A few prominent players who made their names known in the AAC have garnered early praise at the Senior Bowl this week as practice began and weigh-ins took place Tuesday.
As expected, a lot of the early focus at the Senior Bowl was on the quarterbacks, and ECU’s Shane Carden impressed on day one. Charlotte Observer reporter Jonathan Jones wrote that Carden was “sharp in his delivery and on target with his receivers,” and that he “stood above” fellow quarterbacks Bryce Petty of Baylor and Sean Mannion of Oregon State.
When Carden spoke with reporters before practice, he said, “I’m just here to show what kind of guy I am. The work ethic I have and accountability I have. I also want to show I can do it from under center. I’ve studied it quite a bit so I’m ready to go today.”
Fellow Pirate and Carden’s favorite target Justin Hardy, the FBS record holder for career receptions, was noted by NFL Media analyst Daniel Jeremiah to have had a good practice, as he said, “He made a lot of plays out there.” Most experts are projecting Hardy to play in the slot at the NFL level, especially after he measured in a bit shorter than expected at 5’10 1/2″.
Justin Hardy good hands and ball skills. https://t.co/v9iwL3XLhe
— Joe G (@JoeGoodberry) January 21, 2015
//platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsOne of the leading tacklers in the AAC in 2014, Cincinnati linebacker Jeff Luc stunned many during the “Underwear Olympics,” after he weighed in at 5’11 3/4″ and 263 pounds.
Jeff Luc wins weigh in. Jesus he’s rocked up at 5116 & 263. Rippling muscle, bubble butt — Jeff Risdon (@JeffRisdon) January 20, 2015
Despite the fact that Risdon’s reference to Luc’s “bubble butt” takes draft analysis to a whole other level of awkwardness that I thought ogling men in their underwear could not surpass, I do respect his opinion as a lead writer for RealGM. Risdon later wrote that he projects Luc as a “3-4 ILB who needs to come off the field in passing downs, but his physicality can be an asset against the run and on special teams.”
Luc also received some praise from Titans Online writer Joe Fann, who wrote that the former Bearcat “won two-consecutive 1-on-1 battles in coverage against running backs going deep. He was able to keep up and force a good throw from the quarterback. Both went incomplete.”
The Reese’s Senior Bowl will be played this Saturday in Mobile, Alabama at Ladd-Peebles Stadium at 4 p.m. ET. The game will be shown live on NFL Network.//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
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