2009 Senior Bowl: Tuesday South Recap

By: Roshan Bhagat | Updated: 1/20

As the South Team practiced in Ladd-Peebles Stadium for the first time this week, we got to see some real stars play well. They also battled the wind later in the day, which created a bit of a struggle. Unlike the North Team, I saw several players really flash some dominance here, though none like Sedrick Ellis a year ago. It was the most physical practice all week and coincidentally, the most fun.

The quarterbacks on the whole don’t look a whole lot better than they do on the North team. This just goes to show that the senior quarterback class is really not very good and reinforces the good decisions of four juniors to declare, who sit one through four respectively in my rankings. I never thought I would have found myself saying this, but just as I was ready to move Pat White to my wide receiver rankings, he puts together a solid practice like today. His footwork may have been the best of the bunch and he threw like a man with something to prove. He fired a laser downfield splitting defenders and several other solid throws as well. The quarterback I thought would have been doing well this week was John Parker Wilson, my top senior. His arm strength was very poor as he struggled to hit open receivers downfield and failed to get any velocity behind his passes. Sadly, Cullen Harper didn’t do much better either. He had no zip on the football, his accuracy downfield was off, and he doesn’t have a great release. At this point it’s tough to rank all of these quarterbacks this week.

Of the running backs, Andre Brown and Arian Foster emerged as the talented backs they really are. Brown had some nice runs, also a product of the offensive line, but showed great speed for a back his size. Foster did a good job running up the middle and turning it outside once he moved to the second level. He doesn’t have the breakaway speed, but he displayed some wiggle and shiftiness. Rashad Jennings was one of the players I was excited to see this week. He was relatively quiet today, but had a couple nice blocks in the team portion of the practice.

Mohamed Massaquoi looked like the cream of the crop at wide receiver for the South team. He accelerated well off the line of scrimmage and managed to get good separation. At times, he looked great catching the ball with his hands, but like usual, he was plagued with a couple drops. I’m finally starting to look at him as more than a mid-round prospect. Kenny McKinley wasn’t very far behind either. He’s probably the fastest receiver on his team and has good control on the deep ball. For 5’8, 187 pounds, Arizona’s Mike Thomas is awfully tough and physical. He does a good job competing for the ball in traffic and uses his hands to catch balls away from his body. I’m not sure what kind of speed he has, but he could legitimately be the next small wideout to make an impact in the NFL. Both Quan Cosby and Patrick Turner had some trouble getting separation from defensive backs, but caught the balls when they were open.

Over the two day stretch, Southern Mississippi’s Shawn Nelson may be helping his stock the most. Depending on what he runs at the Combine and how he measures as an athlete, he could be one of the first several tight ends selected. He can run up and down the field, separate, and catch the ball. His best play on the day might have been his pancake of Rey Maualuga. How’s that for a weakness? His teammates at tight end, Anthony Hill and Travis McCall struggled the entire afternoon. McCall struggled mightily as he dropped and bobbled several passes that hit him directly in the hands.

The big name on the offensive line was Michael Oher and his performance today was a microcosm of his season. He was initially beat by David Veikune of Hawaii, but came back and rebounded nicely. He split several other battles throughout the day as well. Oher has very nice feet, but sometimes tends to get a little lazy giving up the inside edge or the corner. He has shown me enough to believe he can play on the left side. Center Antoine Caldwell may be playing the best of the talented center class this week. Unlike Unger and Mack on the North team, Caldwell has the strength to play in the middle, as witnessed by his standing up of Georgia defensive tackle Corey Irvin. The rest of the offensive line fared no better than these two. Eric Wood struggled to play one-on-one in open space, but looked better with guys next to him. Troy Kropog, the raw left tackle from Tulane was also plagued by inconsistency. He flashed athletic ability with a nice kick slide to cut off the edge, but was absolutely mauled by a bull rush. Kropog is still a bit of a project at this point. Herman Johnson surprised everyone by measuring in at 6’7, 382 pounds. On the field, he looked every bit of those 382 pounds. He barely moved well and was easily beaten by speed moves. As a run blocker, he was unable to get a push on Peria Jerry. Anthony Parker had a dismal day showing a complete lack of balance, falling over, and playing without his feet under him.

My big winner on the day, between both teams, was Ole Miss’s defensive tackle, Peria Jerry. At 6’2, 290 pounds, he looks very well built and at a playing weight where he can play both the run and pass effectively. He was constantly getting penetration, beating blocks, and holding his own in the run game. If there were any doubts before, Jerry is a first round prospect now. The USC guys on the line also played really well. Fila Moala was extremely impressive in one-on-one drills as he flashed a variety of moves using his strength and quickness to beat the linemen. Keep in mind that pass rushing was never a problem for Moala, but rather his run stopping ability was consistently questioned. DE Kyle Moore used great hand placement to beat tackles on the edge. Tennessee’s Robert Ayers was another defensive end that had a good day. He showed a nasty side to him, toughness, and a strong motor finishing off plays. I tried to catch a glimpse of Richmond’s Lawrence Sidbury, but he was too fast of the edge to even get a good look at. Just as the tackle got out of his Sidbury already had the angle around him and to the dummy quarterback. He’s an incredible athlete who beat Jason Watkins handily two plays in a row. I’ll try and keep a closer eye on him the rest of the week.

The linebacking crew for the South team was headed by three USC linebackers. Of the three, Clay Matthews had the best day. He looked quick off the edge and displayed some nice pass rush moves to beat tight ends in a blitzing drill. After starting off with a great blitz, setting up an inside alley to the quarterback, Rey Maualuga’s day went downhill. He seemed always a step behind in pass coverage and was a fairly easy pickup as a blitzer on several occasions. Brian Cushing was somewhat forgettable, but made several nice plays in the team portion of practice. He was one of few all day to look comfortable dropping back into coverage.

Even at 5’9, Alphonso Smith might be a borderline first round pick. It’s about the only thing that is preventing him from being one of the most talked about players in Mobile. He played very fast, physical and instinctive all day. Though bigger receivers like Randy Moss may trouble him at the next level, he should be able to compete with most of the guys. Coye Francies from San Jose State is a corner that won’t have trouble competing with bigger receivers. He had some nice hits in practice, but more importantly showed good ball skills that scouts adore. Dominique Johnson, the next so-called Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, isn’t having a memorable week. This was his chance to shine, but he’s just blending in with the rest of the group. West Virginia’s Ellis Lankster looked remarkable in one-on-one drills by not biting on double moves and blanketing receivers.

With my first look at the South team, I really like the talent on this side of the roster. They have some of the bigger names such as Oher and Maualuga, but may not have the depth of the North team where there are very few players that will likely go undrafted. After comparing the two teams now, I like how physical the South team is playing and so I’ll say they’re better as of now. We’ll see how that changes tomorrow. The NFL Network will cover the South team practice from 5:00PM-7:00PM (ET).