Notes from Senior Bowl South Practice

1.24.2012

Quarterbacks:

Nick Foles (Arizona) continues to wait a bit too long waiting for plays to develop down the field.  Foles looked to have the arm strength necessary to compete at the next level, however he looked a bit panicked once he felt pressure and was unable to keep his eyes downfield.

Brandon Weeden (Oklahoma State University) threw well today in tight windows. Weeden also had very good ball placement down the seam. With that said, he looked to have difficulty with his drops today stumbling over his feet twice.  Weeden also threw with greater anticipation yesterday than he did today.

Ryan Lindley (San Diego State) had his best practice today, as he was much better anticipating intermediate throws.  Footwork as well as his ball placement was still rather inconsistent, however he did take more chances today and was rewarded by his WRs who made some plays for him today.

Running Backs:

Vick Ballard (Miss State) is a downhill power back that struggles to do much of anything else. Ballard does not possess the ability to get around end with consistency. He also does not look to be a natural receiver out of the backfield.

Terrance Ganaway (Baylor) looked good in today’s practice demonstrating the ability to plant his foot in the dirt and get up field with outstanding pad level. Ganaway also continues to prove that he’s natural pass catcher out of the backfield.

Chris Rainey (Florida) got the majority of his work at WR today and will be alternating between RB and WR throughout the week. Rainey has run routes extremely well throughout the week, however he has had difficulty with the deep ball as he misjudged a perfect pass from Ryan Lindley with no defender in sight. All things considered, Rainey put together a very solid practice today.

Wide Receivers:

Jeff Fuller (TAMU) looked very smooth in his release off the ball. Against press coverage, Fuller was able to use his hands to get off the ball. He also had a very spectacular catch against Ryan Steed of Furman. Unfortunately Fuller dropped too many catchable balls today. Fuller needs to consistently look the ball in to ensure he secures the football before turning up field to run.

Joe Adams (Arkansas) continues to impress against some of the top tier corners on the South Squad. Adams showed outstanding lateral agility as well as long speed in today’s practice. He did let the ball get inside his body on occasion, however Adams also looked good fighting through press coverage using his short area quickness to escape the jam.

Juron Criner (Arizona) easily has the best hands of any WR here in Mobile. With that said, Criner will have a tremendous amount of difficulty separating from DBs at the next level. Criner will also need to refine his route running ability, as Janoris Jenkins was able to undercut Criner on crossing routes multiple times.

Patrick Edwards (Houston) ran his routes with precision today. Edwards proved to be quick in and out of his breaks and caught the ball very well with his hands.  Unfortunately in the midst of beating Dwight Bentley deep, on the fly pattern, he pulled up lame with what appeared to be a hamstring injury.

Dwight Jones (UNC) caught the ball rather well today. He caught nearly every ball away from his body, which was also great to see. Jones has a long way to go as a route runner as he telegraphs his routes due to the fact that it takes him a while to gather himself in and out of breaks. Jones’ release off the ball is very slow which enables smaller DBs to get into his pads during press coverage.

Marquis Maze (Alabama) was not in attendance today as it has been reported that he will not be participating in Senior Bowl practices the remainder of this week.

Offensive Line:

Cordy Glenn (Georgia) was the clear offensive lineman winner today. He showed the ability to play outside at tackle as well as at guard today, and he was effective against every player except for Quinton Coples who was able to beat him on a couple of 1 on 1’s. He’s agile for his size and in talking to scouts they didn’t think his occasional waist-bending was a serious issue. He has the potential to play at four offensive lineman positions. He is strong enough and has a good enough anchor that he can recover if he’s initially pushed back, which enabled him to slow down Courtney Upshaw and Melvin Ingram today.

Glenn’s ability to slow Upshaw and Ingram down today definitely set him apart from Zebrie Sanders (Florida State), Matt McCants (UAB) and James Brown (Troy) today. All three struggled mightily with bull-rushes today and were consistently pushed back and beaten thanks to their lack of lower body strength and ability to anchor. I like Zebrie Sanders’ potential, but his lower body strength is a serious issue right now. I think he has a shot at the 1st round still because of his upside, but he hasn’t been good the last couple of days.

Ben Jones (Georgia) and William Vlachos (Alabama) have had a down week so far in my opinion. Jones is a mid-round center prospect in my opinion who has struggled with bull-rushes and speed at times this week. He’s not a center that can handle defenders one on one in the run game or pass protection for the most part. Vlachos is a very physically limited offensive lineman who has a late round or free agent grade in my opinion. He might stick on a roster because of his football IQ, but his short arms and limited size will hurt him.

Jeff Allen (Illinois) continued a strong week today, this time inside at guard. That versatility will help him as he was consistently good at both tackle and offensive guard this week. Good, not great, but he’s definitely draftable in the 3rd or 4th round range.

Defensive Line:

Quinton Coples (North Carolina) continues to show his fantastic upside. He isn’t a top 10 or possibly a top 15 pick, but he’s definitely got a 1st round grade from me. His upside is incredibly intriguing, but I don’t think he can consistently be a pass rushing force from the RE position, though I do think he could be a fantastic left defensive end. He can be as good as he wants to be, so interviews will be extremely important for him. I saw someone mention it on Twitter, but he seems like a possible candidate for a guy who breaks out in his contract year, earns a huge deal, and never lives up to the deal. He’s got red flags for sure, but his potential is extremely intriguing.

Courtney Upshaw (Alabama) and Melvin Ingrim (South Carolina) continued to impress me. I think they are both versatile enough to play in a 3-4 at OLB or in a 4-3 at left defensive end. They both struggled a bit against Cordy Glenn, but he may be a top 50 prospect in my opinion, so I understand that to an extent.

Kheeston Randall (Texas) continued to struggle today. He showed some of his agility and his athleticism but he struggled to disengage once blocked and too often was effectively blocked by William Vlachos, someone I don’t think is going to be a very effective center in the NFL because of significant physical limitations. However, I like what I have seen from Brandon Thompson (Clemson) and Jaye Howard (Florida). I’ve liked Howard for some time, but Thompson has definitely made it clear that he has quality starter upside as a 3-tech which is what I saw from the tape I’ve watched of him.

Defensive Backs:

Brandon Boykin (UGA) had an outstanding practice today. He looked extremely fluid in his backpedal, as well as his transition from his backpedal, to opening up his hips to run. Boykin also had a lot of success in press coverage, as he was able to get under taller WRs pads holding them up at the LOS to disrupt timing. He really caught my eye once he went stride for stride down the field with Joe Adams. Boykin also looked natural returning kicks just as he did at Georgia.

Casey Hayward (Vanderbilt) was very solid in today’s practice as well. He looks much more comfortable in press man as opposed to playing off man. Hayward continues his physical style of play, however guys such as Chris Rainey and Joe Adams continue to give him trouble, as he simply does not possess the athleticism to consistently shadow those guys down the field.

Janoris Jenkins (North Alabama) has put on a clinic here in Mobile Alabama as he continues to prove his worth in coverage. Jenkins was able to locate the football extremely well today, as he was able to undercut WRs in an effort to bat down the football. Jenkins closes on the football tremendously well on the curl and flat route and he also has the speed to make a play against the faster WRs on the South squad in Adams and Rainey.