Jene Bramel
Footballguy
Combined musings from Matt Waldman, Cecil Lammey and I from Day 1 at the Fifth Down Blog this morning.
Will get to see both the North and South practices today. Hoping for a little better weather, but the field turf today should remove some of the poor footing vs iffy footwork questions I had watching the South defenders yesterday. Won't get a chance to add to this thread until later tonight, but I'm planning to add some quick impressions to my Twitter feed throughout the day. You can send me questions there as well.
Cross-posting my extended thoughts from the main thread on the Senior Bowl in the Shark Pool here.
Some of this will be redundant from our Fifth Down blog article, but here's what caught my eye while watching the South practice yesterday.
Quinton Coples was the best defensive lineman of a group that included Melvin Ingram and Courtney Upshaw today. Played a little high (frequent issue for him) but showed a strong inside rip and swim move, a good bull rush and the ability to win on the edge. If he finishes the week as consistently as he started it, he’ll both allay concerns about his so-so senior season and be forced to answer questions about his effort when teams interview him before the draft.
Melvin Ingram is incredibly athletic for his body type. He and Courtney Upshaw are sharing reps in a role that will have them play in both a two and three point stance. Ingram was mostly successful with a bull rush, but seems to lack a consistent finishing move, which could hurt him if he’s unable to beat better offensive linemen off the edge. I didn't find Ingram as impressive in team drills as Russ Lande did yesterday, but didn't feel like he hurt himself with his play either.
Upshaw looked really thick at the weigh-in (273 pounds) and seemed to lack flexibility during stretches, but was athletic during drills. He didn’t stand out as a pass rusher, but I was usually watching Coples and Brandon Thompson during his reps.
I really like Brandon Thompson. Low pad level, anchors well, controls blockers when he’s not moving forward. Probably not much of a pass rusher, though.
Bummed that Devon Still and Andre Branch bailed this week with minor injuries. Particularly bummed on Branch, who I wanted to see in person.
They’ve got Jake Bequette playing strong side linebacker in practice. In these practices, that’s had him dropping in coverage in passing situations rather than rushing the passer. He’s struggled and it’s almost certainly due more to athletic limitations than comfort level and experience in a two point stance.
I really want to like one of these inside backers.
I saw Emmanuel Acho and Nigel Bradham today. Bradham was a little more impressive at the weigh-in. Both were inconsistent on the field. I think Bradham has more upside as a potential sideline-to-sideline MLB, but he needs work in coverage. I liked what I read about Acho, but Chad Reuter told me that he felt he was iffy between the tackles and probably not fast enough to survive outside. He seemed more instinctive in today’s limited sample than Bradham but looked very much like Reuter’s assessment.
The North guys may prove to be the better talents. Both James-Michael Johnson and Bobby Wagner looked good at the weigh-in and the scouts here seems to be high on one or the other over both the South guys. Reuter likened Wagner to Donald Butler, a guy I’ve always liked. Love to see him live up to that standard.
Keenan Robinson looked great in individual drills, very fluid for his size. Seemed to change direction well enough, but was often a step behind when the TE broke down out of his route. Not sure what to make of those differing observations.
Sean Spence and Zach Brown have been the weak side linebackers. South used under fronts all day, which left both guys as chase OLBs and zone depth cover backers. Good fit for both. Spence weighed in at 228, a great number for him. He held his ground when blocked, but didn’t shed well. Looked as instinctive as billed, though. Brown was underwhelming during individual drills – Robinson moved through the pad drills better – but looked better in the team drills. Have a feeling he’ll pop tomorrow and Wednesday.
Lavonte David also measured well at 225, but doesn’t have a frame to add much more. Most seem to favor him over Spence as the better undersized Will. Looking forward to watching him tomorrow.
Didn’t watch the corner play at all, though reports suggest that Alfonzo Dennard disappointed on the North side. Did hear that Ryan Steed had his moments in man coverage, but was also told that he struggled badly on other plays.
South coaches had Antonio Allen as the deep safety when they worked Cover-1. Didn’t watch closely but he wasn’t as impressive as Brandon Taylor in that role. That’s not all that surprising, but Allen could keep his stock relatively high if he proves he can handle some zone coverage reads. George Iloka measured 6-4, 222 at the weigh-in. If he’s as good a two-way prospect as advertised, he’s arguably right with Taylor as the next most versatile safety behind Mark Barron (who also decided not to come to Mobile at the final hour).
