2009 Senior Bowl: Game Recap

By: Roshan Bhagat | Updated: 1/25

A great week of practices culminated in a 35-18 victory for the South team. The win was only a victory cigar for a number of players on the South team who had improved their stocks in only the first leg of a tumultuous path to the draft. As I watched the practices, I wasn’t too surprised that the game went as smoothly as it did for both sides. Even so, I’d have to give a big round of applause to both the Bengals and Jaguars coaching staffs for their hard work in making for a clean game with only a week’s worth of practice. Let’s see who jumped out in Saturday’s big game.

I guess it’s only fair to give the first shout out to the MVP of the game, Pat White. Time and time again, White displayed his terrific arm strength in spreading the ball all over the field using good footwork and balance to set up each strike. The play that stuck out most was his 2nd and 8 rocket completion to Quan Cosby. He also showed nice touch connecting with Mike Wallace for six in the 3rd quarter and he repeatedly made plays with his feet throughout the game. He protected the ball and finished strong, just as he started. John Parker Wilson also impressed me with his ability to make plays with his feet and move the offense. Graham Harrell played like the worst QB in the game with inadequate arm strength and the inability to anticipate receiver coming loose.

In the backfield, I came away mightily impressed with Andre Brown. His best is definitely ahead of him. Brown is a big back with a good burst and quick feet. Building on a good week of practice, Brown was able to bust a couple big runs and a nice long screen pass to set up a touchdown. Jeremiah Johnson on the other side also looked good catching the ball out of the backfield and using his speed to turn the corner. Kory Sheets used his vision to set up a nice kick return and a couple nice runs. He showed consistent hands reeling in four passes on the night. Cedric Peerman bowled over defenders, showed determination by picking up yards after contact, and finished runs falling forward. Fullback Quinn Johnson did a nice job paving the way for the South team, but also caught 3 balls out of the backfield and punched in a touchdown near the goal line.

Juaquin Iglesias was the high receiver on the night, finishing with 6 receptions for 90 yards, including a nice 41 yard reception at the end of the game. He was consistent around the sidelines and caught just about every ball thrown to him. Brian Robiskie and Patrick Turner gave their respective teams a large target to throw to. They shielded defenders from the ball by using their body. The tight ends were scarcely used, but I can recall Brandon Pettigrew making several nice blocks in the run game washing out his assignment. Travis McCall continued his difficult week dropping a couple balls, which still makes me ask the following question. Why wasn’t his teammate Nick Walker there?

After the defensive line had dominated all week during practice, the interior offensive line retaliated for both squads in the game. Auburn’s guard Tyronne Green caught my eye several times during the game with the way he fired off the snap. Michael Oher had a solid day on the edge doing an okay job in pass protection and moving nicely to the second level in the run game. Eric Wood had a very nice day run blocking making several key blocks leading to big runs. As expected, Wood showed up on game day despite a below average performance in the one-on-one drills. Herman Johnson actually received most of his playing time at right tackle, which surprised me. What surprised me even more was that he didn’t look too bad out there. I can’t really say the same for Xavier Fulton who simply looked like he didn’t belong. It was a tough week for him. I also noticed one or two players blow right by Phil Loadholt who was playing left tackle at the time.

Even though both offensive lines got the better of the defensive lines, several players still stood out. The first was Tennessee’s Robert Ayers who has helped his stock as much as anyone this week. He was able to explode off the snap and run the arc around the tackle to reach the quarterback. For a man of his size, the quickness of Ayers is extremely impressive. Look for him to challenge for a day one selection after this week’s performance. Peria Jerry also played very well. His strength is very impressive and it shows with the way he can control the line of scrimmage. He played well against the run, but also recorded a sack, deflected a pass, and recovered a fumble in the end zone. Fili Moala started off the game exploding off the snap. Compared to the rest of the defensive linemen this week, I believe Moala has the quickest first step snap after snap. He shoots the gap better than most and that allowed him to get some pressure early in the game. Mitch King was once again very difficult to control as well. His body size doesn’t fit the mold of any position in the NFL, but he’s a football player with great instincts and ability. Corey Irwin and Kyle Moore also recorded sacks in the game.

After facing scrutiny the entire week, Rey Maualuga responded on Saturday as he typically does. He forced a fumble and blew up a screen pass. Rey played very aggressively and showed that once he diagnoses a play, he has the ability to get to the ball in a flash. He has some work to do immediately after the snap, but if can improve that, there’s no reason why he can’t be a Pro Bowl linebacker in the NFL. Scott McKillop also proved to be a gamer. He may not have the best measureables or look flashy in any game, but McKillop has great instincts and is always making plays around the ball. He may not be a day one linebacker, but he could be a very good two down linebacker in the league and with improvement, become one of those draft steals. He recorded 7 tackles on the day. Marcus Freeman was the leading tackler in the game, for both sides, with 8 tackles for the North team. Darry Beckwith made a nice play in pass coverage reading the eyes of the quarterback and nearly intercepting a pass.

With only a week of practice for quarterbacks, the defensive backs had the opportunity to stick to their instincts and make plays on the outside. Most impressive today was none other than Wake Forest’s Alphonso Smith. He played great coverage the entire game and nearly returned an interception the other way. He sat on a route, broke quickly on the ball, and just dropped the interception with a lot of green in front on of him. He’s the best ballhawk in the corner class and doesn’t make too many mistakes. If it wasn’t for his short stature, he’d surely be a high 1st round selection. Instead, he’s a borderline 1st-2nd guy. Macho Harris quietly had a great evening as well locking down his assignments. His name was hardly called, which for a cornerback is typically a good thing. Patrick Chung once again looked like the best safety on the field and laid a big hit very early in the game to mark his presence. West Virginia’s Ellis Lankster flashed potential yet again. His coverage is very tight, he had a nice interception over Brian Robiskie, and he also made a nice diving tackle in run support. DeAngelo Smith gave up the long touchdown to Mike Wallace in addition to several other receptions. He doesn’t do a great job with his cushion in off man coverage. Domonique Johnson continued to disappoint yet again allowing several receptions on the day and looking lost for the most part. He almost had an interception, but that would have been the product of an errant pass.

The North team’s punter, Kevin Huber looked like the best special teams player on the day. He boomed several punts and got good hang time. His first punt was just inches long of rolling out inside the one-yard line. I would have liked to see Louie Sakoda because that’s where I think he’ll be best in the NFL. He does a great job of downing punts inside the 20, but he didn’t appear to have a great leg off the tee. He did nail his only field goal attempt which came from 38 yards out. Thomas Morstead looked pretty bad all evening. His punts were very short line drives and benefited from several nice rolls. He doesn’t look the part of an NFL punter. Patrick McAfee failed to drive his kickoffs past the 10 yard line on a consistent basis.

The game concluded an exhilarating week in Mobile, Alabama.