Thursday marked the final day of padded practices here at the Senior Bowl and here were the winners from the 2015 Senior Bowl Scouting for the South squad: Sammie Coates, Arie Kouandjio, Owamagbe Odighizuwa, Stephone Anthony, D’Joun Smith and Kevin White. Our scouts split up the position groups, with Alex Brown writing on the skill players and Ian Wharton focusing on the trench battles.
Quarterbacks
-It was more of the same with the South team quarterbacks. Colorado State’s Garrett Grayson made better decisions and located more touch throws in the redzone than the other two passers, but continued to lack any sort of deep ball accuracy. Grayson, Blake Sims and Bryan Bennett all had their fair share of missed reads and missed throws in this practice.
Running Backs
Northern Iowa running back David Johnson had a good showing. He’s not a shifty back, so his carries might be limited at the next level. But, he’s strong and a great third down player. He is a weapon for an offense and compares favorably to Miami Dolphins hybrid TE/H-Back Charles Clay, who ran the ball at Tulsa but excelled as a pass catcher.
Wide Receivers
-Auburn receiver Sammie Coates looks like a man amongst boys here at the Senior Bowl. Able to blow by off-man cornerbacks on vertical patterns and finish back shoulder receptions in the redzone, Coates consistently won his one-on-one matchups. He tripped over his own feet on one slant pattern and dropped an easy crossing route over the middle, but dominated the South cornerbacks for most of the afternoon.
-Miami speedster Philip Dorsett moves exceptionally well and has an extra gear to win downfield, however, he had difficulty fighting through the physicality of cornerbacks like D’Joun Smith and Kevin White. Dorsett needs to improve on using his hands to avoid contact on in-breaking patterns, particularly when asked to run slant routes.
–Tyler Lockett also made plays during the final practice, capping off a solid week of practices. Lockett’s foot quickness at the line and refined routes make him a very difficult cover. Still, he doesn’t have the size or length to recover from effective hand checks downfield. He’s ideally suited to play in the slot and caught the ball much more cleanly than he did as a senior at Kansas State.
-I thought Rannell Hall tracked the football beautifully on back shoulder fades and sideline targets, finishing a handful of difficult receptions along the back pylon. He’s a “loud catcher” that lets throws into his framework and doesn’t consistently extend for the football, but showed he could smoothly adjust to off-target throws.
Tight Ends
-BYU’s Devin Mahina doesn’t threaten defenses vertically whatsoever, but did use his big body to position and shield off safeties during one-on-one drills. He looks like a third tight end that can serve as an underneath outlet and develop into a blocking reserve tight end.
-Much more natural at tracking downfield throws, Auburn TE C.J. Uzomah made a few nice grabs away from his body. He possesses the ball skills and movements to grade out as a flex tight end, and reminds me of the athletic tight ends produced at Missouri in recent drafts –Michael Egnew (2012) and Chase Coffman (2009). Uzomah similarly lacks development as a blocker, but isn’t as gifted a route runner as Egnew or Coffman were in those draft classes. Neither of the Missouri tight ends were able to develop into consistent NFL starters, so I currently have Uzomah graded as a late round flier to UDFA prospect.
Offensive Line
-The winner of the lineman group was Alabama’s Arie Kouandijo. He used his length much more effectively as he locked his arms out and kept the rusher away from his frame. He also moved in the zone blocking scheme better, looking smoother than he did earlier in the week.
-Ty Sambrailo improved today as well. He used his hands better, landing his punch within the chest of defenders, and it was way more effective than his previous attempts at blocking earlier in the week. It was a positive finish to a bad week of practices for Ty
-LSU tackle La’el Collins played better today, but his technique wasn’t the reason why. He is over reliant on his length and strength. Today it happened to work. He has to stay more balanced and keep his legs moving, or else he’s vulnerable.
Defensive Line
-UCLA stud Owamagbe Odighizuwa had another strong day of work. He’s very physical and has plus power. He doesn’t have great twitch, but he’s quick enough to be a threat as a defensive end to complement his power.
-The SEC duo of Preston Smith and Trey Flowers each showed great power and length in team drills. Both are able to set the edge and force running backs to cutback early. Neither of them are incredibly quick, but they work hard and look like Day 2 athletes.
Linebackers
-It was a good day to see which linebackers can drop into coverage. Clemson’s Stephone Anthony and Arkansas’ Martrell Spaight were very natural in coverage, retreating into zone with ease. Both are also clearly team leaders, as they were vocal throughout practice.
-Lorenzo Mauldin of Louisville struggled rushing and dropping into coverage. He’s an impressive athlete that moves well when attacking the line of scrimmage, but he’s not very fluid or confident in
coverage.
Defensive Backs
-Florida Atlantic CB D’Joun Smith had another strong practice on Thursday, cementing his status as one of the better defensive backs here at the Senior Bowl. Staying square with the receiver’s release in press or off-man coverage, Smith knows how to take away inside leverage, reroute receivers and find the football. He shows a clear understanding of when to create contact and when to look for the football.
-Though not as patient at the line of scrimmage as Smith, TCU’s Kevin White showed the best foot quicks and mirror ability among the South corners. He’s very balanced through the hip turn, able to flip and recover downfield, and highly competitive at the catch point. Versus the speedier Philip Dorsett, White used the sideline as an extra defender and consistently fit onto the receiver’s hip pocket for positioning. He located an underthrown deep ball during team drills for an interception and broke up a handful of throws during one-on-ones. Despite being undersized, White looked like a guy that can limit separation from opponents as a nickel or outside cornerback.
-A corner that had issues during the final padded practice was Miami’s Ladarius Gunter. Multiple times, the Jaguars defensive back coaches were telling Gunter to “Find the ball.” Even though he moves fluidly enough to stay in phase, Gunter struggled to play the ball in-air and win at the catch point. From a length and athleticism standpoint, Gunter more than looks the part but he’ll have to improve at his ball location skills.
-Safety Jaquiski Tartt had a nice first day of practice, but showed some of his limitations today. Beaten by every tight end and even DE prospect Lynden Trail in red zone drills, Tartt lacked balance and redirect ability to execute man coverage responsibilities. Moving onto 7-on-7 and team, however, he played much better in zone coverage and made an interception to end the day. His movements look far more instinctive as a read-and-react zone defender, especially when he avoid turning his back on the quarterback.
-While Tartt struggled in man coverage, Ole Miss’ Cody Prewitt only allowed one scoring reception during red zone drills and bullied opposing tight ends off the line. Prewitt’s combination of size, physicality and ball skills to defend the catch point were on display in one-on-one coverage against tight ends and I think he’s a strong safety prospect at the next level. Prewitt has the range to defend routes along the inside of the numbers, but isn’t able to reach either sideline from a single high, middle of the field alignment.
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