Our
inaugural trip to the Senior Bowl was exciting and
revealing. John Clifford and I had a great time in
Mobile, thanks to the terrific job done by Vic Knight
and the entire Senior Bowl staff. The practice week and
game is an experience we’d recommend to fellow football
fanatics.
The best
athlete at the Sr. Bowl in our opinion, and obviously
that of many, appeared to be Oklahoma's Mark Clayton.
He seems to just get more from his size and speed than
anyone expects or is able to handle. Although Howard's
DB, Ronald Bartell, showed some tremendous
athletic ability, and is rapidly coming into his own,
Clayton was unmatched by anything the North had to offer
as far as practice guinea pigs. Clayton commanded
attention, and helped to reinforce why he is touted as
highly as he is by some. He showed tremendous strength
and skill in his routes and ball catching ability.
Matt
Jones,QB turned WR from Arkansas, also
impressed us with his size and strength. He’s almost
too big to be a wide out, fitting more the profile of a
tight end. We did notice Gruden using him in more of a
tight flanker position and as a large body on weak side
toss and screen plays. He is definitely a presence that
will have to be accounted for on the football field,
certainly resembling Jeremy Shockey more than Brandon
Stokley. His desire, as much as his surprising speed
and ball handling ability, were second to none.
Entering the week, drafting Jones was a wide open
question, he did nothing but improve his draft stock as
a result.
Iowa's DL
Matt Roth also had an impressive week of practice,
as impressive as anyone on defense, forcing fumbles and
routinely disrupting the backfield formations. He
showed amazing quickness off the line, and routinely got
by Michael Roos and others getting deep into the
backfield.
Auburn QB
Jason Campbell was, quite simply, the most
impressive of any of the QBs at the Senior Bowl
practices. He showed a great physical presence and was
very good in escaping the rush. His size is a huge
plus, combined with having great touch on the ball in a
range of throws with surprisingly accuracy. However,
given his size, his arm strength was still a big
question. In the game itself, Jason showed great
athletic ability and vision, by scrambling and making
plays seemingly out of nothing. His ability to read the
entire field and consistently escape from a collapsing
pocket was impressive. He carried himself like a true
professional throughout the entire process. There is
certainly plenty of work ahead for Campbell at the next
level, but what he was able to accomplish through the
transition of systems at Auburn culminating in the
success of his senior campaign serves only as reason for
optimism.
Kansas State
RB Darren Sproles was actually one of the biggest
offensive surprises during the entire week of the Senior
Bowl. His opportunities in the NFL couldn’t have been
helped much on the very first day when he barely
measured in at a skimpy 5’5”. The thing about Darren
though, is he’s used to that, and seemed to know once he
got on the field he would silence the doubters. He
certainly put forth the effort to do just that. As for
the North RBs, he quickly established him self as their
“go to” guy. He shot to the top of the North’s roster
showing elusiveness and amazing quickness in his feet.
His vision and nimble feet are almost astonishing and it
showed as he distinguished himself from J.J. Arrington
during the game behind mediocre OL play. He’s SO
small that he can hit the hole and accelerate through it
before the defense even knows where he is. Sproles was
rightfully named North Team Offensive MVP.
Akron QB
Charlie Frye was definitely the better of the two
North QBs that participated in the week long event. In
Practice there were initial concerns with Charlie. His
timing and precision seemed to lacking at times, perhaps
from trying too hard to impress. Questions concerning
the quickness of his delivery and overall grasp of the
speed of the game at the next level remain (and that’s
certainly true with the entire crop of QBs in Mobile).
It seemed in practice he did little to help himself, but
come game time, Charlie showed everyone watching his
ability to make plays. Some players are different
athletes when the actual buzzer sounds. How much stock
scouts put in his performance on Saturday remains to be
seen, but he had to help himself quite a bit relative to
his practice week impression. Frye quite literally took
over the North squad. It was like night and day, all of
a sudden he was a smart leader. He showed solid arm
strength and touch, hitting Alex Smith beautifully on
just about the only deep ball of the day. His
scrambling and ability to handle pressure was
impressive. Late in the game, in the grasp of LSU’s
Marcus Spears, Frye slithered to his left, then
hooked around to his right and found Noah Herron in the
end zone. What looked like a sure sack was turned into
6 points by Frye. But along with showing his ability to
make plays, he did show a tendency to force the ball in
given situations, but that can be easily corrected. His
good size and room to build strength will help as well
by adding velocity on his throws. More work and
improvement on timing will go a long way to enhance his
opportunities in the NFL down the road.
San Diego
State's star LB, Kirk Morrison,is the
total package. There was plenty of buzz about Morrison
and it seemed that he was one of those players that was
determined to make that happen by being all over the
place in practice and in the game. His speed and nose
for the ball is second to none. He is a fierce
competitor and has an immense desire for being involved
in every play. He pumped up everyone – from the crowd
to his teammates. Where he lacks ideal size (by no
means Leroy Hill or Michael Boley
proportion), he more than makes up for it in raw effort
to make plays and punish the opponent. He is all over
the field, as an outstanding tackler that loves to hit.
He closes with great quickness and covers the field well
in an intense attack mode. He was no doubt the leader
for the North defense and had an outstanding game.
UNLV's
Jamaal Brimmer showed great patience and excellent
tackling skills from the safety position. He came up
and handed out his share of big hits, but more
noticeably was his tackling technique in general. He
looked very good in coverage and was effective in
disrupting routes and knocking away passes with
regularity. He played a very solid game and showed that
good awareness on the field.
Mike
Nugent, Ohio State’s stellar kicker, quite possibly
did as much to improve his draft stock as anyone else,
as strange as that may seem. He put himself in great
position to be a day one draft pick. He is just a very
solid kicker, cool and confident and demonstrated that
on the week-long stage. He wasn’t challenged by the
pressure of a game-winning 50-yarder, but he quietly and
effectively helped the North win the game. His size,
for a kicker, is smaller than some – by that I mean his
legs aren’t as built and thick as some you may see, but
make no mistake, looks can be deceiving and certainly
are in Mike’s case. Where his size might seem to be an
issue, his technique and overall consistency removes any
doubt. In practice he routinely hits 50-yard field
goals leaving plenty of room to spare.
