Senior Bowl Diary: Day 1

Today at practice we finally got to see both teams play – and in ideal weather. The sun was shining and even though there was a bit of a nip in the air the field conditions were perfect. It was a great sign especially after a slippery Monday. Full pads allowed for many players to state their cases – who stood out and who dropped the ball? Here are some of my rambling observations.

NORTH

None of the North quarterbacks really stood out to me. But I did keep an eye on footwork early on and it’s unanimous that Russell Wilson is the most natural in his dropback. His steps are natural, light, and unforced. If this was beach football, he would hardly leave a footprint. His height and arm are still obvious concerns but the fact that the Keep Reading…

At Senior Bowl media night, I caught up with a few athletes. Here are the conversations:

Georgia Offensive Lineman Cordy Glenn

How was your first day of practice?

Good. Pretty good, I thought I did pretty good for not knowing what to expect. I was just trying to pick up on some of the things the coaches wanted out of us. I think this next practice I’ll be more prepared and more ready to know exactly what’s going on and what we’ll be doing.

You were at left tackle in practice today, is that where you see yourself in the NFL?

Honestly man, I just wanna play for a team and get drafted. I can play left tackle or guard, I’m pretty good at both.

You don’t have a preference?

Nope.

Is there a specific defender who has stood out to you yet as a really Keep Reading…

Senior Bowl Diary: Day 1

Monday practices started off with Weigh-Ins. Official measurements will be posted soon. Looking at shirtless dudes can give a pretty solid grasp of their physique and possibly hint at their work ethic (in the gym at least). Not all players were comment worthy but here are some of the notes that I jotted down about random players as they came up.

(Alphabetical order)

OT Mike Adams OSU

Extremely long, really cool tattoos (sorry, I had to)

CB Brandon Boykin UGA

Jacked, probably has the lowest body fat percentage of all the prospects in Mobile

LB Zach Brown UNC

Hearing that he runs a 4.4 I was expecting him to be more of a gym rat but he just appeared to be normal, not overly jacked and obviously not out of shape.

DE/DT Quinton Coples UNC

Like his teammate Brown, not super toned. In fact, Keep Reading…

With an exciting week of Senior Bowl practices rapidly approaching, there is plenty for top prospects to prove. In honor of practices beginning on the 23rd of January, here are 23 questions that I have about 23 prospects heading in to Mobile:

WR Joe Adams, Arkansas – Can he play receiver?

It may seem like an odd question but if Joe Adams wasn’t a special teams stud this invite to Mobile may have never happened. Consistent hands catching would go a long ways because you know Adams will make people miss if he can get the ball with room to run.

OLB Zach Brown, North Carolina – Will he show that he is more than just a physical specimen?

Zach Brown will easily be the most athletic linebacker in Mobile, but at times he appears to just be running somewhere fast without a purpose. How Brown performs in Keep Reading…

Though many believed it was a long-shot that a redshirt sophomore offensive tackle would declare for the 2012 NFL Draft, others held out hope that Alabama right Tackle D.J. Fluker would be the exception. After all, not many redshirt sophomore offensive tackles have started for two full years on championship-worthy offensive lines in a conference like the SEC. That was the sliver of hope for NFL fans hoping that their team could attain a 6-6 335 pound manchild to anchor the right side of their offensive line.

On Monday, Fluker put to bed any rumors of taking his talents to the next level:

“I know there have been a few stories and different things out on the message boards lately about me possibly leaving school early. I want to go ahead and put all of that to rest and make it clear that my intentions are to stay Keep Reading…