2021 Reese's Senior Bowl Day 2 Practice Report
Every year, the Nation’s top seniors all convene in Mobile, Alabama, for the Reese’s Senior Bowl, one of the most significant events in the draft community.
The 2021 Senior Bowl may be more critical than usual because the traditional combine in Indianapolis will not be happening; instead, there will be regional events and pro days to showcase the players' talents entering the 2021 NFL Draft.
The event has pulled some of the top prospects this season. Alabama wide receiver Devonta Smith (wrist injury) is at the event, as is Alabama running back Najee Harris.
The event could be significant for highly regarded players who opted out of the season and players like Wake Forest WR Sage Surratt, Michigan WR Nico Collins, Washington DL Levi Onwuzurkie Michigan CB Ambry Thomas.
The All-Star event will also be necessary for every college program that didn’t have the chance to play this season, and the second day of practice is typically the best from an evaluation standpoint.
There are several one-on-one periods and team periods to put the players into different environments, with a playbook that they just learned. Retention of information and processing is important.
There’s little rapport between players developed, so every prospect is starting with a relatively clean slate. Let’s go through the second day of practices for both teams for some key takeaways.
American Team
(Coached by the Carolina Panthers)
Team Periods
The American Team’s offensive line is filled with some maulers. Tackles Alex Leatherwood (Alabama), Alaric Jackson (Iowa), and Dan Moore Jr. (Texas A&M), plus interior offensive lineman Trey Smith (Tennessee), Deonte Brown (Alabama), and Ben Cleveland (Georgia) are all incredibly strong players at the point of attack.
This line was generating a lot of push on inside runs from pro-style sets. They were also sealing the edge, which led to easy touchdowns in red zone periods. Georgia tight end Tre McKitty made a nice catch in double coverage while moving laterally. UCF CB Aaron Robinson also showed up well in coverage and run support on an end-around.
Alabama quarterback Mac Jones was the star of practice in team drills and one on one throws. Jones was throwing with anticipation, good ball placement, and was maneuvering the pocket well. He found Clemson WR Amari Rodgers several times deep.
Wake Forest Jamie Newman also looked good on play-action bootlegs, where he resets his feet and fires a dart outside the numbers. Both quarterbacks are above all the quarterbacks on the National Team and Texas A&M’s Kellen Mond.
Jones also found McKitty on an amazing throw and one-handed catch on a crosser over LSU linebacker Jabril Cox. McKitty is having a really good week. Tulane defensive lineman Cameron Sample had two reps where he broke away from the lineman, and it would have been a sack.
Florida CB Shawn Davis intercepted Newman on a deep post where the ball sailed with the wind. Newman battled back and found Amari Rodgers on a deep post a few plays later. The next play, Iowa defensive lineman Chauncey Golston beat Trey Smith with lateral quickness, which would have been a sack of Jones.
One-on-Ones: WR vs. DB
Rodgers quickness was much more on display than fellow Clemson wideout Cornell Powell. Rodgers' ability to create separation seemed very easy, especially on horizontal routes. Rodgers had one bad drop after burning a defensive back. He could be a day two selection in the upcoming draft, with the upside of slipping into the end of round one if he tests off the charts.
The best wide receiver in Mobile is Florida’s Kadarius Toney, who dropped a few passes in one-on-one, but the sheer ability to separate and burst is eye-opening. Toney will be a first-round pick in April.
His fellow Gator and wideout Trevon Grimes is not nearly as quick but showed solid route running ability and made a very nice back-shoulder touchdown grab from Mac Jones.
UAB’s Austin Watkins is the cousin of Sammy Watkins, and he shows an exceptional ability to use subtleties to get open up his stem--this was also evident in the film I watched of him. Watkins was a deep threat in college and may have 4.48 speed (ballparking), but he manipulates DBs with his release and how he runs his routes. He’s also very physical at the catch point and has strong hands.
