East Vs West Shrine Game, Senior Bowl Etc..
-
2012 Senior Bowl: Tuesday South Practice Report
By Charlie Campbell - @draftcampbell
The South team took to the field of Ladd Peebles Stadium for their second practice of Senior Bowl on Tuesday afternoon. The Washington Redskins coaching staff was in charge of the South team and they had the players practicing in full pads with a quick tempo. Tuesday and Wednesday are the full-padded sessions. To start out practice they worked in their individual position groups. Soon the linebackers and running backs got together to battle in a one-on-one pass coverage session.
North Carolina outside linebacker Zach Brown showed off his athleticism and agility by blanketing Baylor running back Terrance Ganaway on two reps. The second pass was slapped out of Ganaway's hands by Brown. In a game he may have been called for pass interference, but it would have been a close call. Ganaway also couldn't get separation from Texas linebacker Keenan Robinson.
Miami linebacker Sean Spence lost a rep to Louisiana Tech running back Lennon Creer and also had tight coverage to get a win against Clemson's Chad Diehl.
Mississippi State running back Vick Ballard burned Texas linebacker Emmanuel Acho on an out route. Acho came back to have good coverage against Florida running back Chris Rainey. Ballard dropped a pass after getting a step on Florida State linebacker Nigel Bradham. Aside from that drop, Ballard had a strong practice. In the team scrimmage session, Ballard had a big run behind the right side of the offensive line. About 15 yards downfield, he was popped by LSU safety Brandon Taylor and taken to the ground on a hard tackle. That got scouts to "ooh" and "ahh" even though Taylor wasn't supposed to tackle Ballard. The hard tackle didn't phase him, as Ballard broke off another big run in the 11-on-11 scrimmage when he started to the left and slashed across the field towards the right side for a big gain.
The one-on-one scrimmages continued when the wide receivers and cornerbacks battled. Here is a scorecard of some of that action:
Arkansas wide receiver Joe Adams beat Furman cornerback Joe Steed on two reps. The first win was on a slant pass. The second rep saw Steed get a good jam on Adams, but after the wideout released, he got some separation and caught a deep pass running along the sideline.
Louisiana-Lafayette cornerback Bill Bentley split reps with North Carolina's Dwight Jones. The big wideout won on a slant pass, but lost on a deep cross. Jones stayed with the big receiver running across the field to force an incompletion. Bentley also had two wins against Texas A&M wide receiver Jeff Fuller. Bentley had an impressive interception after Fuller dropped a pass that bounced off his pads. Fuller quit on the ball, while Bentley dived and intercepted it. He blanketed Fuller again when Bentley didn't bite on a double move.
Arizona wide receiver Juron Criner split two reps with Vanderbilt's Casey Hayward. The first rep saw Hayward guard Criner closely and not allow any separation. The second rep was maybe the best catch thus far at Senior Bowl. Criner got a step on Hayward but the pass was thrown off the mark. Criner reached behind his body with one hand and grabbed the ball. It was a phenomenal catch that drew a collective "wow" from the stands.
Oklahoma State safety Markelle Martin had tight coverage and slapped away a pass from Louisiana-Lafayette tight end Ladarius Green.
Alabama tight end Brad Smelley had good outing in the one-on-ones. He beat Alabama teammate cornerback DeQuan Menzie for a diving catch on an out pass. Against LSU safety Taylor, Smelley had a completion on a deep crossing route. Taylor came back to pop Smelley immediately after a short catch was made for a minimal gain.
Two former Gators teammates battled with running back Chris Rainey beating cornerback Janoris Jenkins on a slant route.
Houston wide receiver Patrick Edwards lost a rep to Georgia cornerback Brandon Boykin. Edwards didn't get separation from Boykin and Edwards couldn't reach a couple feet over his head. The 5-foot-9 Edwards is clearly limited with the type of target he provides quarterbacks.
