East-West Shrine Game

More from yesterday:

QB:

Michigan State's Brian Hoyer was clearly the best passer on the day, showing nice zip and fair accuracy on most of his throws.
East-West Shrine Monday practice: Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel had issues with accuracy in throws to all levels.
Stephen McGee looks to be a prisoner of circumstance at Texas A&M. Although he has to step into his throws more often, his size and zip on the ball validated teams' belief he can be a late-round pick.

RB:

Northwestern's Tyrell Sutton showed some short area quickness carrying or catching the ball and looked to be over his wrist injury.
TCU back/receiver/returner Aaron Brown displayed a burst after reaching the line that scouts have seen all season…they just don't know how he will fit into their offensive system.
Running back Marlon Lucky didn't get a lot of work in Nebraska's offense this week but looked very good as a receiver and a one-cut-and-go runner today.
Colorado State RB Gartrell Johnson ran for 287 yards in his team's bowl game but his lack of speed or quickness was exposed today. The speed of his wheel routes could have been measured with a calendar. His attempts to catch the ball downfield were brutal.
Jorvorski Lane, A&M's 290 pound fullback actually showed soft hands today, as well as the ability to pound defenders while carrying the ball.

WR:

Receiver Jarrett Dillard looked right at home on the practice field (Rice University is literally right down the road from Reliant, after all), not dropping a single pass whether downfield or in traffic over the middle. He was the best receiver for either team today.
Arizona's Mike Thomas and Oregon State's Sammie Stroughter were as expected, small but quick and tough. Thomas caught the ball with his hands more consistently then Stroughter, however.
Tall Clemson WR Aaron Kelly is slight and lacking great speed, but he did make a nice leaping grab while falling out of bounds on the right sideline in 7-on-7's.
Penn State's Deon Butler doesn't look like much on the field and let some balls into his body but he flashed impressive quickness on out routes and in the slot.

TE:

Fresno State's Bear Pascoe struggled to get off the line of scrimmage and could not separate from any linebacker at the second level, making it tough for the quarterback to even try to throw the ball to him.
Northeastern tight end Brian Mandeville is tall and thin, but he found a way to beat linebackers on the line, put good effort into pass protection and actually crashed down on DE Sidbury on a running plays, pushing him down the line a few yards. Ellerbe tossed him aside on one play, however, bringing him back to earth a bit.

OL:

Jamon Meredith played left tackle and guard at South Carolina, but his strong punch and good foot work at right tackle opened some eyes.
Seth Olsen (Iowa) flat-out dominated his man at times using strength and good hand technique.
BYU guard Travis Bright struggled against speed inside, getting beat off the snap in one-on-ones without even having his hand on the ground.

DT:

San Jose State DT/DE Jarron Gilbert displayed quickness and length (he's 6'6") inside. As you'd expect, however, he could be moved easily by double teams.
Terrance Taylor was the d-line coach's whipping boy during one-on-one drills. Taylor's inability to get off a block or get past his man brought more than a little tongue lashing.
Tall, massive Sammie Lee Hill (Stillman College) has raw talent, to be sure, and showed an ability to bull rush…but that was about it. He seemed to take to coaching well, however, as he used a spin move to beat his man later on.

DE:

DE Phillip Hunt used his lack of height to get leverage and get under the shoulder on pass rushes against taller left tackles. However, he found it difficult to disengage to tackle the ballcarrier coming his way.
Wisconsin's Matt Shaughnessy once again failed to show a burst, but consistently used his strong hands to get past Ohio State's Alex Boone.
Missouri end Stryker Sulak had similar issues as DE Lawrence Sidbury, displaying his nice upfield pass rush in drills but also showed he has some work to do using his hands to get free from his man.

