Senior Bowl

[Vinny]

Add any Senior Bowl information here. I'll start it with the PFW's Senior Bowl Blog link and will add more stuff later as I get around to it.

Leaving for Mobile with Gatorade in hand

By Trent Modglin (tmodglin@pfwmedia.com)
Jan. 23, 2005

Tomorrow is weigh-in day, where we will find out just how inaccurate college media guides are. Cornerbacks who were 6-0 in the SEC suddenly become 5-10 in the week of high-profile practices before the Senior Bowl. Practices start up too, and they’re always competitive. Should be fun.

http://profootballweekly.com/PFW/NFL...glin012405.htm

[Vinny]

January 24
# (11:30 AM): Players weight in... This week's Senior Bowl week kicked off with the measuring and weighing of players this morning. OTs Adam Terry of Syracuse and Wesley Britt of Alabama were the tallest players, both at 6-7 1/2; they were followed by OTs Jeremy Parquet of Southern Miss and Eastern Washington's Micheal Roos, both of whom measured in at just over 6-6. Meanwhile, another OT, Rob Petitti of Pittsburgh, was the heaviest player at 361 pounds. DT Anthony Bryant of Alabama was 345, while Virginia OG Elton Brown tipped the scales at 331. On the other hand, the shortest player as Kansas State RB Darren Sproles was measured in at barely 5-5, while Oklahoma State was the lighest position player at 170 pounds. Hopefully, we'll have the full list of heights and weights tomorow morning.

http://www.gbnreport.com/

[Blake]

http://www.seniorbowl.com/2005/rosters.htm

2005 rosters.

[texasguy346]

I'm really looking forward to seeing Matt Jones at WR, also I really want to see if Roddy White lives up to the hype. I'd like to see Charlie Frye play too since I haven't ever seen him play, and he's being mentioned as one of the top 5 or 10 QBs. Jamaal Brimmer is a favorite of mine at S, and I want to see how he plays on a bigger stage.

[D-ReK]

LoL Sproles is only 5'5"? I realize he has good speed and is elusive, but that's just way too short to be successful in the NFL...He's even smaller than Quint Griffin...

[Vinny]

By NEAL McCREADY
Sports Reporter

Carnell Williams said Sunday he has always been a Jon Gruden fan. Gruden, however, said later Sunday afternoon that his Tampa Bay Buccaneers weren't interested in the former Auburn running back. "We have no interest in him whatsoever," Gruden said. Then Gruden smiled and laughed a knowing little laugh. The Bucs are interested in Williams. It's the worst-kept secret since Prince Charles' affair with Camilla Parker-Bowles.

The two sides might talk of interest in others, but the body language -- if not the words themselves -- give the truth away. Williams and the Buccaneers are basically dating this week at the Senior Bowl, where Williams is the most prolific running back on the South team roster.

http://www.al.com/seniorbowl/mobiler...1952314390.xml

A conference breakdown of the roster reveals the Southeastern Conference, to no surprise, leads with 24 players on the South roster.

The Pac-10 is next with 16 players, followed by the Big Ten with 12. The Atlantic Coast Conference and Big 12 each have 11 players. All ACC players are on the South roster and all Big Ten players are on the North. Pac-10 and Big 12 players are split between both teams.

-- DUPLICATE NUMBERS: For the first time in Senior Bowl history, some players will have duplicate numbers on the same team -- a practice that is now common in college football.

The players with duplicate numbers will always play on opposite sides of the ball.

For example, you will notice on the South roster that Georgia quarterback David Greene and Auburn defensive back Carlos Rogers will each wear No. 14, and Georgia wide receiver Reggie Brown and Virginia Tech defensive back Eric Green will each wear No. 1.

Some of the other duplicate numbers include No. 84 on the South (LSU's Marcus Spears and Southern Cal tight end Alex Holmes); No. 47 on the South (Tennessee punt er Dustin Colquitt and Virginia Tech defensive lineman Jim Davis); and No. 1 on the North (Howard defensive back Ronald Bartell and Northern Colorado receiver Vincent Jackson).

