The Reese’s Senior Bowl officially started today as the prospects were measured in the morning. The North team was the first to practice at Ladd Peebles Stadium here in Mobile, Alabama. There were definitely some guys that stood out at weigh ins and in practice. Day one usually takes a bit to get going as a lot of the prospects haven’t played in a while and need to shake off some rust. Let’s take a look at some of the guys that stood out today.
Eye Ball Test
Antwan Goodley WR Baylor 5-10 210 lbs
Ty Montgomery WR Stanford 5-11 216 lbs
Jeff Luc ILB Cincinnati 5-11 261 lbs
Tyler Varga RB Yale 5-10 227 lbs
Trenton Brown OT Florida 6-8 376 lbs
Standout Performers
The quarterbacks left much to be desired in the first practice. Sean Mannion is a big armed QB that can get the ball down field very well but he struggles if he has to throw on the move and in the mid range passing game. Bryce Petty showed some pretty good footwork and made a few nice throws in one on ones. Shane Carden didn’t get as many opportunities and looked smaller than anticipated. He was late on a few throws, especially the deep comebacks. The quarterbacks struggled a bit and that made it harder to really get a look at the wide receivers but there were some that stood out for sure.
Baylor WR Antwan Goodley did a really good job of winning in his routes. He set Josh Shaw up very nicely on a dig route and made a very nice hands catch away from his body. Goodley did well against press coverage and is a play maker. He likes to get physical with defensive backs. It showed today.
East Carolina WR Justin Hardy is a smooth receiver that runs routes very well. He clearly showed that he has above average catching ability. He caught all of the passes thrown his way with his hands. He gets in and out of breaks pretty well.
Duke WR Jamison Crowder was the star of the day. None of the defensive backs could guard him in one on ones. He is a shifty, smaller slot receiver with a lot of quicks. He was the most impressive and hardest receiver to guard today. It is very clear that he understands how to set up defensive backs att
Nebraska RB Ameer Abdullah looked good catching the ball out of the backfield. He seemed like a natural running wheel routes.
Cincinnati ILB Jeff Luc is a big linebacker at 261 lbs but he moves pretty sell. He struggled a bit in coverage against Abdullah but he looked good in drills. He did a good job of breaking down and coming down the line to the running backs.
USC ILB Hayes Pullard moved very well. He is built like a big safety and he moves like a safety in space.
Washington DT Danny Shelton was the best player on the field today. He was the vocal leader and one of few sources of energy on the North team. He did a good job of communicating with the other lineman and stood out during inside period. Take a look at what he did to Max Garcia, a 6-4 307 lb lineman from Florida:
Danny Shelton. #SeniorBowlhttps://t.co/XuradgniJg
— PDS (@PatDStat) January 21, 2015
Penn State DB Adrian Amos looked good in drills and during 7 on 7s. He seemed to have a knack for finding the football which is a trait that you always want in a free safety. He dropped down and covered a few receivers as well.
Oregon State CB Steven Nelson is very smooth and competes on every rep. He’s not the biggest corner but he didn’t hesitate to get physical with the receivers. He has some press ability as well.
USC CB Josh Shaw looked very good today. He had no problem coming up and pressing the receivers. It was natural to him. He was coming off of a solid week at the East West Shrine game and was full of confidence. He did a good job of getting his hands on receivers and has a pretty strong initial punch.
Surprise Performer
Casey Pierce from Kent State really caught my eye today. He made a one hand catch look really easy during team period. He’s a tight end that can play in line or flexed wide. Pierce is a former basketball player. He showed pretty good acceleration when he pulled away from Hayes Pullard on a seam route. Pullard was running with him stride for stride but when the ball was in the air, Pierce hit another gear and created almost two yards of separation as he pulled the ball in over his inside shoulder. Pierce is a player to watch. He was a late addition to the Senior Bowl but is a very solid pass catcher.
Sleeper
Quentin Rollins is a corner from Miami-Ohio that struggled a bit today but he will improve as he gets more comfortable. This past year was his first year playing football after playing point guard on the Miami-Ohio basketball team. He clearly has some ball skills as shown by his 16 pass breaks and seven interceptions last season. Mike Mayock of the NFL Network told me that Rollins is a guy that really intrigues him.
There will be plenty of guys that take the next step at the Wednesday practices. Some of the small school guys will settle in and show that they belong. Expect a big practice out of Ty Montgomery. He has speed and is working his way back from an injury that caused him to miss the last two games of the season.
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