OL drills ─ South practice began with position drills, with the OL working on technique.  Toeaina, Scott and Cook took reps at RT, none looking comfortable, particularly Cook. 

At one point the 49ers OL coach calling him out for a lack of intensity.  Scott got heavily critiqued on his lack of leverage, not staying low in his backpedal with his hands in good position for punching the defender, something that during 9-on-7 later in practice,a group from the Raiders commented about Scott, "He just can't bend." 

Most notable in the OL drills was Marcus McNeil, and aside from his size, his desire to impress and intensity in his effort.  Not unlike Kirk Morrison a year ago, there are just a few guys that are clearly on a mission to standout and make a positive impression with their work and performance ─  McNeil is one of them.

1st team Offense ─ It was hard not to notice the QB and WRs of the South working on flea flickers and double reverses while the other position drills were going on.  Judging by what I saw from the South QBs (Shockley and Hackney in particular), that's what it's going to take come kickoff to move the ball ─  in a word ─  awful.

9-on-7 ─There were some notable plays during the scrimmages:  Wimbley demonstrated 1st-rate speed, beating Scott at RT badly.  On a counter right, delayed screen to the backside, Manny Lawson made an incredibly athletic play to intercept Hackney, most impressive was Lawson's body control and hands, to be able to shed the block so quickly and make such a clean catch was impressive ─  like everything Lawson demonstrated on the field today.

Lastly, without much fanfare, Hackney missed terribly on a wide open flea flicker.  The OL was routinely blown up.  Jean-Gilles to start, pulling up lame on the 2nd play.  Kyle Williams, despite appearing a bit small, was impressive with his quickness and got by Will Allen more than once.

CB drills ─ Cedric Griffin and Kelly Jennings were the class of the group during drills, Griffin especially.  Both Griffin and Jennings showed quickness, footwork and fluid hip turns that other defensive backs really didn't have.  Most of the safeties, not surprisingly, demonstrated a relatively poor backpedal, Watkins and Blue in particular, looking more like linebackers in some of the drills next to Griffin and Jennings.  While Blue and Watkins were unimpressive, DeMario Minter and Tim Jennings were a notch above, demonstrating plenty of effort, but looking just OK despite that.  

Overall, there wasn't much consistency from the group in timing jumps or grabbing the ball with their hands, again Jennings and Griffin being the exception, but while Blue and Harper looked very stiff in coverage drills, there was one player that made a positive impression, NC State's Marcus Hudson was probably the best looking athlete and most fundamentally sound player in drills next to Griffin.  An example of this was Hudson, certainly not as quick, but looking every bit athletic as Kelly Jennings, leaping and catching the ball well, demonstrating adequate coverage skills, but also showing some strength in jamming the receiver, where Jennings didn't impress at all.  Hudson looked the part of corner skills comfortable playing centerfield.

WRs ─ The Auburn WRs showed mixed results and were relatively unimpressive.  (The North has market on WR talent cornered).  Mix dropped too many passes.  Obomanu and Aromashodu each made a nice catch, but didn't stand out.  Hank Baskett was invisible in this practice, until the end when during red zone drills, after anticipating a demonstration of his skills, he walked away gingerly when his unit was done, after not seeing a pass, holding his left hamstring.

RBs ─ Andre Hall is this year's Darren Sproles (by that I mean, despite unspectacular OL play, he shined in his opportunities).  A year ago, J.J. Arrington looked like a RB that needed a gaping hole, while Sproles made the most of every touch, from practice to gameday.  Hall was exceptionally quick to the hole on every play, but beat the entire front 7 on one play that caught the entire crowd's attention. 

DeAngelo Williams is the class of the group, and did nothing to disappoint.  He appears to be the total package in demonstrating competitive speed, being able to break a run to the outside, but despite his size, he's always willing to run between the tackles.  His makeup - size, speed and toughness, reminds me of a young Emmitt Smith. 

Addai was split wide on some drills, a compliment to his athleticism, but was as impressive as any RB that I saw.  On back-to-back plays he took a run outside, getting to the corner and then made a great cut back to the middle of the field, finding the hole, and breaking the run

1-on-1 drills ─ At C, Cook handled Orien Harris nicely, as did Jean-Gilles with Williams at DT.  Winston was inconsistent most of the morning, getting beaten badly once by Mark Anderson with a spin to the outside, correcting it on the next play.  Cook looked incredibly uncomfortable at RT.  He simply doesn't have the footwork.  I suppose compared to some of the other centers like Mangold, he looks the part of tackle, and doesn't fit that smaller, zone-blocking center mold, but his performance at RT was a waste of time compared to what he showed at C. 

Kyle Williams came back strong to beat Degory twice from the NT spot.  Again, his effort and relative quickness were notable throughout the practice.  At another turn in the drill, beating Degory again, more with strength and a straight ahead push, than speed in getting around him.  Mahelona was solid in 1-on-1 drills, he's the "motor" guy of the group, playing at a high level of intensity and the result was making some plays, appearing consistent being part of making the South OL look fairly poor. 

Orien Harris didn't fair particularly well compared to others in those drills, not appearing to be as quick as Williams or as strong as Mahelona.  The two most impressive athletes in the 1-on-1s had to be Lawson and Wimbley, just with their speed.  But Lawson particularly looked dominant, playing at a completely different level of speed and intensity, being able to hold is own physically on every play.  With Scott at LT, Lawson got low, and beat Scott to the outside.  Conversely, Dumervill, who seemed out of place with this group because of his size, was very hit or miss ─  his speed was impressive, but Winston and other seemed to be able to toss him around like a rag doll at times.  Parys Haralson showed again, that Scott was vulnerable today at RT to the outside rush.

QBs ─ Shockley was the biggest disappointment based on expectations.  Croyle threw a nice looking ball at times, but between lack of arm strength, and mostly, horrible accuracy, there is clearly no Jason Campbell in this bunch that will improve their stock and secure themselves a roster spot based on what happens this week.

11-on-11 drills ─ Toeaina and Degory seemed slower, struggling in pass protection during practice.  Wimbley smoked Scott and RT, having a clean shot at the QB.  Cook at RT continued to be brutal, but almost dominant at C by contrast.  Marcus Hudson looks like the total package at FS, from coverage to a willingness to come up to stop the run.

Red Zone ─ Andre Hall again stood out in his vision, and acceleration into the hole, never hesitating and never wasting steps and looking strong once in traffic.  Anderson beat Winston outside, again, as bad any other single play of the day, showing more of the same from Winston, near stellar at times, flawed at others.

SOUTH ROSTER