In the team scrimmage portion of practice, Jenkins had a nice pass breakup when he read a bootleg well and closed on the receiver. Jenkins timed his hit perfectly and popped the receiver to force an incompletion. The other defensive back who stood out in the team scrimmage was Menzie. He had a nice tackle of LSU tight end DeAngelo Peterson. Menzie followed that by running up to break down and make a nice open field tackle of Rainey.
The defensive line and offensive line had their one-on-one battles as well. Overall the defense had a dominant day, but that shouldn't be surprising as the line has three definite first-round picks in North Carolina's Quinton Coples, South Carolina's Melvin Ingram and Alabama's Courtney Upshaw. Here is a scorecard of some of the one-on-one action:
Coples was dynamite. He beat tackles with a elite skill set, and was essentially unblockable. He started out by beating Tory tackle James Brown with a speed rush towards the interior of the pocket. Coples slapped and fought away Florida State offensive tackle Zebrie Sanders to win an edge rush. In the rematch, Coples grabbed a hold of Sanders and tossed him aside to run free to the quarterback marker. Coples beat Illinois tackle Jeff Allen twice, once with a nice speed rush and a swim move to cut to the inside. Another win came at the expense of UAB tackle Matt McCants. Coples showed a complete package with speed and power to go along with a repertoire of moves.
Ingram was dominant as well. He beat Sanders with a bull rush. He also burned Sanders with with a speed rush around the corner. Ingram got Sanders again by starting to the outside before darting to the inside to get pressure. Ingram burst by Georgia guard Cordy Glenn and Allen to win two more reps.
Upshaw went virtually undefeated as well. He burned McCants on a speed rush around the corner on two reps. Upshaw also bull rushed his way through James Brown.
Glenn came back to stop some bull rushes cold. He blocked Texas defensive tackle Kheeston Randall, Tennessee defensive tackle Malik Jackson and Florida's Jaye Howard.
Clemson defensive tackle Brandon Thompson had one of the most impressive rushes when he burned Glenn with a quick spin move. Thompson started to the outside before spinning back to the inside to jet by Glenn. Thompson was stopped by Jones. Thompson had wins against Baylor center Philip Blake and LSU guard Will Blackwell.
Blake walled off a bull rush from North Carolina defensive tackle Tydreke Powell.
Upshaw got a win with a bull rush running right through Brown.
Texas A&M's Tony Jerod-Eddie beat Allen and Blackwell. Blackwell really struggled on Tuesday. Jerod-Eddie bull rushed through Georgia guard Ben Jones.
Randle had beat Jones with a rush where he knocked Jones back on his heels before jetting by him.
In the team scrimmage session, Coples kept coming. He bull rushed through Sanders on a zone run to the right. That let him start a gang tackle for a loss. Coples blew by Sanders a few more times on speed rushes. In a game, he easily could have had a sack or two. To finish out the impressive day for the defensive line, Jerod-Eddie and Howard combined to record a sack after they burst through the line.
-
2012 Senior Bowl: Wednesday North Practice Report
Audie Cole, ILB, N.C. State
Audie Cole had another really nice practice, as he stood out in the one-on-one drills. He could be making his way toward the second round.
Vinny Curry, DE/OLB, Marshall
Another up-and-down practice for Vinny Curry, who easily beat Kevin Zeitler, but then was stonewalled by Kelechi Osemele when lining up inside.
"There's a little buzz going on about him," said Mike Mayock. "He doesn't do anything great, but he does everything well. That motor is going to get him into the second round."
Alfonzo Dennard, CB, Nebraska
Two cornerbacks bounced back from a rough start to this week. Alfonzo Dennard made a really nice pass break-up on Brian Quick on seven-on-sevens.
Donnie Fletcher, CB, Boston College
The other corner who rebounded was Donnie Fletcher, who hit hard and excelled in the run-blocking drill. Mike Mayock noted that onlookers like it when prospects improve off a bad start.
"Fletcher struggled Monday," Mayock said. "But I thought he came back yesterday and got a bit of a buzz when he got his hands on people."
Cam Johnson, DE, Virginia
Cam Johnson has enjoyed some very good Senior Bowl practices. Mike Mayock took note of this.
"Cam Johnson is interesting," Mayock said. "I don't know where you line him up, but he's had a really good week."
