The Tuesday weather report for St. Petersburg, FL promised a 0 percent chance of rain for most hours of the day. Thankfully, the weather services got it right. The sun was out, the field was dry and the players were ready to rock and roll after practicing in such dismal conditions Monday.
So why did the players slip around as often, if not more so, as they did on Monday’s rain-soaked field? Through two days of West practice, skill players have easily fallen during breaks more than any time in the last five years of 2015 Shrine Game practice. The net result is a difficult read on the pecking order.
By: Chris Kouffman
Quarterbacks
-Heading into the practice week, I would have predicted the Nevada quarterback Cody Fajardo would look best of all West quarterbacks, if not best of both squads. I am sad to say this projection has only been correct as a matter of default. Neither Dylan Thompson of South Carolina nor Taylor Kelly of Arizona State display pro arm talent. Team portions of yesterday’s drills were peppered with a combination of short check-downs, throwaways and bad ball placement.
-Clearly none of the quarterbacks has developed chemistry with the receivers. The most optimistic will blame the slippery, chewed up field, not to mention lack of familiarity with the targets. While certainly plausible, at some point later in the week we may be coming to a realization that there just is not much quarterback talent at this year’s Shrine practices.
Running Backs
-West tailbacks had a very good day of practice Tuesday. The day was led by John Crockett of North Dakota State who continued to flash a combination of build, physicality and speed. He may be faster than some people believe. His enthusiasm was also a source of entertainment.
-At various points of Monday’s practice, South Dakota State tailback Zach Zenner did not look as if he belonged. He successfully flipped the script on Tuesday. Zenner maintained his quiet, serious demeanor, but coaches had to appreciate the consistency of his receiving and running work, as well as his competitiveness. He did his job, and even showed some interesting athleticism. Crockett’s competitiveness (and constant yammering) may have rubbed off on Zenner. On one particular run, after a little bit of contact, instead of pulling up and going back to the huddle Zenner decided to challenge Stanford safety Jordan Richards to a speed duel. Richards looked as if he were expecting Zenner to pull up, and when he realized Zenner had no intention of doing so until he had run 80 yards to the end zone he also reached down and tried to flash his speed. The FCS player won the speed duel, and John Crockett (beaming with FCS pride) let everyone on the field know it.
–Malcolm Brown of Texas also had a solid day for the group. At six feet and 230 lbs, Brown shows a nice amount of quickness and cutting ability. He also brings a workmanlike attitude and a certain amount of consistency to his work in practice. Overall this position should be a source of strength during the game Saturday.
Wide Receivers & Tight Ends
-Arizona wide receiver Austin Hill continued to perform the best of all West receivers. Gauging a player’s pro potential can be tricky in these All Star settings, so Hill’s consistent performance does not necessarily ensure him a successful pro career any more than Tennessee Tech receiver Tim Benford’s performance during Shrine practices a few years ago did. However, Hill’s consistent performance is a nice reminder that this was a player who caught 81 balls for 1,364 yards and 11 touchdowns as a sophomore at Arizona prior to losing his entire 2013 to a knee injury.
-San Diego State’s Ezell Ruffin struggled most of all West receivers during Monday’s practice. Credit him with a nice bounce back during Tuesday’s practice. He looked much more confident. His routes were run with precision, and he caught the football well. Aside from Hill, Ruffin may have been the best performer among the receivers on Tuesday.
-Rice’s Jordan Taylor has been a difficult read during these practices. The player had a very good career at Rice and established himself as a legitimate pro prospect with solid performances against power five teams. However, both Monday and Tuesday he played victim to the chewed up field far too often. Yet if one were to look past that, Taylor’s body language, angles, ankle flexion and catch radius all flashed the most impressively of any wide receiver on the West squad. All of the receivers struggled to some degree exploding out of their breaks during some of the more difficult position drills. But Taylor was the closest to flashing compelling ability in excess of accomplishing the task.
-After turning in an uneven performance during Monday’s practice, Washington’s Kasen Williams was much more consistent on Tuesday. That is to say, he was consistently bad. The pro potential is easy to see due to Kasen’s combination of size, build and speed. However, watching his entire Tuesday practice, one finds it difficult to remember more instances of him actually catching a football thrown to him as opposed to dropping the football. His frustration got the better of him during the first half of practice and it was clear that emotionally he had trouble getting out of his own head. The funk spread to his routes, his breaks, his footwork and hips. He easily received the most hard coaching of any of the receivers during position drills. He began to turn things around in the back half of practice, but even then he was just inconsistent as opposed to consistently bad.
