South Practice 2

Senior Bowl-South Practice 2

This is my first look at the South squad. One thing that jumps out about the workout is that the Jacksonville staff is running their workout at a much faster pace than the North squad. There is much less standing around. The kids are running back to get set again after each rep. They are getting a lot more done in the same amount of time. I like that the coaches aren't slowing the drills with a lot of instruction. They are waiting until a kid has finished his reps and instructing off to the side while the next set of players gets their reps.

Alphonso Smith-DB-Wake Forest-He has great feet and he competed well when the ball was in the air. He appears to have nice recovery speed and he definitely has solid technique. His only issue is his height. He did get beat on a jump ball by the much taller Massaquoi of Georgia. I don't care. If you can play, you can play.

Ellis Lankster-DB-West Virginia-For my money, he had the best workout of the South DB's. He showed excellent technique and closing speed. Nobody ran by or created much space against him. I haven't heard much about him, but I was impressed with what he showed during this practice.

Sherrod Martin-DB-Troy-He did not look very good in the one on one cover drills. He was easily beaten deep and he had an even harder time keeping his feet under him when a receiver made a break. Every time he looked slow reacting and he had to take false steps to redirect.

Coye Francies-DB-San Jose St.-He looks raw and a bit sloppy at times, but he is clearly talented. He showed great recovery speed when beaten on a deep route. He looks pretty thin, but he appears to have a tremendous upside.

Quan Cosby-WR-Texas-He looked in practice exactly like he looked all year for the Horns. Solid. He runs great routes. He is really sharp on his breaks. He catches everything. The main question for him is speed. With his size he needs to turn in something electric at the combine. I am not really sure what to expect.

Mohamed Massaquoi-WR-Georgia-He looks bigger than his listed weight of 198 from the season. Like Cosby this guy looks like the exact same player in practice that we saw all year. Great on one play and clueless the next. I think he dropped the two easiest balls he had all day. In between he made a couple of highlight type catches. If he ever gets focused this guy could really be a player.

Mike Wallace-WR-Mississippi-Extremely explosive off the line. I don't think there was any DB out there that could stay with him vertical.

Shawn Nelson-TE-So. Miss.-This guy looks like a player. He planted Maualuga two straight times in pass block/rush drill. In team he looked great running routes and he obviously his nice soft hands. He looks like Dustin Keller with more upside as a blocker.

Andre Brown-RB-NC State-He had a nice team session. He hits the hole hard and has an extra gear. At 225, he is going to start getting a lot of attention.

Arian Foster-RB-Tennessee-This one really caught me off guard. When I would watch him in college I often wondering why he was on the field. He danced, he didn't run tough, and he seemed to have contracted a terminal case of fumbilitis. The kind of fumbles where sometimes it looked like he just quit on the play and let the ball go. I must admit, he looked really good in team. He ran hard and caught the ball well. He looked really good in the open field. He looks huge and ripped. Mayock said he weighed in at 232. Maybe the guy has rededicated himself. I am curious what his combine results will look like. I still say he is a "buyer beware" product.

Rashad Jennings-RB-This big fella learned a valuable lesson about running too high courtesy of Brian Cushing during team. He probably didn't get hit like that in his conference very often.

Note-The South DL is sick. the North is going to have a hell of a time blocking them.

Fili Moala-DL-USC-He simply looked unblockable. He wasn't really even challenged. Caldwell almost slowed him down one rep. They worked him both in the middle and off the edge. He looks quick, powerful, technically sound, and nasty.

Corvey Irvin-DL-Georgia-He is more of a bull-rusher than Moala, but he does show quick feet and the ability to get over the block. He had his way as well.

Vance Walker-DL-Georgia Tech-He is a straight bull rush guy and quite good at it. Once again, Caldwell slowed him down once, but he easily shoved the rest of the ol's asses right into the QB. He is a tailor made nose.

Robert Ayers-DL-Tennessee-Again... Unblockable. He looked quick off the edge with a nice bull rush as well. He showed a wide variety of moves and a great motor in team. Where did this guy come from? Why didn't he stick out when I watched the Vols the last few years?

Lawrence Sidbury-DE-Richmond-Sick speed off the edge. He got the edge every time. He probably grades out as situational rush end. If these drills are any indication he could be a great one. As a Texans fan, I would love to see them look this guys direction in the 3rd and plug him in opposite Super Mario on passing situations.

Peria Jerry-Mississippi-DL-Stutter, stutter, stutter-Unblockable. He is quick and explosive. He is a lot like Raji but he looks even more athletic. Very impressive.

Antoine Caldwell-OL-Alabama-He held up fairly well a few times at center and guard. He was definitely the South OL standout. To me, he looks like a much better pro center prospect than the North team's Unger.

Michael Oher-OL-Misssissippi-He got used by Hawaii's David Veikune. One time he didn't even touch him. The next time around he did a better job. I know Veikune is quick, but this guy is supposed to be the #1 pick according to some. I think he is lucky he wasn't paired with Ayers or Moala or Sidbury or even Kyle Moore of USC.

Literary Note-Did you notice my usage of polysyndeton?

Troy Kropog-OL-Tulane-He looks really light on his feet. He also looks very thin. If he can add weight to his frame while maintaining his footwork, he could impress.