NFL Draft: Reese's Senior Bowl Day One Recap - National Team Defense

Day one standouts from the Reese's Senior Bowl's National Team

Author:
Jordan Pun
Updated:
Feb 1, 2022 4:11 PM EST
Original:
Feb 1, 2022

In this story:

Oklahoma Sooners

Illinois Fighting Illini

Baylor Bears

Penn State Nittany Lions

Cincinnati Bearcats

With the first Senior Bowl practice of Day 1 in the books, it's time to recap the National Defense and take a look at which players stood out.

The most impressive defender in the period was easily Cincinnati's edge rusher Myjai Sanders. The athletic traits were on full display as his explosive get-off helped him translate speed to power and won a few reps with a bull rush during one-on-ones. He combined his freakish athleticism with the proper technique, getting low and extending his arms into the tackle's chest to create push.

Another edge rusher who looked great in the drills was Penn State's Arnold Ebiketie. The flexibility in his lower half was evident as he got low and smoothly bent around the bags. In the team periods, he showed improved timing at the snap to fire off the ball and set the edge well to force a run inside.

The interior defensive linemen had multiple standouts and UConn's Travis Jones was a man among boys. He consistently fired off the ball with low pads and drove his legs to bull-rush linemen with ease. His blend of size, power and quickness was extremely impressive.

While Jones stood out among the nose tackles, Perrion Winfrey was the best defensive tackle who projects well as a 3-tech that can shoot gaps. He displayed explosive get-off and during the team periods consistently gained leverage to the play side vs. reach blocks and used his violent hands to shed blocks.

From the linebacker group, Oklahoma's Brian Asamoah looked fluid when moving on the field. He had a tough assignment, running with Trey McBride on an over route and while he gave up the catch, Asamoah punched the ball out at the end of the rep. His dog mentality was apparent, and teams will love his competitive toughness.

There was one defensive back who stood out from the pack and that is Jalen Pitre. The versatile Baylor defender primarily played in the box and shined during team periods where he quickly processed the run and flew to the edge to force the play inside.

Another defensive back that made plays was Illinois' Kerby Joseph. He often played down in the box, where he quickly read a play-action rollout and chased down McBride in the flat, finishing with a clean pass breakup.

Stay tuned for more notes on the rest of the standouts that are in Mobile.

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