The first day of practice leading up to the 2017 Reese’s Senior Bowl on Saturday is in the books. Here are the big takeaways from the first day in Mobile.
The 2017 Reese’s Senior Bowl has seen its first day of practice at Ladd Peebles Stadium in Mobile come to an end. Hue Jackson’s Cleveland Browns staff and the South team took to the field at 2:00 p.m. ET. John Fox’s Chicago Bears staff and the North team would begin practice at 4:30 p.m. ET.
Overall, the South got more out of their practice than did the North. Jackson’s staff looked far more organized than Fox’s in the first day of Senior Bowl practice. However, that could have more to do with getting an extra hour of practice than Fox’s team. Here are the big takeaways from the first day of practice in Mobile broken down by position group.
Quarterbacks
With so much install and so many new faces, Tuesday was not a great day for quarterbacks. None of the six signal callers really lit it up with either great arm strength or precision. The two best quarterbacks on Tuesday were easily Cal’s Davis Webb for the South and Colorado’s Sefo Liufau for the North.
Webb had the best passing mechanics and was completing short-to-medium throws with confidence. Despite playing in a spread offense with questionable arm strength, Liufau seemed to have the best footwork under center of all the passers. He may not have NFL arm strength, but playing under center isn’t going to be an issue for him.
Tennessee’s Joshua Dobbs for the South had the best command of the huddle, but accuracy in the intermediate range was troubling. Tiffin’s Antonio Pipkin struggled mightily with play calling, frequently having to go back in the huddle for Jackson on the South.
Iowa’s C.J. Beathard for the North was kind of bland for the most part, but did showcase a quick flick of the wrist in the short passing game. Pittsburgh’s Nathan Peterman for the North didn’t live up to the hype as the best passer of the six heading into Tuesday’s practice. He looked like the Tennessee version of himself.
Running Backs
Jackson didn’t do much with the running backs on the South team. Though relentless, San Diego State running back Donnel Pumphrey looked very small for the South.
Fox did more with the running backs with his North team. Wisconsin’s Corey Clement was by far the best running back on Tuesday and he’s ready to take big-time carries at the next level. Toledo’s Kareem Hunt looks to be promising running off-tackle.
While most Michigan players looked utterly lethargic, running back De’Veon Smith made the most of his second all-star game opportunity, as he did not impress in last week’s East-West Shrine Game in St. Petersburg.
Tight Ends
The best player on the field Tuesday played tight. Not even the least bit shocking, Alabama’s O.J. Howard tore it up for the South. He’s a first-round talent. Given that the Browns do Browns thing, what if he went No. 12 to Cleveland? Howard looks to be the next Greg Olsen at tight end.
Ole Miss’ Evan Engram and South Alabama’s Gerald Everett project as strong receiving threats at the next level. They looked good right away under Jackson’s tutelage.
For the North, Arkansas’ Jeremy Sprinkle showed he can accelerate post-catch in man-to-man coverage. Toledo’s Mike Roberts showed flashes in the East-West Shrine Game last week. His invite this week is a sign that scouts really like this kid. Roberts seems to rise to the occasion against better-than-MAC competition.
Wide Receivers
There were four wide receivers that stood out in a good way on Tuesday: North Carolina’s Ryan Switzer and LSU’s Travis Dural for the South, and East Carolina’s Zay Jones and Louisiana Tech’s Trent Taylor for the North.
Switzer wants the ball more than anybody else. He’s small (5 feet 8 inches), but Switzer is an NFL player. Dural looked the most confident as a runner post-catch. Not really a shocker, as he played his college ball at LSU, a school that sends so many great wideouts to the pros.
Jones showed that he is fearless going vertical against the solid defensive backs on the North. Taylor, like Switzer, has a knack for finding the football. He can stop on a dime and possession receive.
Overall, it was a solid day for wide receivers. The only two negative comments are about Texas A&M’s Josh Reynolds and Grambling State’s Chad Williams for the South. Reynolds was consistently inconsistent, dropping catchable balls. He made plays too, but played like he did for years in College Station. Williams was pressing in this practice. He played tight. If he loosens up a bit, he’ll have a better Senior Bowl experience.