Mike Martin, DT, Michigan
Mike Martin wasn't as dominant as he was Tuesday, but he still stood out with some solid performances in the one-on-ones. He's probably helped himself more than anybody at the Senior Bowl. He's listed in the third round of today's 2012 NFL Mock Draft update, but I may have to move him up next week.
Kellen Moore, QB, Boise State
Another poor outing for Kellen Moore. All I'm hearing is "he's the next Tyler Palko." If you watched the Chiefs this year, you know that's not a good thing.
Chris Polk, RB, Washington
The Sun Tan Man suggested that Chris Polk has hurt himself more than any running back this week, and I couldn't agree more. Perhaps it's the weight he recently put on, but he looks really slow on the field.
Mitchell Schwartz, OT, California
Right tackle Mitchell Schwartz caught my eye when he made some nice blocks in the one-on-ones on Monday, but I didn't mention him. He stood out again today, prompting Mike Mayock to compliment him.
"Schwartz is going to force me to do some more tapework on him," Mayock said. "He's a better athlete than I thought."
-
2012 Senior Bowl: Wednesday North Practice Report
By Charlie Campbell - @draftcampbell
The North team took to the field of Ladd Peebles Stadium for their third practice of Senior Bowl on Wednesday morning. The Minnesota Vikings coaching staff was in charge of the North team and they had the players practicing in full pads. Tuesday and Wednesday are the full-padded sessions. To start out practice they worked on special teams and in their individual position groups.
The linebackers received some expert coaching from Hall of Fame linebacker Mike Singletary. Nebraska linebacker Lavonte David has very quick feet, but Singletary was riding him not to be too high in his upper body and maintain a better body lean. Singletary had a lot of praise for Boise State outside linebacker Shea McClellin. Nevada linebacker James-Michael Johnson looked bad in the bag work. Singletary made him start over numerous times because Johnson's footwork and body lean were sloppy. Johnson seemed to be frustrating Singletary.
Shortly later, the linebackers, safeties, tight ends and running backs battled in a one-on-one pass defense scrimmage. Wisconsin fullback Bradie Ewing started the session strong by burning Johnson. Ewing ran a slant and than cut out across the field. Overall, Johnson looks rather stiff and probably should play on the inside of a 3-4 defense. David had tight coverage on Cincinnati running back Isaiah Pead to force an incompletion.
Boise State running back Doug Martin had a solid practice. In the one-on-ones he burned college teammate McClellin on a corner post route. Martin ran a deep post to get separation on North Carolina State linebacker Audie Cole for another catch.
One running back that wasn't getting much separation was Washington's Chris Polk. He was covered closely by Utah State's Bobby Wagner on a few reps. Polk has been unimpressive this week and his stock could take a dip as a result.
Michigan State tight end Brian Linthicum had a nice win over Penn State defensive back D'Anton Lynn. Notre Dame safety Harrison Smith stayed stride for stride with Missouri tight end Michael Egnew. Massachusetts tight end Emil Igwenagu burned Boise State safety George Iloka on a slant route. Igwenagu followed that up with a nice one-handed catch during the install session.
The wide receivers and cornerbacks had another one-on-one session on one part of the field while a nine-on-nine run scrimmage was held on the other side. Half of this practice period was a different kind of one-on-one. On Wednesday they had the cornerbacks and wide receivers going against each other in blocks as if there was a perimeter run.
One receiver who had an impressive day was Iowa's Marvin McNutt. He won his first receiving rep by beating Oklahoma cornerback Jamell Fleming on a dig route. Fleming got some revenge by getting by a block from McNutt later on, but the big wideout played well in the team scrimmage.
Boston College cornerback Donnie Fletcher played well and he stood out on Wednesday. He's had a strong Senior Bowl overall. Fletcher had a nice jam on a route from Ohio State's DeVier Posey. Fletcher stayed with Posey as he ran his route and slapped the ball away for an incompletion. Fletcher showed real strength and physicality in the run defense portion. He blasted Arizona State wide receiver Gerell Robinson in two reps. The second one saw Fletcher knock Robinson to the ground to defeat the block.
