Day two of the Shrine Game kicked off this morning, and practice was actually outside! Yesterday practice was actually held in the ballroom at the team hotel. Needless to say, there is not much information to gather from that type of practice. Today it was great to see the team out on the field in the beautiful Florida sunshine. Here's my thoughts from day two in Orlando...
WEST TEAM
QUARTERBACK
Jerrod Johnson (Texas A&M) has trouble completing a pass. His motion is elongated and very loose. His new nickname will be 'double clutch' because he'll go to throw, then stop his motion and hold the ball. Sometimes he'll hold the ball for over 8 seconds then try to force some impossible pass. He even threw a pass so far out of bounds that it sailed over all the scouts and almost over the fence around the field! He can run but is a long strider, so eluding pressure is a problem.
Nathan Enderle (Idaho) has the tools to be a good quarterback, but he is not having a good showing in Orlando. Too often he's not delivering the football on time, and the late passes are regularly broken up. Today he was wobbling a few of his deep passes.
Scott Tolzien (Wisconsin) has a stronger arm than I expected. He has a 3/4 motion, so there is a concern about batting down passes. It seems like he puts everything he has into every throw. I haven't seen much touch on his deep passes, but most of the time he's staying safe with underneath routes and check downs. Solid when throwing between the numbers.
RUNNING BACK
Alex Green (Hawaii) is a strong runner who runs bigger than his size. He has a low center of gravity and good leg drive. He's a good receiver out of the backfield and gets up the field quickly after the catch. I also like his cutback ability. Everyone here is really impressed with him, and he should move up a few draft boards because of this.
Da'Rel Scott (Maryland) showed good hands and concentration catching passes out of the backfield. I like the way he can cut on a run and not lose much momentum.
Vai Taua (Nevada) didn't show up much in my notebook today. He's a decent receiver, but doesn't seem to have much burst after the catch.
WIDE RECEIVER/TIGHT END
Anthony Parker (Calgary) had a one handed catch today and made it look easy over the middle. Running routes against man coverage is a different story. He lacks the ability to set up defenders and thus does not get separation after his break. He also kept slipping when he would try to make a cut. This happened several times in a row. His feet seem to be heavy and he runs out of control. On a deep pass he showed poor ball tracking ability, actually turning in a 360 to find a pass that sailed past him cause he lost it in the air. I did see a good vertical leap from him on a sideline pass.
Ryan Whalen (Stanford) is making plays and getting a lot of attention down here. Good friend Wes Bunting from NFP compared him to Blair White, but he looks better than White did last year. Whalen is also more muscular than White. Whalen is fearless when going over the middle and plays with an almost reckless abandon. He is going 100mph in everything he does. He makes his break, gets open, catches naturally, then turns up field and turns on the speed. He's not the fastest guy on the field but he is pretty damn quick.
Aldrick Robinson (SMU) has a little Dexter McCluster in his game. He's small but scrappy and can be used a number of different ways. He does body catch a few passes from time to time. They ran an end around with him that turned into a big play. He has good balance and takes short/choppy steps running through traffic.
Armon Binns (Cincinnati) is an exciting receiver to watch! He caught a pass off balance that he tipped to himself and caught while falling flat on his back. he slipped on the wet surface once, but had the recovery burst to still catch the pass. He caught one pass on his back hip, was tackled in the process, yet still held onto the ball. Very strong hands and elite concentration. He has quick breaks and can really accelerate out of his cuts. He did run an out route too short, which led the WR coach to say 'get to 10, roll to 12!!!!' Binnis corrected that on the next rep. It reminds me of watching Seyi Ajirotutu last year and his willingness to learn.
O.J. Murdock (Ft. Hays State) takes too long to throttle down when making cuts. That was the only note on him today.
Jordan Cameron (USC - TE) reminds me of Saints TE Jimmy Graham. He's a former basketball star and does what a hoops player does well. he 'boxes out' defenders for the football, and knows how to square his shoulders to the line of scrimmage. Not quite as athletic as Graham, but good hands, smooth runner, good run after the catch ability.
Julius Thomas (Portland State - TE) is getting some buzz down here in Orlando. Some in the scouting community have compared him to Packers TE Jermichael Finley. He has that body type and plays more like a super sized wide receiver. Rarely drops a pass, and likely a late round pick that will find a way to make an impact at the next level. Looks better than Ed Dickson did at the Senior Bowl last year.
elaware quarterback Pat Devlin garnered preseason attention for both his talent and the natural comparison to former Blue Hen and current Ravens' Pro Bowl starter Joe Flacco. He was easily the most impressive passer Tuesday. His footwork and posture in the pocket was solid and he consistently delivered tight spirals. He was generally accurate, throwing a bit ahead of or behind his target, which is largely expected in an all-star setting, as quarterbacks and receivers lack timing based on unfamiliarity.
and obviously my report is much more in line with Chad's. Overall, the QB play is the worst I've ever seen it at this game in 5 years of covering it. Devlin and Tolzien are only impressive because they're not completely terrible like the other guys. Enderle still has the tools (although some just hate him, I am not one of those people) but he's not having a good week....a little better today than he was yesterday.
Sherman is rock solid IMO.
