USC
  • 6'0", 232 lbs.
  • Projected: Round 7/UDFA
  • Unfortunately, he's too small to play in a 3-4
• Anthony Felder, LB, Cal
  • 6'2", 231 lbs.
  • Projected: Round 7/UDFA
• Matt Shaughnessy, DE, Wisconsin
  • 6'5", 260 lbs.
  • Projected: late Round 2/early Round 3
• Phillip Hunt, DE-OLB, Houston
  • 6'1", 261 lbs.
  • Projected: Round 7/UDFA
  • Potential sleeper 3-4 OLB prospect
• Jarron Gilbert, DE-DT, San Jose State
  • 6'5", 287 lbs.
  • Projected: late Round 3/early Round 4
• Sammie Lee Hill, NT, Stillman
  • 6'4", 331 lbs.
  • Projected: late Round 5/early Round 6
• Darryl Richard, DT, Georgia Tech
  • 6'3", 306 lbs.
  • Projected: late Round 6/early Round 7
  • This guy has 3-4 DE written all over him. I don't get why he's rated so low. To me, he's worth at least a 4th Round pick.

[Riffer X]

*edit*

I called Sutton overrated but meant underrated. The guy slayed records at Hoban and still garnered very little recruiting from the big wigs, then dominated the High School All Star games.

Jimmy T recruited freaking Maurice Wells over this kid!!!!!!!!!!!!

Picture what an Akron backfield of Pittman, Wells and Sutton would have been over the years.

Northwestern is a great grooming ground for backs in the NFL. Jason Wright is a perfect example of a guy with limited abilities with all the intangibles. Sutton is the same way but a much greater player.

[Riffer X]

Watch some film of Sutton if you can find it Shep, Sutton's an every down back that can do it all. I'm a big Harrison guy, but don't be fooled by Sutton's size, he's a power back with all around skills.

Who says you have to quantify RB's anyway. If they can play, they can play. Old man Lewis will still be around to do whatever it is that he's supposed to do.

I see keeping 4 backs next year.

[mz.]

Sutton's great, but he is way too similar to Harrison to pair with him.

[Oldcrow1945]

mz. said:

Sutton's great, but he is way too similar to Harrison to pair with him.

Exactly. They are almost mirror images of each other.

[Aloysius]

The guys at nfldraftscout actually use Harrison as their player comparison for Sutton.

Here's a report from Wednesday's practices:

Quarterbacks

Hunter Cantwell/Louisville: Cantwell had his best practice of the week and looked better than any of the passers from the East squad. His accuracy improved and he threw several nice deep passes, getting the ball in front of receivers. Today Cantwell showed the arm strength people were expecting.

Chase Daniel/Missouri: Daniel was described by some as "crafty". He shows the ability to get outside the pocket and create opportunities. Daniel loses little in the way of arm strength or accuracy passing on the move and threw some nice passes. Unfortunately he would come back then make some head scratching tosses later on.

Wide Receivers/Tight End

Aaron Kelly/Clemson: Kelly has looked good the past two days but really stood out on Wednesday. Kelly looked smooth into pass routes and made several nice catches. He got vertical against defenders and fought for the ball, consistently snatching passes from the air.

Marko Mitchell/Nevada: After a strong start Mitchell was not very impressive during the weeks most important day. As someone put it he looked like a JAG today and was slow into route besides dropping some passes.

Brian Mandeville/Northeastern: Mandeville has looks smooth all week. He weighed in at 255-pounds and looks almost skinny he's so well proportioned. Mandeville was fluid into his routes, showed good hands and most encouragingly blocked well today.

David Johnson/Arkansas State: Johnson has not had a good week and after weighing in over 270-pounds, has looked heavy and slow on the field.

Defensive Linemen

Matt Shaughnessy: Shaugnessy showed plenty of speed and pass rush moves today, getting off the ball and up the field.

Pannel Egboh/Stanford: Egboh was a major disappointment and had a bad showing. He looked soft, stiff and showed little-to-no explosion. Egboh made a long drop down draft boards as a result of his showing in Houston.

Linebackers

Johnny Williams/Kentucky: Williams showed a lot of speed on the field today and really stood out in coverage. Brian Mandeville and Hunter Cantwell commented that Williams has been one of the toughest defenders on the field to beat.

Jasper Brinkley/South Carolina: Brinkley looked good today and showed well against the pass and run. He's a well built linebacker with tremendous size and good movement skills.

Jason Phillips/TCU: Scouts were excited to see Phillips but the TCU 'backer was a disappointment. He struggled all week and the consensus is his draft stock took a beating.

Defensive Backs

Ryan Mouton/Hawaii: The multi-versatile Mouton lined up at cornerback and looked solid every day to the point where a number of people thought he was the best corner on the field all week.

Glover Quin/New Mexico: Quin looked solid as a last minute replacement. He was physical, played aggressive and on one play took out Sammie Stroughter defending a pass.

Notes: The overall talent at this game is below par. Many feel no more than ten players on this roster are Senior Bowl worthy and most of the Shrine Game participants who are drafted will be late round selections. Hands down the winner of the week was San Jose State defensive lineman Jarron Gilbert. He's physically impressive with a huge wing span. Gilbert was aggressive and made plays all week. Don't be surprised if he jumps into the draft's initial three rounds now.

[Aloysius]

Hands down the winner of the week was San Jose State defensive lineman Jarron Gilbert. He's physically impressive with a huge wing span. Gilbert was aggressive and made plays all week. Don't be surprised if he jumps into the draft's initial three rounds now.