Tennessee WR Josh Palmer beat Georgia CB DJ Daniel on a slant at the line of scrimmage. Daniel had an up and down day in coverage. Marquez Stevenson of Houston also did a good job accelerating out of breaks and disengaging from DBs with quickness; he also had a solid comeback route where he looked smooth in transition.
Syracuse CB Ifeatu Melifonwu showed click & close ability in off coverage. He’s not as sticky as I’d like to see, but he has a good closing burst. Came down hard on LSU’s Racey McMath, who seems slow, to be honest. The story of these individual drills surrounded how good Mac Jones looked, how effective Rodgers and Toney were at creating separation, and the coverage of UCF’s Aaron Robinson.
One-on-Ones: OL vs. DL
Wake Forest’s Carlos Basham Jr. continued to have a good Senior Bowl week. Basham has shown quickness, ability to dip/bend, and active, reactionary hands that he’s used to take advantage of quality offensive line pool in Mobile.
Basham also defeated Iowa’s Alaric Jackson with a nice inside move. Jackson hasn’t been great in one on one situations, but he's been better in team periods. He lost a bad rep to Florida State DL Marvin Wilson too. Wilson was then controlled well by Alabama OG Deonte Brown.
Put Miami’s Quincy Roche in that same category as Basham in terms of two very nice practices. He, too, had an excellent first day and doubled down by beating Alabama’s Alex Leatherwood again around the edge, and he beat Alaric Jackson. Roche bursts up the arc and dips so effortlessly--he’s going to be a good pass rusher.
Trey Smith had two consecutive reps against Wyatt Hubert. Smith dominated Hubert, and coach Matt Rhule told him to try again; Hubert got Smith to open his hips, and Hubert darted inside while staying low and winning the rep. Hubert hasn’t had the best Senior Bowl, but that was a good moment.
Speaking of Rhule, Houston DL Payton Turner was getting critiqued by the second-year Carolina Coach. Rhule was stressing the importance of leverage and coaching points to Turner.
It seemed like Rhule was upset with how Turner was taking the information, which prompted Rhule to passionately express coachability to the players; not the best sign, but Rhule seemed more pleased with Turner’s second play.
National Team
(Coached by the Miami Dolphins)
Team Periods
Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger was given the first nod, and Miami rolled out in 12 personnel, under center, running a more pro-style type of offense. All three quarterbacks, Ehlinger, Notre Dame’s Ian Book, and Arkansas’ Felipe Franks (former Florida Gator), struggled. It’s common to see the defense have a slight edge in these practices, but it was check-down city.
Book looked the best of the three, but he failed to lead a receiver on a dig route. He looked solid going through progressions and didn’t hang onto the football as long as Franks, who did not have a good period. Notre Dame EDGE Daelin Hayes strip-sacked Franks in a non-contact drill. Hayes continues to have an excellent week.
The story of the National Team has been Western Michigan WR D’Wayne Eskridge, who has dominated one-on-ones and has shown up well in team periods. Eskridge is the biggest riser through two days of practice, and he’s making himself a ton of money in Mobile.
North Carolina running back Michael Carter fumbled at the mesh point but showed his exceptional burst and vision by hitting a hole off Oklahoma center Creed Humphrey’s backside in a one-cut manner.
One-on-Ones: OL vs. DL
The Division III product out of Wisconsin-Whitewater Quinn Meinerz is having a similar Senior Bowl to Ben Barth, a fourth-round pick by the Jaguars out of St. Johns. Both small school guys who are having excellent practices. Meinerz built on his solid day one and continues to play with control. He refits his hands well at the point of attack, is not getting bullied, and is holding his own against some of Division I's best players.
He went up against Notre Dame’s Adetokunbo Ogundeji, who may have had the best pass-rushing day on this team on day one. Notre Dame’s Daelin Hayes also had an exceptional first day--they both had good day twos as well.
However, Ogundeji was beaten by Meinerz twice in one on ones. Ogundeji continued to show his speed up the arc and his ability to flip his hips and corner against some of these tackles. Hayes also displays his exceptional twitch, flexibility, and explosiveness.