"It's an opportunity to let the players wear the numbers they have worn throughout their collegiate careers," said Senior Bowl media relations director Vic Knight. "From a fan standpoint, it allows them to better identify a player when he is wearing the number they are accustomed to seeing that player wear."

http://www.al.com/seniorbowl/mobiler...1852314390.xml

Senior Bowl Weigh-In
(1-24-05)
North

Lorenzo Alexander, California 6014 290
Jonathan Babineaux, Iowa 6017 279
Attiyah Ellison, Missouri 6035 305
Antaaj Hawthorne, Wisconsin 6027 317
Matt Roth, Iowa 6031 263
Bill Swancutt, Oregon St. 6036 266
Jimmy Verdon, Arizona St. 6026 274

South
Anthony Bryant, Alabama 6023 345
Shaun Cody, USC 6035 293
Jim Davis, Virginia Tech 6027 272
George Gause, South Carolina 6036 268
Ronald Fields, Mississippi St. 6016 307
Mike Montgomery, Texas A&M 6043 271
Mike Patterson, USC 5113 290
Marcus Spears, L.S.U. 6033 302

Mark Clayton, Oklahoma 5096 187 (5'9" ?? shorter than I thought)

http://www.nfldraftcountdown.com/fea...orts/htwt.html

[Vinny]

Espn has a show from the 2005 Senior Bowl today at 2

[infantrycak]

What the heck is Kiffin thinking?

Monte Kiffin was very active coaching the defense and had some changes in store. Marcus Spears , a player who spent most of his time at defensive end for LSU, played at linebacker on Monday. Spears wasn't great in pass recognition but seemed agile in defending the run, shooting gaps.

Link

The birth of the 320 lb LB?--dubious.

The Surprises:

Matt Jones may have been the best player on the field and his versatility is intriguing. He was unbelievable as a receiver although he did get yelled at once for running the wrong route. Considering the one hour session he got the night before, his performance was outstanding.

Travis Daniels has an excellent session. He garnered the only pick of the session and displayed the ability to get deep to help out his cohorts. He also read the receptions well and worked hard to cut off the field that receivers had to run.

The Disappointments:

Logan Mankins , gaining momentum in recent weeks amongst scouts, suffered through a difficult day Monday. Slow in getting out of his stance and beaten thoroughly a couple of times, the Fresno State product did not display the tenacity that caught the eye of scouts in recent weeks.

Safety prospect James Butler had a hesitation to his game and did not appear confident on the field. Butler, out of Georgia Tech, was slow in providing help over the top and even lackluster in some of pursuit of the ball carrier. It appeared that he was not as focused as he could have been in this ever important start to the week

[Vinny]

Notes from Monday's practices

Oklahoma WR Mark Clayton, at a shade under 5-10, looks smaller in person than he does on tape, but he is the quickest and smoothest receiver the North has in terms of getting into and out of his breaks. He also showed good focus while hauling in a pass across the middle despite getting smacked in the head by the arm of Miami (Ohio)’s Alphonso Hodge.

Virginia OG Elton Brown showed up to Mobile for weigh-ins, ringing in at a sloppy 6-4 3/8, 331 pounds but decided not to participate in the week’s activities due to tendinitis in his knee.

Wisconsin DT Antaaj Hawthorne was noticeably slower off the ball than his DL mates on the North side and didn’t push through some drills as far as the rest.

http://profootballweekly.com/PFW/NFL...book012505.htm

[Vinny]

The other generic thing that stood out this morning was that the offensive line, especially on the inside, were consistently outquicked by the defensive line guys. In the 11-on-11 drill, for example, Cal DT Lorenzo Alexander messed up one play when he got great penetration; same thing a couple of downs later when Missouri DT Attiyaf Ellison busted up the middle and destroyed a play. Iowa DT Matt Roth was also very disruptive, putting a lot of heat on the QB; while his Iowa teammate, 310-pound DT Anttaj Hawthorne also showed some surprising upfield quickness.