I've seen Gilbert compared to Baltimore's Trevor Pryce. Sounds like he's the kind of athletic d-lineman WPB & others have been calling for us to bring in.

[Legacy Fan]

Wow, Al. Thanks for these updates.

[Aloysius]

No problem. Here's some more:

• I overheard two scouts from an AFC team talking about how relatively underwhelmed they've been with Cincinnati CB Brandon Underwood.
• Northwestern RB Tyrell Sutton is thicker than you would expect in his lower body. He may be short, but he's not slightly built. Sutton showed nice burst on several outside zone plays and he caught the ball well out of the backfield.
• Missouri DE Stryker Sulak doesn't look physically imposing on the field, but he has been fairly consistent with his pass rushing and his ability to compete for the edge against the tackles he's faced.
• San Jose State defensive lineman Jarron Gilbert is tall at 6'6 and plays a little bit high sometime, but he's a good athlete for his size and looks like a perfect fit in a 3-4 as a DE. He got into a mini-scuffle with BYU OG Ray Feinga.
• UH DE Phillip Hunt was working on practicing hand technique he had been taught during practice whenever he wasn't participating in drills.

[mz.]

Aloysius said:

He got into a mini-scuffle with BYU OG Ray Feinga.

What's a "mini-scuffle?" Pattycake????

[Aloysius]

"mini-scuffle" means he's not fighting a real teammate or someone outside a strip club. Some scouts actually like seeing the blood boil at these practices. Last year, Red Bryant staged a fight at the Senior Bowl in order to dispel rumors that he played without intensity.

Not sure I buy the "it's actually a positive" argument, but it shouldn't raise a character red flag.

[Aloysius]

More reports from the draftguys:

• Chase Daniel(Missouri) continued to play like two different QBs. In the pocket on dropback throws, he was erratic, sometimes being right on, sometimes missing because the ball sailed over the intended target, and sometimes missing short. His release point is also close to shoulder high, which is not encouraging. On the other hand, when Chase breaks the pocket or starts in the shotgun, he has much better feel, making throws with good timing and accuracy on the move and generally letting the play tell him what to do instead of pressing. We confirmed the 6’0” height measured at the weigh-in - it’s just deceptive because Daniel has short legs for a six footer. It’s hard to imagine Daniel as anything more than a late round/UDFA long term project at this point.
• Brian Hoyer(Michigan State) was the East QB with the most zip on his passes for the third straight day. His tight spiral drew praise from the East coaches. He also threw a nice deep ball, coming down in a very catchable cylinder. Hoyer was very inconsistent and seemed to lose his edge in 11 on 11, the best simulation of game conditions in the practices.
• Tyrell Sutton(Northwestern) also found small creases in the line on stretch plays and instinctively got small through the hole. After three solid days catching the ball out of the backfield, we can also say that he’s definitely over his wrist injury.
• Aaron Kelly(Clemson) had maybe the best single performance of any WR during today’s practice. He ran very crisp routes for a receiver of any size, exceptionally crisp for a long limbed 6’5” passcatcher. He also flashed good burst out of a double move and good throttle down on a comeback route. In fact, Kelly created separation on most every route, once again very impressive for a wide receiver whose best tool seems to be his size. His ball tracking over the shoulder was on point and his hands seemed to get even better at full extension - not to mention he caught almost everything once again on more ordinary plays. He turned Marshall safety CJ Spillman completely around on one route and effortlessly elevated for a TD pass from Chase Daniel in the corner of the end zone in one of the plays of the practice. Kelly looks like he could easily add 15-20 pounds to his frame and he could be one of the surprise stars of the ‘09 Shrine Game class when we look back in a few years. His performance today was very reminiscent of Marques Colston’s three years ago at the Shrine Game.
• Alex Boone(OT-Ohio State) showed decent footwork at times, but he couldn’t handle the Sidbury spin and he was also beaten by one of the two Canadian imports in the 2009 Shrine Game.
• Seth Olsen(OG-Iowa) absorbed Clinton McDonald and had another solid all around day in the pit.
• Jamon Meredith(OT-South Carolina) delivered his punch with a jolt that no East OL could match. He should be the highest drafted offensive lineman on either squad.
• Lawrence Sidbury(DE-Richmond) successfully flashed his patent spin move to beat Alex Boone in the pit, and once again his first step explosion and raw materials as a pass rusher were apparent. He also engulfed Tyrell Sutton coming down the line in run support during 11 on 11s. His game is far from polished, but in a league hungry for pass rushers, he will be one of the first small school players off the board in April.
• Myron Pryor(DT-Kentucky) replaced Sammie Lee Hill (Stillman) and showed up ready to make an impact. His spin move was surprisingly crisp for a big man, although he lost his feet trying to pull it off once. Like McDonald, his energy is easy to see from the sidelines and he uses his hands to shed blocks very well, including once vs. Matt Slauson (OG-Nebraska) that looked too easy.
• Jasper Brinkley(ILB-South Carolina) again made a few impact plays - shooting the gap to blow up a run play and forcing a Chase Daniel fumble at the goal line with a crushing blow, but his natural instincts diagnosing run plays mostly took him out of the play instead into the mix.
• Mortty Ivy(LB-West Virginia) instinctively got lower than Tyrell Sutton on a run play, which makes us think he can get lower just about any RB at impact.
• Bradley Fletcher(DB-Iowa) was aggressive when the ball was in the air and just made plays for the third straight day. His play recognition was excellent, peeling off his man to make plays when the ball was thrown to his side of the field.

[mz.]

@shepwrite said:

Me like Aaron Kelly. Arrgh.

Yeah, he appears to be Paul Hubbard with route-running skills and hands.