Nebraska cornerback Alfonzo Dennard had a mixed performance. He looked bad in trailing a pass route from Cal receiver Marvin Jones. Dennard didn't turn and run well with Jones. Downfield Dennard lost his feet and fell down to let Jones get wide open. In run blocking, Dennard came back to beat two blocks from Posey. Jones lost a block to Iowa State's Leonard Johnson, but out-muscled Johnson for a reception in the pass-receiving portion.
The defensive line and offensive lines battled in one-on-ones, and there are definitely some prospects that are really helping themselves. The defensive line has a bigger advantage in this drill because they don't have to play the run before rushing the passer like they do in many plays in an actual game. They also don't take on any double teams or have to overcome a chip from a running back or tight end. Here is a scorecard of some of the one-on-one action:
One of the standouts for the North has been Connecticut defensive tackle Kendall Reyes. He beat Wisconsin guard Kevin Zeitler with a speed rush and as he shoved Zeitler away he popped the guard's helmet off. Reyes bull rushed through Washington left tackle Senio Kelemete. On a speed rush, Reyes burned Penn State guard Johnnie Troutman. Troutman was on his heels so much that he stumbled and fell flat on his a**.
Washington defensive tackle Alameda Ta'amu had a solid day on Wednesday. He bull rushed through Ohio State center Mike Brewster for a win. Brewster got some revenge by riding Ta'amu around the pocket on a rematch. Ta'amu showed some speed when he rocked Troutman off the snap and ran by the off-balanced lineman. In a rematch, Ta'amu beat Troutman again. Ta'amu started with a bull rush and then executed a spin move that caught Troutman by surprise, and Ta'amu jetted to the quarterback marker.
Michigan defensive tackle Mike Martin had a big day Tuesday, but did not do as well on Wednesday. Utah guard Tony Bergstrom stood Martin straight up on a bull rush. Martin won the rematch with a speed rush to the outside shoulder of Bergstrom. Martin used a speed rush and a swim move to get by Wake Forest offensive lineman Joe Looney.
One of the stars of Wednesday's practice was Virginia defensive end Cam Johnson. He blasted by Ohio State offensive tackle Mike Adams to cause a tackle in the nine-on-nine scrimmage, and Johnson kept up the heat in the one-on-ones. He beat Adams on a speed rush. Adams tried to grab Johnson, but he was tossed aside as Johnson coasted to the marker. Adams won a rep against Johnson when he stuffed a bull rush.
Adams once again had some reps where he looked great followed by others where he was terrible. One win came against Marshall's Vinny Curry. At left tackle, Adams got a hold of Curry on an edge rush and kept him out of the pocket. At right tackle, Curry fired off the snap with speed off the edge. He sunk his hips and got skinny to get leverage on Adams. The big tackle couldn't do the same as Curry reached the marker with Adams falling onto the ground at the spot of the quarterback.
Curry exploited a couple of mismatches when he lined up at defensive tackle. He beat Bergstrom and Zeitler. Zeitler had no answer for Curry's speed as he raced by him with a swim move. Zeitler also lost on a speed rush to Boise State defensive tackle Billy Winn. It was an ugly rep for Zeitler.
Cincinnati defensive tackle/end Derek Wolfe was ridden around the pocket by Brewster on one rep. Wolfe beat Cal offensive tackle Mitchell Schwartz with a speed rush around the corner.
Iowa State offensive tackle/guard Kelechi Osemele had a good practice. He put Winn into the ground with a near pancake block. Osemele also mirrored a speed rush from Penn State defensive end Jack Crawford.
In the 11-on-11 team scrimmage, the offensive line had some better plays. Zeitler and Schwartz combined on the right side of the line to blast open a big hole for Boise State running back Doug Martin. Zeitler also had a pancake block later.
