Senior Bowl notes: South's big uglies have big showing

MOBILE, Ala. -- From players who caused scouts to scribble furiously in their notebooks to revolutionary practice drills to assistant coaches generating unexpected buzz in post-practice interviews, the action was everywhere during the South team's first practice at the Senior Bowl on Monday.

With Virginia's Eugene Monroe and Baylor's Jason Smith electing to skip the Senior Bowl, Mississippi's Michael Oher has an opportunity in Mobile to establish himself as the elite offensive tackle of the 2009 class. To do so, however, he'll need to win more battles against Tennessee defensive end Robert Ayers.

Tennessee's Robert Ayers (pictured) and Ole Miss' Michael Oher are giving each other big challenges. (Getty Images)

Oher was smooth getting to the second level and showed a determination and physicality scouts had hoped to see more of throughout his career. The physicality extended to his pass blocking. After being beaten with an impressive swim move by Ayers during a late scrimmage, Oher exacted some revenge with a dominating pancake on the next play. The battle between these two SEC stars could go down as one of the best of the week. Ayers was impressive Monday, but he'll have plenty of competition from Mississippi defensive tackle Peria Jerry this week to be characterized as the South's top defensive lineman. Jerry used his explosive quickness and strong upper body to consistently dominate in one-on-one drills.

Southern California defensive tackle Fili Moala also showed great quickness and made plays in the scrimmage. Moala, quicker and better in pursuit than often given credit for, helped himself Monday. While he was occasionally beaten by quickness, Alabama center Antoine Caldwell proved capable of handling even the best of the South's defensive tackles when he was able to get his hands on them. Strong and balanced, Caldwell locked up defenders well in one-on-one drills, easing some of the concerns scouts had about his lateral quickness and agility.

The monumental clashes that take place in "the pit" present scouts with some of the more entertaining moments during Senior Bowl week, but there is no denying that the defensive linemen have an inherent advantage during one-on-one drills. Rather than spend all my time watching the behemoths wage war in the trenches, I focused mainly on those not requiring the development of camaraderie with others to excel -- an impressive South roster of defensive backs. In doing so, I also got a feel for many of the quarterbacks, wide receivers and tight ends.

The battle to be the top quarterback on the South roster was only a two-man fight Monday, as West Virginia's Pat White will need to step it up the rest of the week. White consistently struggled with his accuracy Monday. His short and intermediate passes had enough zip, but were often too high or outside. Receivers were often forced to break off their routes and defenders had multiple opportunities for big plays.

Alabama's John Parker Wilson and Clemson's Cullen Harper both had their moments. Harper may have been the more consistent of the two, but he also elected to throw dump-off passes to the backs and tight ends much of the day. Harper completed the prettiest pass of the day, a deep go route to Southern California's Patrick Turner, but otherwise relied on intermediate routes. He generally was accurate, but scouts want to see him take more chances.

Wilson was willing to go deep, but it's not his strength. He threw with better accuracy and zip on comeback routes and when rolling out than expected, and was often the South's most impressive passer in drills. However, he'll need to step up his level of play in scrimmages.

Jacksonville quarterbacks coach Mike Shula had a unique way of coaching the South quarterbacks to avoid the long arms of the incoming pass rush. With receivers running simple routes, his coaches put up a 10-foot fence-on-wheels that forced the passers to throw with an over-the-top release. Not surprisingly, Wilson, the former Shula disciple, was the most successful with this device, as his passes typically flew just over the top, traveled with good velocity to their target and were generally accurate. Harper's passes were generally accurate, but lacked zip. White's passes were often quite high -- sometimes yards high -- to his receivers.

All it takes is one trademark catch for Kenny McKinley to make an impression. (Getty Images)

The receivers and tight ends on the South roster were plagued by drops. Arizona's Mike Thomas and Georgia's Mohamed Massaquoi each dropped multiple passes. Thomas also dropped a punt toward the end of practice, though the wind was swirling. South Carolina's Kenny McKinley showed the toughness and concentration that characterized much of his career with the Gamecocks on one early pass, snatching a reception and hanging on despite a good, physical pop from the defender.

