2016 Shrine Game: West Practice Notes from Day 1 and 2

Notes from West Practice from both Day 1 and 2.

By: Chris Kouffman

Quarterbacks 
A number of things became clear through two days of West practice, with respect to the West quarterbacks group. Brandon Doughty has been the most consistently accurate passer of the lot, especially on routes that require favorable ball placement. There are times Oregon quarterback Vernon Adams, Jr. looks as if he does not belong, but then Indiana quarterback Nate Sudfeld would throw a ball into the turf or ten feet beyond the sideline, and suddenly we are a little more inclined to forgive Adams for his spotty accuracy and lack of touch.

Much of West practice is filled with quarterbacks throwing to wide receivers running routes against air. The ball should not be hitting the ground in these drills, but it was. It would be a mistake to attribute this to players not being used to one another. Running routes against air without a rush, you have the luxury of seeing the receiver before you throw, and the receiver should be able to adjust on the ball provided it was remotely in his vicinity. Often, it was not. Doughty was the most impressive of the crew in terms of pure quarterbacking skill, but the real challenge for him will be proving himself in a chaotic NFL pocket.

Running Backs
Unlike the East squad, only one West running back managed to stand out in a positive way and that was Storm Woods of Oregon State. He had the quickness and speed to get to the outside, which was the only semi-reliable area of opportunity for the West’s ground game during the second day. The West’s defense took the inside ground game away completely, and generally did a good job on the outside as well but for a few Woods runs.

Wide Receivers
Hunter Sharp of Utah State seemed to struggle catching the football throughout the second day of West practice. Purdue’s Danny Athrop showed off a lot of quickness relative to the other receivers on the unit, but that could be a function of his being the smallest player on a unit of big receivers. Stanford’s Devon Cajuste lists at 6’4″ and 227 pounds, and in person Western Kentucky’s Jared Dangerfield (listed 6’3″ and 215 pounds) looks very impressive up close. Cajuste drew some praise from the scouts in the stands for his overall abilities, but Dangerfield’s size/quickness combination looked the most intriguing to me on the second day.

Tight Ends
While Darion Griswold may have the honor of being the best tight end from both squads, it may be that the West squad boasts the best overall unit as Colorado State’s Kivon Cartwright and University of Texas-San Antonio’s David Morgan both managed to stand out during the second day of practice in terms of their availability to the quarterback and ability to make plays during scramble drills. Virginia Tech’s Ryan Malleck failed to register, which may be of no fault of his own.

Offensive Line
Unfortunately there was not much opportunity to observe individual offensive linemen during my practice attendance, and while it was generally noticeable how thoroughly the West defensive line dominated the offensive line throughout the second day, I would be doing a disservice to the players by singling any of them out unjustly.

Defensive Line
Virginia Tech’s Luther Maddy looked the part of a professional during the second day of West practice, but he was far from the only one. Kentucky’s Cory Johnson seemed to be everywhere in defending the run, and Southern Utah’s James Cowser all made some positive plays. I overheard scouts in the stands singing the praises of Manitoba defensive lineman David Onyemata.

Linebackers
Minnesota’s De’Vondre Campbell easily passes the eyeball test at a listed 6’5″ and 239 pounds. However he bit extremely hard on a play fake, which opened up a wide receiver screen by Hunter Sharp for a big gain. Again, I try not to place too much on what I am seeing from the linebackers during these practices as this is not a great opportunity to see what they have.

Defensive Backs
The only player that stood out to me in the West secondary was Utah safety Tevin Carter, who had an interception during the second day. Wisconsin’s Michael Caputo did a nice job fighting through blocks on screens, and Missouri Western State corner Michael Jordan made an impression on a few plays with his coverage. Otherwise I am not sure the unit was properly challenged in this setting.