Senior Bowl Week - Who's there and who are we looking at?

[firstdown]

I'm looking at the cheerleaders.

[Monkeydad]

Originally Posted by firstdown

I'm looking at the cheerleaders.

We can't improve at that position. We're best in the league there.

[Dirtbag59]

Notre Dame OT Sam Young -- There is nothing wrong with Young's effort. He fights to say in position and finishes every drill in practice. However, his 6-foot-7¾ frame makes it hard for Young to redirect in pass protection, and he has difficulty getting under defenders' pads as a run blocker. He also has very long arms (34½ inches) that seem to make it hard to for him to be quick with his hands. We saw that show up on Day 4 when Young was working against California DE Tyson Alualu, who used his explosive hands and strong upper body to slap Young's arms down. Young did not have the hand quickness to recover and it was over at that point. His size also seems to make Young sluggish and he has a hard time staying balanced.

[Slingin Sammy 33]

I watched the Mon-Wed practices and here are some thoughts:

Matt Tennant, C, Boston College
If we can get Tennant in the 4th, GTripp is absolutely correct, he will start for us. He looked very good at C (not so good at G). He's got good technique, feet, and can anchor against the bull rush inside.

Greg Olsen, C, Notre Dame
As a later pick (7th-UDFA) if we miss Tennant, wouldn't be a bad project, good fundys, good feet, but struggles to anchor against a bull rush.

Kyle Wilson, CB, Boise St.
Looked very solid in Man coverage in 1-on-1s, only got beaten once by Ford (sprinter class speed) from Clemson. He would be a solid addition to our secondary and could develop into a #1 CB. He's projected in the 2nd or 3rd. If we find a way to pick up an extra pick in the 3rd or he slips to the 4th he should be a target.

Syd'Quan Thompson, CB, Cal
Appears physical, strong, good in zone. A MAJOR liability in man coverage, especially anything deep. He was torched deep several times. He reminded me of Smoot getting killed in 1-on-1s deep in training camp. He will be exposed in a big way in the NFL. Good fit for a Cover 2 or Tampa 2 scheme though.

Iupati, G, Idaho
Got beaten twice on day one with a finesse rush and got caught reaching. Other than that he was the best OL IMO. Our need at T outweighs our need at G so I don't see us picking him up with our early 2nd even if he slips that far (doubtful).

Ducasse, T, UMass
On day 1 vs. Schofield from Wisconsin he was beaten badly and gave up on the play. On the next play he recovered and did well. On day 2 he was beaten on an inside rush but recovered on the next play again. I'm not impressed with him. He appears very raw and IMO will be a project.

Sam Young, T, ND
I'm a ND fan....but pass on Young. He looked consistently awful.

Ed Wang, T, VT
Struggled with speed and finesse moves in 1-on-1s. He could handle the bull rush though. He looked good next to Iupati in combo drills and not bad in team. If he's there late (6th or later) he could develop, but right now he will get destroyed by any NFL player with a remote bit of speed off the edge.

Jared Odrich, DT, PSU
Has a BIG motor and made some nice plays in 1-on-1s and team. He's a "nice to have" but we have too many other needs to waste a pick on him unless he falls ridiculously (which won't happen).

Mitch Petrus, G, Arkansas
Didn't see too much of the South's 1-on-1s, they were too focused on Tebow every second. Petrus did not look good in the couple of plays I saw. His feet are very sloooowwww.

John Jerry, G, Ole Miss
Ciron Black, T, LSU
Byers, G, USC
All looked solid in a couple of plays, but I didn't get to see enough to really tell anything on these guys.

Tebow - yuk, pass on him. Fumbles, poor throws, throwing motion longer and slower than JC's.

Joique Bell
Hard to gauge him, looked good in pass pro drill for a couple of plays and finished all his runs, but can't tell much without real contact. Mayock said he had a good week.

QBs - LeFevour might be worth a pick late in the draft, but I wasn't impressed with any QB on either side.