LB:

A couple of scouts were heard talking about TCU inside linebacker Jason Phillips, both basically saying he "just makes plays." His physical handling of running backs over the middle took away the QB's safety valve.
Cal's Worrell Williams looked pretty small among his defensive bretheren but was very active, as usual.
Georgia linebacker Dannell Ellerbe, who played in the middle as a senior but was at the sam 'backer position, could be one of the few players sneaking into the third round of the draft. He played very strong at the line of scrimmage, delivering a nice punch to knock his guy off his route, and covering the flat against the tight ends and running backs.
BC's Robert Francois displayed strength in coverage, although he will struggle to stay with quick ballcarriers in space.
Duke's Michael Tauiliili was eaten up by interior linemen inside but did fill the hole nicely when his tackles kept him free.
Western Illinois linebacker Jason Williams is a well-built prospect that showed some pop playing inside and willingness to be physical at the point of attack.

CB:

The most impressive corner on the East squad was Iowa's Bradley Fletcher. He used his length to knock away one pass to the sideline and high-pointing a deep ball for an interception in 7-on-7 drills.
The West cornerbacks could be the top position group on either team. Texas' Ryan Palmer was consistently in the jersey of receiver Mike Thomas, who does not lack quickness. Palmer plays much stronger than his size indicates.
Brandon Hughes (Oregon State) and Ryan Mouton (Hawaii) are similarly built players who also broke up passes and played more physically than you'd expect for their size.
Cary Harris from USC, who may be the top prospect of the group, didn't do anything outstanding or poor on the day.

JewDago

it's sounding like seth olsen could be a nice pickup for us at guard.

Agreed.

And Jamon Meredith looks like an ideal replacement for Shaffer. He's a very athletic lineman who would've been a bigger prospect had he not sparred with his head coach.

If we somehow get an additional Round 2/3 pick, he'd certainly be a guy to consider. If he slid to Round 4, I'd be elated if we got him.

EDIT: Here's a brief scouting report on Meredith:

Positives: Good height with long arms and an athletic build, typical of top-tier left tackles. ... Adequate punch, and will extend his arms and get his hands on the numbers to keep defenders at bay. ... Gets to linebackers at the second level very well and hits the moving target. ... Able to adjust to oncoming defenders in space. ... Positions himself to seal the edge using quick feet and good hand placement. ... Can cut-block defensive ends on his side to give the quarterback a lane on quick throws.
Negatives: A bit slow to move his feet at times, relying on his length too much. ... Other times he drops back too far, allowing the end to twist inside untouched. ... Plays a bit tall in pass protection. ... Struggles to reach down to block to the guard when he doesn't explode from his stance. ... Could sustain blocks better in space.

He's 6'5" and weighs around 300 lbs. If we fully commit to a Alex Gibbs-style ZBS (there's a rumor Mangini is trying to hire Tom Cable), Meredith would seem to be a good fit at RT.

Olsen's going to be a Day Two guy, so it's okay if his size/weight isn't ideal. And depending on our blocking scheme, 6'5"/305 may be okay.

If we got a Gibbs-style ZBS, his size is actually perfect. For comparison, Denver and Houston's RG's are 6'4"/302 and 6'5"/295.

And because he's a Ferentz guy, Olsen already knows how to play in a ZBS.

From what I understand (and could be wrong about), most teams utilize at least some zone blocking, and the Pats are known to use a good deal of it.

However, they're not like the Broncos or Texans, who emphasize it to the point that they target undersized, athletic lineman. When Alex Gibbs was with the Falcons, he actually forced his o-linemen to keep their weight under 300 lbs.

The Patriots' guys are a little bigger: Logan Mankins goes 6'4", 310; Joe Andruzzi played at 6'3", 315.

Here's a report from Tuesday's practices:

Quarterbacks
Brian Hoyer/Michigan

For all intensive purposes Hoyer is the best quarterback in Houston. He showed good arm strength, puts a lot of spin on his passes and has garnered the attention of scouts. Hoyer has already met with a dozen teams, the Carolina Panthers showing the most interest.

