Senior Bowl: Tuesday

[mayoclinic]

Tuesday South practice impressions from Wes Bunting at the National Football Post:

- "The guy who made the biggest impression on me during Tuesday’s South practice was Ole Miss RB Dexter McCluster. McCluster found ways to consistently separate during one-on-one drills, making plays both underneath and vertically down the field and was also impressive running the football between the tackles and accelerating into the open field. He may be slight, but if used correctly, this guy can create in a number of ways for an NFL offense." I haven't heard a bad word about McCluster yet.

- "Miami tight end Jimmy Graham looked a lot more explosive off the snap than I initially thought and did a nice job all day slipping the bump off the line and cleanly getting into his routes. He’s a tight end who can also get up to speed quickly and was able to generate some vertical separation down the field. He still struggles when asked to adjust to the ball, but he’s a really intriguing prospect with a lot of upside and looks to be improving every time he sets foot on the field."

- "I’ve always considered Troy defensive end Brandon Lang one of the most overrated prospects in the draft, and Tuesday’s performance again made me feel good about my assessment. He plays too high to be an efficient bull-rush threat at the next level and doesn’t look real coordinated or instinctive when asked to work his counter-move. He was handled all day in practice and doesn’t grade out any higher than a reserve-type lineman."

- "Kentucky cornerback Trevard Lindley is a frail, undersized corner who struggled when asked to be physical with receivers in coverage Tuesday. To make matters worse, he looked uncomfortable in his back-pedal in off-coverage and simply doesn’t project as a real effective man-to-man corner in the NFL."

- "Speaking of corners out of their element, Oklahoma State DB Perrish Cox definitely looks that way. The guy struggles to sit into his drop, has a tendency to get overextended with his footwork and is stiff when asked to turn and run. He also looked uncomfortable in off-coverage all day and needs a lot of work from a technique standpoint if he hopes to hold up in man at the next level."

Ten impressions from Day 2 South practice | National Football Post

 

[dryheat44]

Tuesday South practice impressions from Wes Bunting at the National Football Post:

- "Speaking of corners out of their element, Oklahoma State DB Perrish Cox definitely looks that way. The guy struggles to sit into his drop, has a tendency to get overextended with his footwork and is stiff when asked to turn and run. He also looked uncomfortable in off-coverage all day and needs a lot of work from a technique standpoint if he hopes to hold up in man at the next level."

Ten impressions from Day 2 South practice | National Football Post

Very odd. Draft insider said Cox was the best DB on the field.

 

[mayoclinic]

South practice notes from FootballsFuture.com:

- "In today’s practice, the day belonged to RB/WR tweener Dexter McCluster. He weighed in at 165 pounds, but is a tough football player. With a good 4.4 40 at the Combine, he’ll have solidified himself as a second round selection after the week he’s had here in Mobile. Today, McCluster ran a beautiful double move and made a nice diving catch on a deep ball delivered from Tim Tebow. While he showed some instinctive running in college, here at the Senior Bowl he’s shown precise route-running, which will give him value as a utility player."

- "Up front, it’s a little surprising how underrated Mike Johnson is right now. A number of people have discussed the two smaller school guard/tackles on the North team, but Johnson was arguably the best linemen in the country a year ago. He measured in at a solid 6’5, 306 yesterday, but with short 32 ¼ inch arms. That’s a little disappointing, but through the first two practices, he hasn’t budged at all. He’s been equally impressive in pass protection and run-blocking in both one-on-ones and in team drills. I could easily see him being the interior lineman that makes the smoothest transition to the pros."

- "Terrence Cody finally stepped up today after showing up out of weight and struggling Monday according to a number of those who watched the South team practice. Today Cody was unblockable and he did so by powering straight through the offensive linemen who attempted to get in his way. In combination block (2 OL vs. 1 DL), Cody held up well and had his way with Ted Larsen on back-to-back plays in the individual match-ups. His power and explosiveness will translate to the NFL, but he needs to keep his conditioning going. I’ll try to keep an eye on him throughout the rest of the week to see how he’s holding up between drills and as practice wears on."