We spent a lot of time focussing on the North's two LTs: Khalif Barnes of Washington and Adam Terry of Syracuse. The athletic Barnes, who reportedly runs the 40 in the 4.90-4.95 range weighed in at a respectable 305 pounds on Monday, is still a bit raw technically, but he moves very well; he's also got a bit of nastiness too him. Terry, meanwhile, showed an outstanding hand punch on several plays that froze the DE in his tracks; Terry, though, also looks like he needs to improve his core strength. Terry, who moves surprisingly well, needs to get his pads lower when hndling a strong bull rush. Rangy Eastern Washington OT Michael Roos also showed good feet, but needs to get stronger.

The best player on the field this morning was Oklahoma LB Lance Mitchell. Mitchell looked very fluid in space; indeed, even at 239 pounds, he moved better than some of the DBs. Mitchell also consistently read plays well, took the right fill angles and stuffed several plays in the backfield. Nebraska LB Barrett Ruud also showed nice athleticsim, while UConn LB Alfred Fincher, who is known more as a run-stuffer, got a couple of nice breaks on underneath passing routes. Same for Stanford LB Jared Newberry who showed decent range, both in coverage - he had a pass breakup in the 11-on-11 drills - as well as cahsing down running plays, but wasn't that strong at the point of attack when he got there. Cincinnati tweener Trent Cole also spent muchof the morning working with the LBs, but didn't look very fluid in his backpedal.

Oklahoma State CB Darrent Williams continued to be the North's most aggressive DB as he broke well on several passes. Hawaii CB Abraham Elimimian also stood out with some very sticky coverage. Miami of Ohio CB Alphonso Hodge also ran well, but struggled to find the ball on several deep routes. Meanwhile, Howard CB Ronald Bartell appeared to struggle at times playing at Senior Bowl speed. Bartell was beaten on one deep route where he didn't show that extra gear to close on the play. Bartell also tended to play too far off and didn't close anywhere near fast enough to make a play

http://www.gbnreport.com/seniorbowldiary.htm

[Lucky]

while his Iowa teammate, 310-pound DT Anttaj Hawthorne also showed some surprising upfield quickness.

Wondering if GBN is looking at Babineaux or Hawthorne? PFW was trashing Anttaj in their blog. Maybe another example of how 2 people can look at the same event and come to different conclusions.

[LikeABoss]

Spears workout assessment by PFW

Prospect of the day

LSU DE Marcus Spears

By Nolan Nawrocki
Jan. 25, 2005


DE Marcus Spears
(6-3 3/8, 302, 4.90e)

Stock: Rising

Buzz: Thickly built, Reggie White-type power defensive end with enough size, strength and quickness to move inside and line up as a three- or five-technique. Shows the athletic ability to drop into coverage. Waylaid Mississippi OT Jeremy Parquet with a very powerful punch. Can jolt defenders, anchor vs. the run and neutralize the double-team. Very naturally athletic with a thick bubble. Strong lower body. Rolls his hips and explodes on contact. Good football intelligence. Needs to work on hand placement and using his hands to shed blocks and keep defenders off his body. Has the physical ability to develop into a Pro Bowl talent — a cross between Vikings DT Kevin Williams and Patriots DL Richard Seymour.

Background: Converted tight end and outstanding prep basketball talent who was more highly sought-after as a hoops talent. Started the season slowly but finished very strong, recording 14 tackles for loss and eight sacks during the final six games. Batted down six passes, forced two fumbles, recovered one and returned an interception 35 yards vs. Mississippi State. Named the team’s MVP. Finished career tied for fifth in LSU history with 19 career sacks and seventh in school history with 34.5 career tackles for loss. A consensus First-Team All-American in 2004.

Marcus Spears is having a good workout at the Senior Bowl guys. I'm telling you, this man should be chosen as our 13th overall pick to fill the void at LDE where Walker is just taking up space. So what if Walker has a huge contract, he is not meeting the team's expectations, plus he is old and banged up. We need youth with great pass rushing ability in our front seven and that's something Marcus Spears would bring. Think about it, Spears and Babin on that left side would do some serious damage, and if teams start to double team either Spears or Babin or even both at the same time that would then free up the weak side

Marcus Spears should be chosen as our 13th pick!!!!