-Oklahoma quarterback-turned-tight end Blake Bell seems to be taking advantage of the fact the West squad only has two functioning tight ends between he and Southern Illinois University’s MyCole Pruitt. Bell began practice looking smooth and consistent catching the football outside of his frame with smooth hands. His movement skills looked fluid though not necessarily fast. He had a few bad moments during the middle of practice but finished the day strong in team drills as the West quarterbacks constantly checked down to him over the middle of the field.
Offensive Linemen
-Florida State’s Bobby Hart struggled mightily during Monday’s practice. Fittingly, he was the recipient of a lot of coaching on Tuesday. Hart had trouble with the basics of engaging defensive linemen with his hands: keeping his hands inside his opponent’s shoulders, his elbows tucked and steering. Hart would instead choose to engage a series of ineffective punches that came off more like love taps for all the good they did controlling his opponent.
-Yesterday it seemed as if Texas Christian’s Tayo Fabuluje may have been the most impressive of the linemen based on a limited view. After Tuesday, I believe that accolade should stick. Listed at 6’7” and nearly 360 lbs, Fabuluje carries that weight very well and does not look dumpy or sluggish. He uses his hands well and keeps his feet moving while steering defensive players. He was a rock, and it was difficult for defensive players to reckon with him.
–Some other players that caught my attention included San Diego State tackle Terry Poole, Kansas State interior lineman B.J. Finney and Oklahoma guard Adam Shead. The common factor linking all of these players was their strength and ability to anchor. Finney excelled particularly at locking his hands inside his opponent’s pads and steering. Poole displayed an interesting all-around game as he possesses a big frame that helps him to control defensive lineman. Shead is built like a people-mover, and he plays like one.
Defensive Linemen
-While the most impressive defensive lineman during Monday’s practice had to be Travis Raciti of San Jose State, on Tuesday that honor belonged to defensive tackle Xavier Williams of University of Northern Iowa. There were moments Williams looked unblockable in pass protection drills as well as in team segments. He blew up at least two plays single-handedly during team drills. He has great size, strength, and he practices with an edge. That should bode well at the next level.
-Memphis defensive end Martin Ifedi fought back after a Monday practice that saw him on the ground far too often. He looked a lot better during Tuesday’s session. Fellow defensive end Ryan Russell of Purdue certainly looks the part as he passes the eyeball test. He is listed 6’5” and 265 lbs, and he sports a pro build. Too often on Monday he did not play as well as he looked. He did a lot better on Tuesday. Meanwhile, San Jose State’s Travis Raciti kept up his high level of play and showed up a lot of hustle as well.
Linebackers
-After a standout Monday practice, Stanford’s James Vaughters failed to follow up with an impressive Tuesday session. Few linebackers showed up with any consistency during the session. Michigan State’s Taiwan Jones had his moments during the practice, making a few plays against the run and pass.
Defensive Backs
-After being the most vocal player on Monday, Texas Christian safety Samuel Carter quieted down a little bit on Tuesday. He had no choice as the coaches found ways to remind him that he does not quite have as firm a grasp on his duties as he would hope. However, he took the hard coaching and kept improving as the practice went on. He continued to look like the most accomplished safety in coverage.
-USC cornerback Josh Shaw continued to practice without much life during the first half of practice, leading to speculation that he may be more of a game day player as opposed to a high motor practice player. However he did have some moments where he showed his fight and his talent, particularly in press coverage.
-Colorado’s Greg Henderson continued to stand out particularly in off coverage where he appears to be most natural. In team segments he was very assignment sound, and was in position to severely limit run-after-catch on short passes.
-Eastern Washington safety Tevin McDonald is a difficult read this week. His size screams corner as opposed to safety. He is one of the smaller players of the defensive backs, bar none. He also moves like a corner. Unfortunately he is not nearly as communicative as much more confident safeties like Stanford’s Jordan Richards or TCU’s Samuel Carter.
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