Offensive Linemen
We learned more about players in the trenches than anything on Tuesday. For the South, the two best offensive linemen were Western Kentucky’s Forrest Lamp and Miami’s Danny Isidora. Lamp shined as expected, as he has excellent hand placement and fears nobody as a competitor. Isidora surprised many with his great use of leverage. Along with Howard at tight end, he had the best day of anybody on the South.
It wasn’t all great up front for the South. LSU center Ethan Pocic looks to be too big play center at 6 feet 6 inches. He played alright, but didn’t use his length to his advantage. That’s not great for the tape Kentucky center Jon Toth struggled with the bull rush up front on one-on-one drills. UCLA tackle Conor McDermott looked rusty and was a tremendous liability at left tackle.
While the North didn’t get nearly the same amount of reps as the South did, three players stood out for Fox’s team. USC’s Zach Banner held the blind side well, using his massive 6-foot-8 inch frame to his advantage. However, he played a little too loose to be a serious first-round prospect. He’ll have to tighten it up in the next two days to reach for first-round status.
Bucknell’s Julien Davenport turned heads with his strong afternoon. Despite being an FCS player, he looks to be very coachable and will positively impact an NFL team’s offensive line. The most startling takeaway from the first day of practice was how bad Indiana’s Dan Feeney looked. He was an All-American, but spent the whole practice on the ground. He looked like Jonathan Cooper in the worst way possible. Caveat emptor.
Defensive Linemen
The South had a good day on the defensive line. UCLA’s Eddie Vanderdoes is full of energy, albeit a bit reckless. He could be something for some NFL team. Villanova’s Tanoh Kpassagnon isn’t as raw as Jackson’s staff expected. He was a pleasant surprise.
Texas A&M’s Daeshon Hall and Kansas State’s Jordan Willis are technicians in the pass rush. They could make immediate impacts at the NFL level. Auburn’s Montravius Adams had more fun than anybody on the field. He’s sloppy at times, but easily the most talented pass rusher on the South. Clemson’s Carlos Watkins struggled to get penetration and TCU’s Josh Carraway failed to impress.
Michigan’s Ryan Glasnow was probably the best of a bunch of mediocre Wolverines on Tuesday. He was the best pass rusher for Fox’s North team. His teammate Chris Wormley had no clue what position he played. Charlotte’s Larry Ogunjobi held his own.
Linebackers
The linebackers didn’t give us a lot to talk about after day one of Senior Bowl practice. Standouts for the South were Clemson’s Ben Boulware, Alabama’s Ryan Anderson and Utah’s Isaac Asiata. For the North, the standouts were Wisconsin’s Vince Biegel and Lindenwood’s Connor Harris.
Defensive Backs
The defensive backs in this Senior Bowl are outstanding. The three that were great for the South were LSU’s Tre’Davious White, Florida State’s Marquez White and San Diego State’s Damontae Kazee. LSU’s White was just toying with South wideouts and he’s too good to be at the Senior Bowl. Florida State’s White was very impressive. He would bait receivers to run compromised routes with his great footwork. Kazee projects as a strong vertical route cover corner.
Miami’s Corn Elder got burnt to a crisp a few times. Tennessee’s Cameron Sutton underwhelmed. He didn’t really have any interest in playing tight coverage on wide receivers. It was not a good day for his draft stock.
The two big standouts from the North secondary were Iowa’s Desmond King and West Virginia’s Rasul Douglas. King is a defensive back machine and his footwork is impeccable. This guy is going to be a star in the NFL. Whomever drafts hims in the back-end of the first round probably wins the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft. Zero bust potential with this playmaker, barring injury of course. Douglas has good ball skills, but is your stereotypical undisciplined perimeter player from West Virginia. He can be good with the right team.
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Special Teams
Like with the linebackers and running backs, there wasn’t a lot to take in from the special teams on Tuesday. The exception was Arizona State kicker Zane Gonzalez for the North. He has the potential to be a Pro Bowl kicker coming out of college. He really makes the Tampa Bay Buccaneers look stupid for trading up to draft Roberto Aguayo in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft out of Florida State.