Senior Bowl Day Two Observations

First of all, if you didn’t read my buddy Jeff Cavanaugh’s Senior Bowl Day 1 piece, then you should check it out right here.

I’ve decided to handle Day 2, and then Jeff will finish off the practice portion by covering Day 3.

Let’s start with the practice from the North squad.

*Michael Gallup is clearly the best wide receiver on the North team. In the defensive backs vs. wide receivers 1-on-1 drill, he breezed past the cornerback on the vertical route and tracked the ball to the back corner of the end zone. As an aside, that ball was delivered by Wyoming Quarterback Josh Allen. All Michael Gallup does is win, win, win, no matter what.

*One player that caught everyone’s eyes on the second day was Penn State Wide Receiver DaeSean Hamilton. Hamilton weighed in at 6006 / 202 lbs. and really flashed during the 1-on-1 drills. He does a good job of using his eyes and shoulders to get open. He has a subtle shimmy that he used multiple times to get open. While his upper body moves, his legs stay on course. In the team portion, he routed up Texas A&M safety Armani Watts on the deep dig route. I must admit that he’s a prospect that I didn’t know much about, but he’s done a good job of raising his stock this week (and also last week at the Shrine Game).

*Iowa State Wide Receiver Allen Lazard is 6042 and 227lbs. New Mexico State Wide Receiver Jaleel Scott is 6047 and 216lbs. These guys clearly jump out at you because of their length, but in the 1-on-1 drills against defensive backs, both wide receivers looked kind of sluggish on intermediate routes. Whether it was an inward breaking route, a slant, or a simple out route, you can tell that these are a couple of guys who will fit the mold of physical wide receiver, but will also have issues getting separation in the NFL. Scott is the more explosive player, while Lazard is more of the lumbering big guy type. I think Jaleel Scott has a chance to go in the 2nd round of the draft, but one thing he needs to work on is staying low and not standing straight up at the top of the route. At almost 6’5″ they had him working out of the slot in team drills.

*Fort Hays State defensive tackle Nathan Shepherd had to leave practice and will miss the Senior Bowl with a hand injury. He’s been rising throughout the draft process despite being from Fort Hays State. Yes, I said it. Fort Hays State.

*UTEP Offensive Guard Will Hernandez continues to be one of my favorite players in the draft. I do have a tiny concern though: that he will sometimes hold against quicker rushers who don’t go straight at him.

*Is it me or does Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen not throw a lot of spirals? Seemed like every other ball was wobbly.

*I just don’t see it for Washington State quarterback Luke Falk. The arm strength is a clear issue, but he also struggled with the basic halfback toss. The transition from the Mike Leach offense to the NFL is going to be another obstacle in his way.

*It was pretty apparent in team drills that Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield sees things a little faster than the other quarterback on the North squad.

*I really enjoyed the discussion on comps on the NFL Network. Daniel Jeremiah admitting that NFL draft rooms use comparisons to help in their discussion of players. I really think that (if you’re a rational person) comps are okay to talk about and can help give you a solid feel for the player. If you are not a rational person, then you might take things a little too literally when discussing a comparison. I’ve learned over time that Twitter is not full of rational people.

*In the 1-on-1 rush period, Washington State offensive lineman Cole Madison easily handled Stanford defensive tackle Harrison Phillips. There are a lot of people that have Phillips as a first round player, but I have to say: after my film study, I just don’t agree. He’s strong and has long arms, but I haven’t seen a ton of pass rush moves or nuance to his game. I kind of see him as a mauling wrestling type of guy, which is fine, but I don’t like him in the first round.

*I haven’t studied Rutgers outside linebacker Kemoko Turay yet, but I liked the jets off the edge. He was rushing from a two-point stance, and at 6’4″ 250 lbs., he really looks the part of a standing edge player in a 3-4 defense. I saw power give him problems off the edge, but he was able to easily get around Pittsburgh offensive tackle Brian O’Neill, and I’m projecting O’Neill to go in the first two rounds.

*Oklahoma edge rusher Ogbonnia Okoronkwo has been really fun to watch. Oregon left tackle (and likely day two prospect) Tyrell Crosby didn’t have a chance containing him off the edge as Okoronkwo beat him to the outside. On the next rep, Okoronkwo set him up to the outside and then used the spin move to win on the inside. You could really see the bend and quickness from Okoronkwo, and that’s a big part of why he’s in the discussion as a late first round or early second round type of player. In this weak EDGE draft class, I wouldn’t be surprised to see someone pop him late in the first round.

*When you talk about North Carolina State, one of the first things that comes to mind is Bradley Chubb, who will likely be a top ten draft pick in this year’s draft. Defensive tackle B.J. Hill is also starting to generate some buzz; he showed incredible get-off and power in the 1 on 1 pass rush drills. At 6033 and 321lbs, he’s an ideal one technique in the Cowboys 4-3 defense.

*When you talk about North Carolina State, one of the first things that comes to mind is B.J. Hill, who I just wrote about in the paragraph above and will likely be a day two pick in this year’s draft. Justin Jones is starting to catch some eyes; he showed an impressive bull rush and did a great job with hand placement and arm extension to shock Washington State offensive lineman Cole Madison. He gave UTEP guard Will Hernandez some trouble as well. At 6023 and 311lbs, Jones can play either interior defensive line position.

Now let’s take a look at some news and notes from the South squad practice.

*We’ll start it off with a few offensive line observations. Georgia guard Isaiah Wynn is incredible. I’m not sure he’s going to be available when it’s the Cowboys turn to pick in the second round at #50.

*TCU offensive tackle Joe Noteboom had no trouble at all with the very hyped up UTSA edge rusher Marcus Davenport. I don’t know much about Noteboom yet, but it has been a worrisome week so far for Davenport. After putting his hand in the ground on Tuesday, on day two he was primarily rushing from a two point stance. It seemed like his get-off just wasn’t as prominent as it was during the season.

*By all accounts, Alabama center Bradley Bozeman hadn’t been beaten yet this week …until day two when he went up against University of Texas defensive tackle Poona Ford. Ford measured in under six feet tall and weighs over three hundred pounds, but he has some quickness to his game for such a stubby exterior.

*Alabama defensive tackle Da’Shawn Hand has the reputation as a guy who’s good against the run but struggles as a pass rusher. I thought he did a good job using his hands and knifing through the line against Nevada’s Austin Corbett.

*Good day for North Carolina A&T tackle Brandon Parker. He’s over 6’7″ so the length is a given, but I was impressed with how he handled the speed rush of USC edge rusher Uchenna Nwosu. He then switched to the other side and stonewalled Marcus Davenport.

*I’m intrigued by Missouri wide receiver J’Mon Moore. He showed some nuance to his route running, setting up the defender in the one on one drills. At over 6’2″ and 210 pounds, Moore looks a little bit lanky, but he was getting separation in the one on one period.

*I was disappointed to see Oklahoma State wide receiver James Washington going up against a clean release in off-coverage in the one on one drills. Playing in Stillwater, Washington rarely had to deal with press coverage. It’s one of my biggest questions about him along with the limited route tree. It’d be nice if they make him go up against some good press coverage in day three.

*The poor quarterback play from the South squad made me nauseous.

That’s all for day two in Mobile at the Senior Bowl. I’ll pass the baton back to Jeff for the day three report. Stay locked in to TheUpsetSports.com for some really great NFL draft coverage as we continue on our path to April 26th.

Kevin “KT” Turner is the producer of the Ben and Skin show on 105.3 The Fan. You can follow him on twitter @ktfuntweets. KT wants you to know that he loves you.