01/23 - The teams will take off the pads for Thursdays practice and a number of NFL scouts and personnel men will be departing tonight because tomorrow will be more of a walk through session for the teams. The players that have helped themselves the most this week for the North team are as follows - Jersey # 4 WR Eddie Royal, #21 RB Justin Forsett and #89 TE Kellen Davis on the offensive side of the ball, as for the defensive side - Jersey #11 OLB Xavier Adibi, #19 CB Tracy Porter, #49 DT Sedric Ellis and #99 DE/OLB Bruce Davis helped themselves the most this week in my estimation.
North team Wednesday morning practice notes:
Highlights from the WR vs CB Press Coverage Drills - WR Jordy Nelson was impressive this morning beating the press, running crisp routes and catching everything thrown his way this morning...CB Terrell Thomas did a good job this morning in the cover drills and was able to position himself to knock down a ball intended for Eddie Royal of Virginia Tech...CB Tracy Porter continued to impress as he covered WR Eddie Royal of Virginia Tech like a blanket in one of the drills.
WR Adarius Bowman was able to position himself against Terrell Thomas to catch a TD pass from Josh Booty in a redzone drill.
DE Cliff Avril Purdue and OT Gosder Cherilus were involved in some fisticuffs this morning during the one on one pass rush drills ...Avril bull-rushed Cherilus knocking him backwards on one play and on the next snap Avril slipped to the ground and Cherilus flattened him which led to a brief scuffle.
Today's practice is the last day in pads for the teams.
DT Kentwan Balmer North Carolina has pulled himself out of the Senior Bowl practices with an undisclosed injury.
DL Bryan Mattison of Iowa has added to the North squad and participated in practice this morning.
Cal HB Justin Forsett was very impressive in the 11 on 11 drills and broke an off-tackle run that would have gone the distance in a real game and then ran a misdirection in a later drill and took it to the house for a score.
The tension between North coach Lane Kiffin and his DC Rob Ryan is evident as they have both gone out of their way to avoid each other and aren't on speaking terms.
USC Pete Carroll was in attendance at the morning practice.
The South has lost two receivers to injury this week as Early Doucet LSU is OUT the rest of the week with a hamstring strain and Limas Sweed of Texas is OUT the rest of the week because his previously injured wrist has yet to heal properly.
Two days worth of practices are now in the books and several players have made themselves money this week, but there are two prospects that top the list. Sedric Ellis a DT from USC was a top rated prospect going into this week but scouts wanted to verify his actual height which was 6-0.7, which was a bit on the short side, but better than if he were to have been 5-11. Ellis has been dominant in the first two days of practice and is destined to come off the board within the five to ten picks in the Draft. CB Tracy Porter of Indiana is another prospect that has elevated his stock this week with a first round grade being his reward. Porter has excelled in man coverage drills and recorded a pick 6 for a TD on Tuesday. He has tremendous speed and plans on running in the 4.2 range at the Combine in Indy and could come off the board within the first 20 picks in the upcoming Draft.
1/22 - North Tuesday morning practice notes:
LB Beau Bell UNLV appeared to have suffered a serious knee injury during the morning drills and is scheduled to have an MRI on his knee later today to determine if there was any damage.
One on One Pass rush drills -
Sedric Ellis USC beat Mike Pollack ASU twice...John Sullivan Notre Dame held off Sedric Ellis USC once but Ellis beat Sullivan with a nice swim technique the second time around...Roy Schuening Oregon St held off Chris Ellis Virginia Tech...Kirk Barton Ohio State used good leverage, locked his arms and stoned Jason Jones E. Michigan twice...Gosder Cherilus Boston College and Lawrence Jackson USC both got the better of each other once...Roy Schuening Oregon St held off Demario Pressley NC State...Gosder Cherilus Boston College and Bruce Davis UCLA both got the better of each other once.
OG Roy Schuening, OT John Sullivan and OT Kirk Barton were the most impressive O-Linemen in the morning practice.
WR vs CB Press Coverage Drills - CB Tracy Porter Indiana did a great job covering WR Jordy Nelson KSU and was very impressive throughout the morning practice...WR Adarius Bowman did a nice job of beating press coverage, but continued to struggle catching the football...WR Eddie Royal Virginia Tech used his quickness off the line to beat the press and CB Terrell Thomas USC for a TD thrown by Chad Henne...WR Eddie Royal beat CB DeJuan Tribble Boston College for a TD thrown by Josh Booty...WR Jordy Nelson KSU beat the press by CB Terrell Thomas for a TD thrown by Chad Henne.
CB Tracy Porter was the most impressive DB in the morning practice and took a pick-six back for a TD in the drills.
WR Eddie Royal continued to impress today displaying the ability to beat press coverage with his quickness.
01/21 - DT Sedric Ellis had a terrific Monday practice as he was unstoppable in the 1 on 1 drills....the only questionmark regarding Ellis coming into this week was his actual height....he was measured at 6-0.7 on Monday which satisfied the scouts in attendance...Ellis's arm length was measured at 32.5" which is a bit short, but Ellis will be a top 10 pick in the upcoming Draft...I have him penciled in as the KC Chiefs first round pick with the 5th overall pick in my latest mock.
DE Bruce Davis UCLA did a good job in pass rush drills using good leverage and displaying good quickness off the edge...Davis has the ability to become a Rush End in a 3-4 scheme.
Hawaii QB Colt Brennen's draft stock has taken a hit over the past three weeks, first with his poor performance in Hawaii's Bowl game against Georgia and on Monday he weighed in at just 185 at the official weigh in...Brennen will have to put on nearly 20 pounds and prove to the scouts that the weight he puts on won't hamper his overall game...Brennen carries a 4th round draft grade at best coming into the Senior Bowl week.
Senior Bowl weigh in notes - Hawaii QB Colt Brennen measured in at 6-2.2, but was a svelte 185 lbs which is at least 20 lbs less then what scouts want as an ideal minimum weight for an NFL quarterback...LSU OLB Ali Highsmith measured in at only 5-11.5, shorter than anticipated.