Hunter Cantwell/Louisville

The reviews for Cantwell were a bit mixed today but for the most part positive. He's got an NFL arm- there's no doubt about it- and was able to get the deep pass downfield. Cantwell is still a bit slow in his decision making, more than likely due to the fact he's still thinking about throwing with proper fundamentals. He may also be a bit banged up as Cantwell seems to be struggling with an elbow injury.

Mike Reilly/Central Washington

It was another tough day for the small school passer as Reilly really did not look much better today. He was inaccurate and displayed marginal arm strength. Reilly seemed to be pressing, was short arming his motion in an effort to get some steam on his throws and passes were getting away from him. The wind did kick up from time to time which made it a little difficult for the signal callers but overall it was not a good performance.

Tom Brandstater/Fresno State

Brandstater looked solid for the most part. He's a big, smooth passer with a fluid delivery. Brandstater threw several nice passes today yet the further out to the flanks or down the field he tossed the ball the less accurate he was.

Stephen McGee/Texas A&M

McGee had a much better day. He looked very athletic, set up in the pocket with quick feet and showed off a smooth release. His passing today was significantly better than Monday.

Tight Ends/Wide Receivers

Sammie Stroughter/Oregon State

Stroughter had another solid day, looking very smooth and dropping only a single pass all afternoon.

Jared Bronson/Central Washington

Bronson continued to grade out well. Besides catching the ball well today his blocking also looked good, which is important. Bronson had several pancake blocks in one-on-one drills and in one instance knocked Cal linebacker Anthony Felder on his back.

Offensive Linemen

Fenuki Tupou/Oregon

Tupou looked good at left tackle, displaying solid feet and movement skills. The best part about his game is scouts feel Tupou has the potential to play a number of blocking positions including right tackle or guard.

Sebastian Vollmer/Houston

Vollmer was a late addition to the roster and is making the most of his opportunity. He's a big man at almost 6-feet 8-inches yet moves very well, looks athletic on the field and bends his knees then blocks with balance. The German born prospect is still relatively raw but can play at the next level. He's elevated his draft stock several rounds the past two days.

Defensive Line

Jarron Gilbert/San Jose State

Hands down Gilbert has been the class of the field from both squads. He was killing guys all afternoon as his talent level superceded that of any other player on either team. There's no doubt Gilbert has improved his draft stock in the early going- it'll be interesting to see if they squeeze him into next weeks Senior Bowl.

Linebackers

Victor Butler/Oregon State

The Beavers defensive end was used at linebacker today and struggled. So much so the word used to describe his play was "invisible".

Defensive Backs

Ryan Palmer/Texas

Palmer has looked solid the past two days. He's fluid moving about the field and has shown good feet and hips besides top ball skills.

Bradley Fletcher/Iowa

Fletcher has really caught the attention of scouts in Houston. Physically he is impressive and Bradley has made a number of plays on the field the past two days.

Carey Harris/USC

Harris has played well and has played with fire. In one snap today he took on the much larger Gartrell Johnson and put the big Colorado State runner down for the count.

Notes

- Another defensive back was lost today as Kevin Ellison decided to pack it in with an injury he's been suffering with since late in the season. Cornerback Glover Quin of New Mexico has been brought in to replace Darcel McBath and and will play safety. They are now looking for another replacement at safety.

YtownBrownsBacker

@shepwrite said:
I know Hadnot got beat on pass plays a lot, something rarely discussed for a right guard, so the Browns will want someone who can move a little better. Tucker and Shaffer had a fantastic year on the right side in 2007 with Shaffer grading out better than any other Browns lineman.
If Tucker is healthy, and I hear he's good to go and plans to play two more years at least, I really think Hadnot and McKinney will be given a chance to beat out Fraley, who just both bitched all season long. I think that's your starting line -- Thomas, Steinbach, Fraley/McKinney, Tucker, Shaffer.

But I do think we should be restocking the well... and no later than round 4.

With our cap situation I would think Fraley may be in trouble

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

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/

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.

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.

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.

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.