[texansfan88]

DT Anttaj Hawthorne of Wisconsin was mobbed by Dallas and Arizona scouts Carolina talked with J.J. Arrington, Michael Roos and Manuel White
Baltimore spoke with Adam Terry,
Taylor Stubblefield talked with San Francisco and New Orleans
Cincinnati and New Orleans sought out OG Marcus Johnson of Ole Miss
Ben Wilkerson spoke with Kansas City
Corey Webster conversed with Carolina as well as former NFL safety Marcus Robertson, now working with the Titans.

Still trying to find out some stuff about the Texans, will do my best in the next few hours

[LoNghoRn-TeXaN]

Originally Posted by Bottle-O-Bud

Who are we talking too?


I hope we talk to Logan Mankins. We steal him early second and Pitts might be a back up by next season. That boy can move folks like rag dolls, excellent for our zone blocking scheme.....

Pitts, Wand, and Wade are set for us. Pitts and Wand will improve significantly, and I think everyone on the board shares the same opinion. If we do get Mankins he will try to beat out Weigert for the RG position. We could live with Weigert for a season but he's getting old and he's not going to improve anymore, so we may replace him this or next season with very probably Milford Brown or Fred Weary. But I wouldn't rule out picking a RG for us in this draft. Also I dont see Mankins going in the second round. I'll say a mid to late third, but hey I might be wrong.

[STEEL BLUE TEXANS]

I got this little blurb about the Texans on another message board.

"Texans scouts were also discussing Wesley Britt (Alabama) and openly admitted they are high on the left tackle."

[Vinny]

Pretty interesting guy. Here is a bit of info on him...

http://www.collegefootballnews.com/2...esleyBritt.htm

[STEEL BLUE TEXANS]

Wesley Britt, 6-7 315, SR, Alabama

Wesley sustained a broken leg last year. But has really healed up and is playing as good as any tackle in the nation right now. He was recently selected to the prestigious Street & Smith's and Walter Camp Football Foundation's 1st Team All-American Team. This monster is extremely talented, he was a 1st team All-ACC left tackle before his fracture. He is very good blocking downfield and powerful in the running game. Alabama had a tremendous running game all year despite injuries to backfield stars. Britt was the lead blocker for the SEC's best ground attack dominating with 55 knockdown blocks.

[Wild Bill]

Wow!!! I haven't heard anything about him but that is, in my opinion, the Texans biggest area of need. All the mock drafts talk about Shaun Cody, Dan Cody, Anttaj Hawthorne at our #13 pick. I think these guys will be good NFL players one day, but not good enough to take at 13.

We have a 'good' defense and I think that picking Patterson out of USC in the second round would be a steal, if he's still available. However, we're getting our QB killed. The fact that he barely has 2 - 3 seconds to drop back and try to find an open receiver affects every aspect of the Texans team, such as:
1. Running the ball 'consistantly'
2. Time of possession
3. Defense getting tired in the fourth quarter

Dom Capers like to run a ball control offense. That doesn't mean run, run, run. That means being able to move the ball with effeciency. We can have Randy Moss, Terrell Owens, and all of the other Pro Bowl receivers on our team, but if David doesn't have enough time to drop back and let the routes develop, it doesn't do the team any good.

Thanks for sharing the information about Wesley Britt. I'm going to go do some homework of my own on him.

[texasguy346]

I think Patterson could be had late in the 3rd. I really think he might even last till early the second day. I think Hawthorne, Cody, Castillo, Johnson, Babineaux, and possibly Pouha will be gone before Patterson is picked. I understand his stock has risen some, but I still think he'll be a late 3rd round pick at the earliest.

[Blake]

Originally Posted by Vinny

Pretty interesting guy. Here is a bit of info on him...

http://www.collegefootballnews.com/2...esleyBritt.htm

This guy is awesome. I was contemplating trading down in the 2nd to pick him up as the Browns future LT. This guy is a beast.