Reyes kept charging through the line and forced a big tackle for a loss. Wolfe had a sack of Wisconsin quarterback Russell Wilson on a bootleg. Wolfe made a good read and fired into the backfield to tap Wilson's pads before running by him. Curry had a nice rush where he blew by Adams to flush the quarterback out of the pocket. Lavonte David also had a tackle for a loss after he fired into the backfield on a play. Johnson beat Adams for a probable sack on a speed rush. Ta'amu had some good plays and was disruptive.
Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore hit McNutt on a deep out after he beat Fleming to get open. On another play Moore had Ewing running wide open after Michigan State safety Trenton Robinson lost track of his man. The pass was horribly thrown and sailed incomplete. Moore also had a fumbled snap in shotgun. McNutt worked his way through zone coverage to make a big gain on a pass from Michigan State's Kirk Cousins.
-
2012 Senior Bowl: Wednesday South Practice Report
By Charlie Campbell - @draftcampbell
The South team took to the field of Ladd Peebles Stadium for their third practice of Senior Bowl on Wednesday afternoon. The Washington Redskins coaching staff was in charge of the South team and they had the players practicing in full pads with a quick tempo. Tuesday and Wednesday are the full-padded sessions. To start out practice they worked in their individual position groups. Soon the linebackers and running backs got together to battle in a one-on-one blitz pickup session.
The star of the drill was Arkansas defensive end/outside linebacker Jake Bequette. In college he didn't play outside linebacker, but some 3-4 defenses will consider Bequette for that role in the NFL. Bequette was too big and powerful for the backs to block. He bull rushed through Louisiana Tech running back Lennon Creer on two reps. He blasted his way through Florida Atlantic running back Alfred Morris and Mississippi State running back Vick Ballard. Bequette had a huge size advantage and he used that to win his reps.
Texas linebackers Emmanuel Acho and Keenan Robinson had success as well. Acho torched Baylor running back Terrance Ganaway with a rush around the edge. Robinson flew by a block with a speed rush. There was a rep that Robinson lost as he was held off by Creer. Ganaway earned a victory after he stood up Miami linebacker Sean Spence after withstanding the initial hit. Spence also had a win over Ganaway with a swim move after rocking Ganaway with some hard contact.
North Carolina outside linebacker Zach Brown thrived. He beat blockers with speed and strength. Brown had wins over Ballard, Ganaway and Creer. Morris had the best block of Brown and stalled him long enough for a quarterback to potentially get a pass off.
The one-on-one scrimmages continued when the wide receivers and cornerbacks battled. Here is a scorecard of some of that action:
Texas A&M wide receiver Jeff Fuller started slowly with a leaping dropped touchdown on a deep ball. On another rep, North Alabama cornerback Janoris Jenkins had tight coverage on Fuller to force an incompletion. Fuller did beat Jenkins on a deep post for a nice gain.
North Carolina wide receiver Dwight Jones had a step on Jenkins, but the pass was thrown too late. Jenkins recovered to slap the ball away.
Arizona wide receiver Juron Criner had a good practice and beat Furman cornerback Ryan Steed on a deep crossing route. On another rep, Criner was covered closely by Alabama cornerback DeQuan Menzie running down the middle of the field, but the big wideout used his size to climb the ladder and make an impressive catch over Menzie. On a jump ball for Criner in the end zone, Steed bounced back by forcing an incompletion as he slapped the pass away.
Louisiana-Lafayette tight end Ladarius Green beat Menzie for a reception on a crossing route. Menzie was close, but it was impressive to see Green get the completion against a quality cover corner.
South Carolina safety Antonio Allen forced an incompletion against Arkansas wide receiver Joe Adams. Martin used the sideline as help as he angled Adams out of bounds. That got praise from Washington Redskins defensive backs coach Raheem Morris.
Vanderbilt cornerback Casey Hayward had a nice win as he recovered after Houston wide receiver Patrick Edwards briefly came open. Hayward gave Edwards a hard shove to push him to the turf along the sideline. Shortly later Edwards appeared to pull his hamstring while running downfield.
Alabama tight end Brad Smelley had a good gain on a crossing route going against LSU safety Brandon Taylor.
