CB Troy Pride Jr. Standing Out At Senior Bowl
The Reese's Senior Bowl has been an event that has allowed a number of former Notre Dame players to boost their draft stock in recent seasons. Offensive lineman Zack Martin used the Senior Bowl to vault himself into the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft, and linebacker Drue Tranquill pushed himself up draft boards with a strong performance last season.
Cornerback Troy Pride Jr. is the latest former Irish standout that is taking full advantage of the Senior Bowl opportunity.
A number of analysts have heaped praise on Pride after each of the first two days of practice in Mobile, Alabama.
Pro Football Focus ranked him as a standout after Day 1 and Day 2. Here is what they wrote after Day 1:
"Troy Pride Jr., a former outside cornerback for Notre Dame, couldn't have had a better first day at the Senior Bowl. He was a fantastic interview that is aware of where his game needs to get better to start the next level, and his reps in the one-on-one drills were special. He was in SMU wideout James Proche‘s back pocket for the entire practice and even logged a pass breakup on a slant from Pittman."
After his Day 2 performance, PFF listed him as their No. 1 "money maker":
"I’m not sure anyone has risen their draft stock more with their performance this week than the Notre Dame cornerback. In a fairly weak cornerback group here in Mobile, Pride has been the clear cream of the crop. He’s locked down Michael Pittman Jr., James Proche and Quartney Davis on highly impressive reps through the first couple days. His elite speed and smooth hips have him completely unafraid of getting beaten deep. With question marks about his press technique and ability to play the catch point heading into the week, Pride has been fantastic in both."
Lance Zierlein at NFL.com named Pride one of his five stars from Day 2 practices.
"I knew coming into the week that Pride had the speed and athleticism teams look for at corner. I just didn't see him making a lot of plays when I watched his tape. But out here, that wasn't an issue for him. He was making plenty of plays. In fact, it seemed like he was in on every play. He was up against a bunch of receivers with good size -- USC's Michael Pittman, Baylor's Denzel Mims, Liberty's Antonio Gandy-Golden -- and I thought Pride did a really nice job, especially on Pittman. He made it very difficult for those guys to make catches, and might have made himself some money in the process."
The Draft Network's Kyle Crabbs also got into the action, naming Pride as a Day 2 standout:
"There's a whole lot of golden domes out there for the North team — none of them are showing out better than Troy Pride Jr. His foot quickness, patience in the trail and trust in his eyes? It's a beautiful thing and Pride has been as consistent as you'll find."
NFL teams are likely taking notice of Pride's dominant performance. In fact, John Shipley from the Jaguar Report noted that Pride has already met with the Jacksonville Jaguars twice in Mobile.
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