Former New York Giants EDGE Owa Odighizuwa’s brother Osa is a 6’2, 280-pound prospect out of UCLA. He had a solid first day and did well in the second--he traded wins with Meinerz on a couple of reps, and he defeated Humphry as well - which hasn’t been the easiest thing to do.
North Dakota State’s Dillon Radunz struggled on Day 1 but seemed to do much better on day two. He won a rep on an island and didn’t reach while keeping his feet mirroring. Radunz also defeated Penn State’s Shaka Toney, who hasn’t had the best week so far.
Cincinnati tackle James Hudson III has also looked good the past two days. He is a converted EDGE prospect who is still learning the position. His feet, fluidity, and movement skills are very intriguing.
Pitt pass rusher Rashad Weaver continues to use his hands well and flash counter moves. He used an inside counter spin that was very nice. I haven’t seen as much from his teammate Patrick Jones II.
One-on-Ones: WR vs. DB
D’Wayne Eskridge out of Western Michigan is the talk of Mobile at the moment. He is winning one-on-one, getting open in team drills, and showing his incredible quickness.
Eskridge had 33 catches for 768 yards and eight touchdowns in 6 games this season. He almost seems unguardable in practice against Power-5 opponents--yup, he’s making money this week!
Michigan’s Nico Collins, who opted out of the 2020 season, is reminding people about his upside. Collins is 6’4, 215 pounds, and is a fluid mover who gets compared to his former teammate Donovan Peoples-Jones.
Collins made a nice contested catch and showed the ability to sink his hips and explode out of cuts fluidly. Collins can answer a lot of questions if he continues to show his skill-set in Mobile.
Wake Forest WR Sage Surratt had a phenomenal day, especially considering the fact that he hurt his ankle in the first twenty minutes of practice. Surratt competed through the injury and continued to show an ability to use his big frame at the catch point while flashing competent route running.
Receivers Frank Darby (Arizona State) and Cade Johnson (South Dakota State) had solid day twos as well. Darby made an impressive over the shoulder catch after winning at the line of scrimmage and stacking the defensive back.
Johnson had several impressive wins on day one, and he continued that on day two. He’s a very shifty WR with an excellent ability to stop and start his routes. His fluid hips allow him to manipulate defensive backs, and he had a really good sideline catch on day one that required concentration and body control.
Versatile offensive weapon out of UCLA Demetric Felton is listed as a running back but has been doing WR drills. He looks natural in space, is a good route runner, and should be a fun weapon in the NFL. Chip Kelly used him in a versatile way at UCLA.
As for the cornerbacks, Ambry Thomas continues to show his impressive ability and remind people that he’s still good despite opting out. Thomas is patient at the line of scrimmage, disruptive at the catch point, and continues to be sticky in man coverage.
From Oregon, Thomas Graham Jr. seemed to regress a bit in Day 2, after putting together a nice day one. Graham Jr. lost on a double move to Eskridge badly that would have resulted in a touchdown.
Camryn Bynum, cornerback out of Cal, traded reps with Surratt and has been one of the better cornerbacks in this group. Washington CB Keith Taylor was in a good position most of the day and used his length well to disrupt passes.
One-on-Ones: Pass Blocking LB vs. RB
The defense had the edge in this drill, but two running backs stood out above the rest in pass protection: Virginia Tech’s Khalil Herbert and Oklahoma’s Rhamondre Stevenson.
Both of these running backs were balanced and played with good technique. Herbert lost his last drill of the day to Ohio State linebacker Baron Browning who won just about every one of his reps in this drill.
Michigan fullback Ben Mason didn’t do so well in this drill. His feet looked slow, he lunged, and he was defeated by Browning, which seemed to be a theme in this drill.
Pass protection is vital for young running backs to see the field. If Herbert and Smith can replicate these few reps and extrapolate them throughout their career, they’ll be valuable to NFL teams.
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