Mississippi's Mike Wallace has deep speed, but rarely was targeted Monday. Southern California's Patrick Turner had the catch of the day, extending himself to snatch a deep pass from Harper against close coverage by Alphonso Smith, but otherwise wasn't consistently able to use his huge height advantage to make plays.

While the receivers were largely inconsistent Monday, the tight ends were worse as a group. Alabama's Travis McCall and N.C. State's Anthony Hill each dropped passes, with McCall really struggling at times. Southern Mississippi's Shawn Nelson flashed the hands to snatch the tough pass outside of his frame, but wasn't as secure on other passes, too often allowing throws into his pads. His rare speed down the seam, however, warrants a close look.

The South's cornerbacks are the squad's top group from top to bottom, and have the athleticism scouts are looking for. Wake Forest's Alphonso Smith and San Jose State's Coye Francies both have the elite foot quickness and flexible hips for man coverage. Smith was aggressive throughout the day, breaking up multiple short passes and challenging receivers to try to take him deep. He victimized White for an easy pick-six late in the scrimmage that just served as the icing on the cake. Smith was as impressive as any player on the field, though the reality is few starting NFL cornerbacks stand just 5-feet-9.

Francies was tentative at times, but seemed to get more comfortable as practice went on and broke on the ball well. He also had the most impressive interception of the practice, running stride-for-stride with the receiver and catching a pass over his opposite shoulder despite contact. Troy's Sherrod Martin practiced at cornerback throughout the day and looked surprisingly effective. He was a bit high in his backpedal at times, but broke on the ball well and showed better than expected hips to turn and run deep.

Jackson State's Domonique Johnson was as inconsistent as one might expect for a player making his jump in competition level. There were bright spots, as he improved as the practice went on, but he's long-legged and struggled to mirror the quicker receivers' routes.

Liberty RB Rashad Jennings, transfer from Pitt, gets a shot to show he has big-play speed. (Getty Images)

Similarly, I don't focus on running backs on the first day of practice as the offensive linemen haven't been able to develop any chemistry and, thus, any holes. Liberty running back Rashad Jennings made a nice catch on an outlet pass during the scrimmage, however, and showed much more acceleration than scouts -- and certainly the South safeties -- were expecting. Jennings, 6-1, 234 pounds, zipped through the defense and broke into the open for what would have been a long touchdown.

LSU guard Herman Johnson was moved outside to right tackle at times. He played well there, though was often attacked in pass protection. He did show the pop at the line of scrimmage as a run blocker and showed his surprising quickness to the second level, providing an imposing figure. Linebackers and safeties were able to move around him, but by the time they were able to do so, the backs were safely downfield.

Weigh-in notes

•  The height and weight measurement process had to be delayed twice due to overzealous media members and scouts taking pictures of the players. Francies was the lightest player on the South roster, weighing in at 179 pounds. Thomas was the shortest, standing only 5-8. There was no doubt who the tallest and heaviest player on the South roster would be, but the gasps were still quite audible when Herman Johnson measured in at 6-7 3/8 and a whopping 382 pounds.

•  Other notable results from the South weigh-ins included Texas wide receiver Quan Cosby measuring in at a shade under 5-9, a full two inches shorter than he was listed with the Longhorns. Two inches might not seem like much, but the difference could mean the Fiesta Bowl hero drops a full round in the draft amid questions about how he'll match up in the NFL.

•  Maualuga might be a fierce hitter, but his lack of upper body definition was surprising. Tennessee guard Anthony Parker is a big man at just a shade under 6-2, 310 pounds, but his especially sloppy middle drew some raised eyebrows.

•  Two small-school players stood out for their impressive measureables. Jennings, a Pittsburgh transfer, owns one of the more impressive builds in this game. The rugged 6-1, 234-pounder certainly passes the eyeball test.

•  Richmond defensive end Lawrence Sidbury, Jr. might have earned a lot of money just by having his arms and hands measured Monday. While scouts will continue to question whether he's athletic enough to move to linebacker or will have to remain an undersized defensive end, the 6-2, 267-pound pass rusher measured in with extraordinary arms (35 inches) and hands (10½). Only Herman Johnson was longer. Sidbury's long arms and big hands will prove useful in his fighting with blockers on his way to the quarterback.

Rob Rang is a Senior Analyst for NFLDraftScout.com, distributed by The Sports Xchange.