Texas vs. Nation: Who scored on golden opportunity?
College football all-star games are known as much for sloppy play as big plays. The goal for players in Saturday's Texas vs. the Nation Challenge was to take advantage of a golden opportunity to make a positive impression on scouts.
Overall, quarterback play was average at best. Rusty Smith (Florida Atlantic) made some nice throws on the day but had a mental meltdown when he ran out of the back of the end zone for a safety. Tennessee's Jonathan Crompton threw the most consistently but was only 9 for 20 for the game.
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| Jonathan Crompton was the best of a middling lot of passers. (Getty Images) |
Crompton's favorite target was Southern's Juamorris Stewart. Stewart failed to get his head around on a route for Crompton's throws early in the game, as he did in last week's practices. He came back strong, making multiple catches, including an outstanding catch on the sideline when coming back to help Crompton. The former Volunteer found Stewart again late in the third quarter -- behind Fresno State corner A.J. Jefferson -- to score from 36 yards out.
On the Texas side, the game was mostly about LSU speedster Trindon Holliday. He showed great balance, quickness and elusiveness with the ball in his hands playing running back, receiver and returner. He connected with Perriloux on another 67-yard play for a touchdown, going up to trap the ball against his chest near the sideline and getting downfield quickly for the score.
He consistently flipped field position on punts and kicks with quick decisions and pure speed. The return success might be viewed as a mirage by scouts, who know most of players covering kicks in this game are inexperienced on special teams, and Virginia Tech's Brent Bowden was very inconsistent putting air under the ball.
Holliday did drop a pitch from Perrilloux and a reverse in the fourth quarter, bringing back memories of several drops during the week of practices. And his 5-foot-5 height is troublesome for some teams. Still, his quickness is hard for scouts to ignore, and could get him a late draft slot.
Minnesota linebacker Simoni Lawrence, a former junior college safety with great speed, was a standout on defense. He always seemed to be around the ball, and wrapped up elusive Southern Illinois running back Deji Karim in the open field a couple of times. Lawrence also knocked down a pass in the flat.
Karim looked powerful and quick as a runner and threat as a receiver on screens. He runs very low, making him hard to find and bring down. He lost his balance leaning too far forward, but teams should be looking his way when thinking about a late-round pick or priority free agent at the running back spot.
William & Mary's Adrian Tracy looked very good in space as a linebacker after playing defensive end in college. He tackled running backs and receivers adeptly and even took on a fullback to blow up a goal-line play. Safety Nick Polk knocked away a pass going to Missouri State H-back/tight end Clay Harbor, reaching in front in Harbor without interfering, to force a Texas field goal attempt.
Harbor proved the good hands he displayed all week were legit but was also excellent blocking in space, sealing the edge and driving Tracy down the field after lowering shoulder from H-back spot. That receiving/blocking combination greatly intrigues scouts.
Another H-back/tight end, Florida Atlantic's Jason Harmon had impressive hands for the Nation squad all week and made another catch in the game after a fine release from the line. His biggest play came sealing the edge to free up Toney Baker for a 33-yard gain. At 216 pounds, scouts would not expect that sort of execution.
Small-school tackles performed well throughout the week and the Nation's Jared Veldheer (Hillsdale College) looked like the same athletic, powerful lineman he did all week in practice, taking quick ends around the pocket and adjusting well to an inside spin move by quick Junior Galette (Stillman College). Veldheer blocked on kickoff return coverage.
West Texas A&M tackle J'Marcus Webb was stout in pass protection and as a run blocker, and even got out in front of screens to dominate defensive backs. Charlie Campbell (Eastern Illinois) stood his ground in pass protection and looked fluid getting out in front of Holliday's TD run in the third quarter.
Ramon Harewood (Morehouse) was a left tackle in college. He was quite impressive at right guard for team Texas in the game, pushing guys off the line and looking very comfortable getting to the second level to take out smaller defenders. He gave West Texas A&M running back Keithon Flemming big holes to run through. Flemming's vision, toughness, quick cuts and stiff arm were eye-opening.
Galette, a Temple transfer, got his revenge against Veldheer late in the first half with an explosive sack turning the corner on Rusty Smith's five-step drop and challenged the Hillsdale tackle on other occasions with quickness and surprising strength. He also had a nice outside-in move against North Carolina right tackle Kyle Jolly to pressure the quarterback and closed on bootlegs to force quick throws. Galette's explosiveness as a pass rusher could get him drafted.
Nation defensive end E.J. Wilson (North Carolina) came through with five tackles and two sacks, mostly against overmatched TCU right tackle Nick Richmond. Wilson also recovered a fumble when a ball slipped out of Perrilloux's hands while trying to throw with the UNC end in his face.
The award for the single-most impressive defensive play goes to Marshall's Albert McClellan, a former defensive end who stepped in front of a floating Tim Hiller (Western Michigan) pass in the flat, making a great catch and taking it into the end zone. He looked fluid in space most of the week and could make the transition to 3-4 linebacker.
Chad Reuter is a Senior Analyst for NFLDraftScout.com, distributed by The Sports Xchange.