- "Among linebackers, Eric Norwood is probably the biggest name on the South team. He had an up and down day. He looked better than expected in covering running backs sticking with them in tight coverage, but just couldn’t make the play on the ball. Coming for someone known to have stiff hips in coverage, it wasn’t all that bad of a day."

- "Taylor Mays is very stiff and doesn’t seem to have the natural hips to flip and turn with receivers in man coverage. His forte is staying over the top in deep zones and coming up to make hits. He’s a much better player facing the line of scrimmage with everything in front of him."

2010 Senior Bowl: Tuesday South Recap

 

[mayoclinic]

Tuesday North practice notes from FootballsFuture.com:

- "Yesterday’s smaller school stars, Vladimir Ducasse and Mike Iupati were asked to do more today. Ducasse took some reps inside where he struggled with technique where Tyson Alualu beat him on successive snaps in one-on-ones. Iupati on the other hand was asked to play some left tackle. It was quite obvious that it was new to him as he struggled to adjust his footwork. Alex Carrington blew right past him on one encounter and even left Iupati on the ground on another. I think it’s a stretch to ask Iupati to play left tackle at the next level when he has such great potential as an All-Pro guard."

- "Last year we had Lawrence Sidbury, a small school defensive end, who was dashing past tackles every time we saw him. This year, it’s Alex Carrington who’s making a splash. Carrington is built in a different mold than Sidbury though, with a 6’5, 284 pound body. He has great speed off the snap, but also has the strength and hands to attack the chest of tackles to go right through them. Carrington has made as big an impact as anyone could have imagined, including a pair of plays where he beat Mike Iupati in one-on-one drills, while drawing some buzz in the stands."

- "To me, it’s still stunning with how underrated Brandon Graham is. Few people look at his size and short arms to pinpoint downfalls on Graham, but that’s all he has going against him really. He’s been stout against the run and has some of the best hand use I’ve seen coming of out college in the last several years. He plays the run well, but also has the athleticism to potentially stand up, which we should get a good look at next month. With the way he’s played this week, he continues to remind of LaMarr Woodley and even a little bit of Trent Cole."

- "Austen Lane jumped out on several occasions in the drills."

- "Sean Weatherspoon is another athletic linebacker with great range. In the team portion of practice, he flowed well from sideline to sideline and did a nice job of disengaging from blockers on several plays."

- "Continuing from yesterday, Kyle Wilson picked up where he left off. Though he didn’t get his hands on as many balls, it’s obvious that he’s the most polished cornerback on this North team. His football IQ is high and he plays with sound technique play after play. I’d be shocked if he didn’t find himself in the first round after this week."

- "Syd’Quan Thompson is another corner really turning heads. He isn’t as polished or as good a cover corner, but exciting to watch because of his physical play. Thompson isn’t afraid to jam receivers at the line and is also a willing tackler in run support. He excels at reading and breaking on 3-step drops, but can be beat down the field, as he was by Mardy Gilyard today."

2010 Senior Bowl: Tuesday North Recap

 

[BritPat]

I'd sacrifice a kidney to see the Pats draft a Woodley/Cole.

 

[captain stone]

- "Several sources have told that Alabama junior linebacker Rolando McClain really wanted to stay with the Tide for his senior season but did not see eye-to-eye with coach Nick Saban, which gave him the impetus to leave."

Senior Bowl Buzz: Tuesday PM

Terrific.

Nice friend you have there, Bill. He convinces McClain to leave, instead of convincing him to stay so that we could have a legit chance at him with Oakland's #1 in '11.

Thanks for nothing.

 

[chevss454]

Posted by: Chris Steuber
at 01/27/2010 04:06 PM ET
Steuber Impressed with Ole Miss WR

Ole Miss WR Dexter McCluster is very explosive. His initial burst is quicker than any prospect that I've ever seen.