Most NFL and CFL teams packed their bags and hit the road prior to the 2015 College Gridiron Showcase Thursday’s practices, as only a handful of scouts were in attendance by my count. Nevertheless, there were plenty of prospects worth looking at and evaluating during the two practice sessions.
Unlike the other practice notes where I went position-by-position, I decided to stick with a few names that stood out during the final padded practice of the week.
By: Alex Brown
-Stony Brook’s Adrian Coxson followed up a Wednesday practice with another strong performance. He’s not the fastest receiver, but he does show patience with routes and the footwork to remain in a balanced position to high point the throw. He made a handful of spectacular grabs during red-zone one-on-one’s, but was unable to finish a few contested targets during the team portion of practice. Coxson lacks any unique or special traits, but he shows the consistent hands and quick feet to develop as a slot receiver at the next level.
-At cornerback, Tulane’s Taurean Nixon continued to look fluid through his backpedal and transition but did a much better job of finding the football. Walling receivers to the sideline and turning to run with vertical routes, Taurean repeatedly won the positioning battle versus opposing receivers and notched a handful of PBU’s. He’s a corner with ideal length and even flashed the ability to work in off-man coverage out of the nickel corner position.
-Louisiana-Monroe QB Pete Thomas didn’t have his sharpest practice of the week, struggling to place throws inside the red zone. Despite clean mechanics, he isn’t an accurate touch passer. He also tends to lock onto the primary target, giving him issues when route timing is thrown off.
-UNLV outside linebacker Josh Shirley is a prospect that runs well enough to contribute on special teams and can also fit into a variety of fronts. He showed his edge rush ability during one-on-one’s this week, dropped fluidly in coverage and could set the edge as a force defender. Shirley looks like a 4-3 Sam linebacker at the next level, and a good pro day could push him into a late draftable grade.
-On the defensive line, Marshall’s James Rouse continued to be disruptive with his size and first step quickness. He looks like a base end for 3-4 defenses, but will need to pack on more weight to his lower half in order to do so. Used inside and outside at Marshall, Rouse projects best to a one-gapping defense that allows him to stunt.
-Another defensive lineman that impressed was Ohio’s Antwan Crutcher. Able to split double teams and also anchor the point of attack versus drive blockers, Crutcher has nose tackle qualities from a wide base to heavy hands to balanced feet. Crutcher isn’t overly dynamic as a pass rusher, but the ability to reset the line of scrimmage will intrigue 4-3 defenses.
-On the offensive line, Alabama’s Leon Brown flashed throughout the practice as a swing tackle prospect. Despite starting at right guard for the Crimson Tide, Brown has seen practice reps at left tackle, right tackle and right guard. He moves adequately in pass protection and could develop into a quality right tackle at the next level. Ideally, he drops his weight into the upper 320 to lower 330 range but the wide body, length and active hands are all there. The sum of his parts is greater than the whole, which ultimately leads to my priority free agent grade.
-Iowa State’s Jacob Gannon also built on a solid first two days of practice with Thursday’s final padded practice. Patient through his pass set to a fault, Gannon doesn’t always fire his hands in time to establish inside positioning. He mirrored comfortably with the speed rush components of opposing rushers, but gave up ground to inside counters. He’ll need to be more forceful with his hands to maximize his potential as a swing tackle.
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And after watching all three padded practices, the following prospects are the top ten prospects I looked at, in no particular order.
Top 10 with Best Chance of Becoming NFL Draft picks
- Neal Sterling, Monmouth, WR
- Nigel King, Kansas, WR
- Adrian Coxson, Stony Brook, WR
- Leon Brown, Alabama, OL
- Jacob Gannon, Iowa State, OL
- Doniel Gamrell, Notre Dame College, OL
- James Rouse, Marshall, DE
- Josh Shirley, UNLV, OLB
- Taurean Nixon, Tulane, CB
- Tray Walker, Texas Southern, CB
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