Locals make noise, linemen show off at Texas vs. Nation practice
EL PASO, Texas -- At the second day of practice in the Texas vs. the Nation showcase, the locals were in the spotlight yet again.
UTEP wide receiver Jeff Moturi grabbed the attention of scouts again. The quick, 5-foot-11, 186-pound slot receiver was solid in position drills, but had a disappointing drop in team drills on an intermediate out route to the left sideline. Scouts take careful note of any discrepancy between performance in practice -- like one-on-one drills and "live" action.
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| Baylor's David Gettis tends to catch the ball with his body instead of his hands. (US Presswire) |
Mississippi tight end Gerald Harris and Newberry wide receiver Kelton Tindal had poor practices. At 6-foot-5, 262 pounds, Harris has an NFL body and enough blocking ability to warrant a free-agent grade. But he has not looked like a draft prospect, dropping catchable passes, lumbering out of his stance and looking stiff running routes.
Tindal's speed is legendary in scouting circles -- he is expected to run the 40 in less than 4.3 seconds in upcoming workouts. His burst is remarkable and allows for easy separation from cornerbacks. However, he is extremely raw running routes -- consistently losing his balance -- and has been erratic catching the ball. Despite those issues, a team might be willing to take a chance on him and spend a late-round pick with the hope of improvement.
A day for the bigs
Skill-position players draw plenty of attention, but Tuesday was a day for the linemen.
South Dakota State's Casey Knips has the 6-foot-7, 308-pound frame to play left tackle and proved his strength to DT/DE Lorenzo Washington (Alabama), who looks quick as a pass rusher playing inside this week. Knips tossed him aside and pancaked him during seven-on-seven drills. Knips' feet are not always quick enough to handle speed rushers, and he has questionable strength to play on the strong side.
Morehouse offensive tackle Ramon Harewood flashed athleticism at the HBCU Bowl in December. He is playing guard here with fair results. At 6-foot-6, 353 pounds and with very good strength, he looks like a potential player inside despite starting at left tackle at Morehouse. He had been one of the linemen having issues blocking Washington this week, and it's clear the level of competition in El Paso is much stronger than in the SIAC or at the HBCU Bowl.
The most polished defensive lineman in practices so far appears to be LSU's Charles Alexander. He uses his large hands violently, swimming or ripping off centers and guards inside, and also displays some quickness if given the space to operate one-on-one. Alexander's play conjures up memories of Ohio State DT Nader Abdullah's performance at this game last year.
Central Arkansas defensive end Larry Hart shows power and speed off the edge, but the 6-foot, 246-pound Hart lacks great length and will likely move to linebacker at the next level. This week he's joined Marshall's Albert McClellan, Stephen F. Austin's Tim Knicky, and South Dakota State's Danny Batten as former ends working at linebacker to improve their draft stock.
Batten has been the most impressive of the group, beating Eastern Illinois' Chris Campbell -- he has flashed good footwork, length and strength at left tackle this week -- badly in limited one-on-one work, reading and knocking away a slant route in five-on-seven, and blowing up the fullback in the hole while playing inside linebacker.
Nation practice
Prize prospects
Tennessee quarterback Jonathan Crompton and Hillsdale left tackle Jared Veldheer were hard for scouts to take their eyes off in Tuesday's practice and that will be a recurring theme this week. They are odds-on favorites to be the highest-drafted players from this game.
Crompton completed only 58.3 percent of his passes for the Vols in 2009, but his accuracy has been good in drills and in live action this week. His velocity and spiral have been consistently better than any of the quarterbacks in the East-West Shrine Game or Senior Bowl practices, outside of West Virginia's Jarrett Brown (who struggled mightily against pressure in the game). Crompton does need to unload more quickly when throwing intermediate and deep outs, on which receivers struggled to stay in bounds even if the ball is thrown on the money.
Veldheer is this year's version of Sebastian Vollmer, the Houston offensive tackle who wowed scouts enough at the 2009 East-West practices to earn a late second-round pick by the Patriots (and a starting spot on the right side). His athleticism -- at 6-8, 315 pounds -- is astounding and he plays with real toughness and consistent arm extension in pass protection. After he runs a sub-5.0 40-yard dash at the Combine, Veldheer's almost assured of being a top-75 selection.
Veldheer's play hasn't been perfect. Impressive Rutgers defensive end George Johnson displayed great power and speed to beat him with an outside-in move in one-on-one drills. Johnson let Veldheer know about it afterward, but failed to beat him the second time around. Veldheer took him around the pocket and continued to pound Johnson well after the end had given up trying to win the battle.
Power pivot
Northern Illinois center Eddie Adamski was measured at 6-foot-2, 282, before practices began. He plays much bigger, using a low center of gravity to his advantage and forcing bigger tackles to try and bull rush him because of his quickness. Though not fluid in space, he also is effective getting to linebackers, walling off the inside linebacker on between-the-tackles running plays. With help on the inside from a doubling guard, however, Adamski could surprise in a training camp, or possibly be picked up very late in the draft by a team interested in a feisty technician for a zone-blocking scheme.
Hands team
The Texas squad has two big-bodied receivers in Marcus Easley (6-2, 214, UConn) and Juamorris Stewart (6-1, 201, Southern University) that have used their strong hands and size effectively against smaller defenders this week. Keeping their balance on out or comeback routes has proven problematic and shows their inexperience. But like the Texas receivers mentioned above, coaches will work with Easley and Stewart in training camp to turn raw tools into something more.
The Nation squad's answer to UTEP quick slot receiver Jeff Moturi is Arizona State's 5-9, 185-pound Kyle Williams. His crisp routes, sure hands and elusiveness make him fun to watch, and he hasn't even shown his punt-return skills yet.
Snap judgment
Western Michigan four-year starting quarterback Tim Hiller has performed at or near expectations this week. He throws an excellent deep ball when given time in the pocket, has fair accuracy on short and intermediate routes and displayed a little more mobility than you would expect from a 6-4, 229-pound quarterback. The big concern: He doesn't always unload the ball quickly and has shown scouts on film that he does not make sound decision when facing pressure.
Hybrid trend
Defensive end/linebackers are a big part of this draft class, and the Texas squad has three guys looking to make that transition. William and Mary star Adrian Tracy is a lanky defensive end, but his speed and counter pass rush moves in one-on-one drills were impressive. He also looked capable of handling coverage responsibilities in the flat, which makes him a valued commodity in a 3-4 scheme.
Adrian Moats (6-0, 246) is a similar prospect to Nation DE/OLB Larry Hart, lacking the size and length to be effective with his hands down but bringing the noise to the quarterback whenever given the opportunity. He looks a bit lost playing in space in team play and will take some time to be a factor in coverage at the next level.
Digging for DTs
In a draft already loaded with talent at defensive tackle, Maryland's Travis Ivey is angling to pile on. Ivey won't set any world speed records at his pro day, but his strong club move and relative quickness for a future nose tackle will get him looks in the late rounds.
On the flip side, Cincinnati defensive end Alex Daniels, who hoped to get himself into late-round consideration, hasn't made many plays in drill or team work this week because he can't get the edge and gets stuck on tackles' blocks.
Chad Reuter is a Senior Analyst for NFLDraftScout.com, distributed by The Sports Xchange.