Will get to see both the North and South practices today. Hoping for a little better weather, but the field turf today should remove some of the poor footing vs iffy footwork questions I had watching the South defenders yesterday. Won't get a chance to add to this thread until later tonight, but I'm planning to add some quick impressions to my Twitter feed throughout the day. You can send me questions there as well.
Cross-posting my extended thoughts from the main thread on the Senior Bowl in the Shark Pool here.
Some of this will be redundant from our Fifth Down blog article, but here's what caught my eye while watching the South practice yesterday.
Quinton Coples was the best defensive lineman of a group that included Melvin Ingram and Courtney Upshaw today. Played a little high (frequent issue for him) but showed a strong inside rip and swim move, a good bull rush and the ability to win on the edge. If he finishes the week as consistently as he started it, he’ll both allay concerns about his so-so senior season and be forced to answer questions about his effort when teams interview him before the draft.
Melvin Ingram is incredibly athletic for his body type. He and Courtney Upshaw are sharing reps in a role that will have them play in both a two and three point stance. Ingram was mostly successful with a bull rush, but seems to lack a consistent finishing move, which could hurt him if he’s unable to beat better offensive linemen off the edge. I didn't find Ingram as impressive in team drills as Russ Lande did yesterday, but didn't feel like he hurt himself with his play either.
Upshaw looked really thick at the weigh-in (273 pounds) and seemed to lack flexibility during stretches, but was athletic during drills. He didn’t stand out as a pass rusher, but I was usually watching Coples and Brandon Thompson during his reps.
I really like Brandon Thompson. Low pad level, anchors well, controls blockers when he’s not moving forward. Probably not much of a pass rusher, though.
Bummed that Devon Still and Andre Branch bailed this week with minor injuries. Particularly bummed on Branch, who I wanted to see in person.
They’ve got Jake Bequette playing strong side linebacker in practice. In these practices, that’s had him dropping in coverage in passing situations rather than rushing the passer. He’s struggled and it’s almost certainly due more to athletic limitations than comfort level and experience in a two point stance.
I really want to like one of these inside backers.
I saw Emmanuel Acho and Nigel Bradham today. Bradham was a little more impressive at the weigh-in. Both were inconsistent on the field. I think Bradham has more upside as a potential sideline-to-sideline MLB, but he needs work in coverage. I liked what I read about Acho, but Chad Reuter told me that he felt he was iffy between the tackles and probably not fast enough to survive outside. He seemed more instinctive in today’s limited sample than Bradham but looked very much like Reuter’s assessment.
The North guys may prove to be the better talents. Both James-Michael Johnson and Bobby Wagner looked good at the weigh-in and the scouts here seems to be high on one or the other over both the South guys. Reuter likened Wagner to Donald Butler, a guy I’ve always liked. Love to see him live up to that standard.
Keenan Robinson looked great in individual drills, very fluid for his size. Seemed to change direction well enough, but was often a step behind when the TE broke down out of his route. Not sure what to make of those differing observations.
Sean Spence and Zach Brown have been the weak side linebackers. South used under fronts all day, which left both guys as chase OLBs and zone depth cover backers. Good fit for both. Spence weighed in at 228, a great number for him. He held his ground when blocked, but didn’t shed well. Looked as instinctive as billed, though. Brown was underwhelming during individual drills – Robinson moved through the pad drills better – but looked better in the team drills. Have a feeling he’ll pop tomorrow and Wednesday.
Lavonte David also measured well at 225, but doesn’t have a frame to add much more. Most seem to favor him over Spence as the better undersized Will. Looking forward to watching him tomorrow.
Didn’t watch the corner play at all, though reports suggest that Alfonzo Dennard disappointed on the North side. Did hear that Ryan Steed had his moments in man coverage, but was also told that he struggled badly on other plays.
South coaches had Antonio Allen as the deep safety when they worked Cover-1. Didn’t watch closely but he wasn’t as impressive as Brandon Taylor in that role. That’s not all that surprising, but Allen could keep his stock relatively high if he proves he can handle some zone coverage reads. George Iloka measured 6-4, 222 at the weigh-in. If he’s as good a two-way prospect as advertised, he’s arguably right with Taylor as the next most versatile safety behind Mark Barron (who also decided not to come to Mobile at the final hour).
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