The defensive and offensive lines had their final padded one-on-one session of the Senior Bowl week on Wednesday afternoon. The defensive line of the South is the clearly the most talented position group on either team. North Carolina defensive end Quinton Coples looks like a top-10 pick, while Alabama's Courtney Upshaw and South Carolina's Melvin Ingram could easily go in the top 25 on Draft Day. The rundown of these one-on-one battles features a lot of wins for those three prospects.
Coples got it started by beating Florida State offensive tackle Zebrie Sanders with a speed rush to the interior of the pocket. In the rematch Coples got by Sanders with speed around the edge. Coples went back to the inside to get a win against Georgia guard/tackle Cordy Glenn. In the rematch, Coples started with a bull rush into Glenn before disengaging and winning with a speed rush.
Ingram got his wins started with a spin move to slide by Illinois lineman Jeff Allen. UAB offensive tackle Matt McCants had a near draw with Ingram as he slowed him down after allowing some initial penetration. Ingram beat LSU's Will Blackwell with a speed rush around the edge. Ingram had two wins against Sanders on speed rushes around the corner. The one loss that Ingram had came when he rushed against Alabama center William Vlachos and the heavy center was able to grab a hold of Ingram and push him around the center of the pocket.
Upshaw's reps didn't start well as Glenn mirrored and fought him off on an edge rush. In the rematch, Upshaw jetted by Glenn to get a victory. Upshaw had a draw with a bull rush against Sanders that was stopped after allowing some pressure. Upshaw came back to beat Sanders with a speed and power rush along the outside. Upshaw had a win with a bull rush through McCants.
Glenn had an easy time stopping Tennessee's Malik Jackson. Against Sanders, Jackson got the better of the rep with a speed rush and a swim move after contact. He also beat McCants on a bull rush.
Texas A&M defensive tackle Tony Jerod-Eddie had a draw going against Alabama center William Vlachos. Jerod-Eddie tried a bull rush against Baylor center Philip Blake and it went nowhere, but Blake did lose a rep to Texas defensive tackle Kheeston Randall.
Vlachos lost a bull rush to North Carolina defensive tackle Tydreke Powell as he charged hard to the quarterback marker.
Clemson defensive tackle Brandon Thompson was put into the ground when he tried to do a spin move on Blackwell. Thompson rebounded to get a win with a bull rush through Georgia center Ben Jones.
In the 11-on-11 team scrimmage, the star defensive linemen continued to have their way. On one of the first plays, Upshaw burned Sanders with a speed rush to get a likely sack of Arizona quarterback Nick Foles. Robinson had a nice tackle of Creer.
Florida running back Chris Rainey came wide open in the deep part of the field but dropped the pass from quarterback Ryan Lindley as Rainey backpedaled. Oklahoma State safety Markelle Martin had a nice run stuff and filled the hole at the point of attack. Martin also showcased tough run defense in the nine-on-nine scrimmage. Rainey did catch a short cross with Martin a hair late coming to break the pass up. The speedy Rainey turned into some open field and sprinted through the secondary for a good gain.
Coples burned Sanders on a speed rush for a likely sack in a real game on one of the final practice reps. After practice, it looked like Sanders and agent Drew Rosenhaus were having an unpleasant conversation.
-
Word is that the Cleveland Browns have serious interest in Ohio State offensive tackle Mike Adams. He has been inconsistent in Mobile, and that was his track record with the Buckeyes. Still, Adams plays a position with a high demand, and at the Senior Bowl he has also taken reps at right tackle. Cleveland could target Adams with their second first-round pick (from Atlanta) to upgrade their right side and replace veteran Tony Pashos. Adams could be a good bookend on the other side from Joe Thomas.
-
Him having a track record of being inconsistent would fit right in with the Browns.
-
Hello! It looks like you're interested in this conversation, but you don't have an account yet.
Getting fed up of having to scroll through the same posts each visit? When you register for an account, you'll always come back to exactly where you were before, and choose to be notified of new replies (either via email, or push notification). You'll also be able to save bookmarks and upvote posts to show your appreciation to other community members.
With your input, this post could be even better 💗
Register Login