Senior Bowl: Film observations from day two
The second day of practice at the Senior Bowl is akin to Saturday at a major golf tournament. You could call it “moving day” if you want to. The full pads come on, the tempo is adjusted a bit, you see more team drills and you truly get a flavor of where each player is talent-wise.
Players rise and fall on the second day of practices in Mobile.
Then there is the little hidden bit of knowledge about the Senior Bowl. Perhaps this will change this year, but in the six previous years I have been in attendance, Thursday is usually a “get out of town” day for those who come to evaluate. The Thursday practices are sparsely-attended, and many of the teams have already pulled up stakes and gotten out of Dodge so to speak.
Of course, the teams can do what I am doing, and watch the film from Thursday. But to make sure you make a good impression, you better put in the work on Wednesday.
Here's what caught my eye when I turned on the film.
Creed Humphrey flirts with perfection
While Quinn Meinerz was good on Wednesday, fellow center Creed Humphrey from Oklahoma was better. The bally-hooed matchup between him and defensive tackle Levi Onwuzurike did not materialize, as the Washington defender sat out practice on Wednesday, but no matter. Humphrey flirted with perfection in my mind, because if he lost a rep, I missed it.
He was solid in team drills whether run blocking or pass blocking, but he really shined in one-onone drills as he stoned pass rusher after pass rusher. His hand technique is solid but his lower body base and anchor was tremendous on Wednesday. Teams needing help at center would be wise to move him up their boards.
National RBs shine as receivers
Given that passing is king in today's NFL, running backs have to contribute as receivers out of the backfield. That being the case, three RBs on the National roster really helped themselves on Wednesday: Khalil Herbert from Virginia Tech, Rhamondre Stevenson from Oklahoma and Michael Carter from North Carolina.
Each of these players posed serious problems for defenders in one-on-one receiving drills. Whether it was Carter running right by his former teammate Chazz Surratt on a seam route, Herbert exploding past Justin Hilliard on a seam route of his own, or Stevenson making Tuf Borland miss in space on a flat route, each of these players showed on Wednesday they can be a factor in the passing game out of the backfield.
National pass rushers step up in team drills
While the offensive linemen got the better of play during one-on-ones, once the full team came together for 11-on-11 the balance of power shifted a bit. During the team session the defensive linemen made some impressive plays, showing that they could corner the arc and get after the passer.
First it was Daelin Hayes working against North Dakota State left tackle Dillon Radnuz, who otherwise was solid again on Tuesday. But on one play Hayes cornered extremely well and used a bit of a rip move to get around the edge, getting to Feleipe Franks for a strip-sack.
Then a few plays later Franks was in position to take another sack, and a double- teamer at that. On the outside Penn State EDGE Shaka Toney used an inside spin move against Northern Iowa right tackle Spencer Brown to get to the passer, while on the inside Ohio State's Jonathan Cooper used an inside swim move to get in position for the sack.
That both of these came with Franks under center is a story for another time…
Jamie Newman's second day ends on a shaky note
With the caveat that the first day of practice is more of a baseline day, we still argued yesterday that Jamie Newman, the former Wake Forest quarterback, made a little noise and perhaps a case as QB1 down in Mobile.
That case got a little tougher at the end of Wednesday's practice. During the team session Newman threw a pair of interception, and the mistakes were similar. On both plays Newman forced throws late in the down into coverage, and into the middle of the field. That is usually the cardinal sin of quarterback play, and committing it twice in the same practice period is a bit of a head-scratcher.
Still, Newman has shown that if nothing else he might have the best arm of the quarterbacks down in Mobile, and that when combined with his athleticism certainly matters. We'll see how he rebounds on day three.