2019 Senior Bowl

 

Day 1 Practice Report (Tuesday Practice) 

 

By: Ed Hunt

 

Today was in shells for the first day of practice, so it was up to the quarterbacks, wide receivers, cornerbacks and receiving tight ends to put on a show.  I was really looking for ball placement from quarterbacks and route running from wide receivers.

 

Quarterbacks:

 

Will Grier got the first team reps for the South Team.  I would say he had a poor showing despite his good news from the weigh in.  There was one play where he flat out didn’t know what the route was going to be and missed poorly.  He also fumbled a snap on a handoff to the running back.  Grier also needed to have better ball placement.

 

Gardner Minshew had an okay showing.  He seems to be able to drop passes into the bucket, but doesn’t really have a strong throwing arm.

 

Jarrett Stidham needs to have better ball placement.  He had an average showing today too.  His biggest struggles are with ball placement and accuracy.

 

Tyree Jackson has a great arm.  We already knew that.  He displayed it for us in practice, but I am interested to see how he does when he has pass rushers coming after him.

 

Drew Lock got the first team reps for the North team.  He is showing better ball placement than we have seen on tape.  He also looks great throwing the ball downfield.  He also was able to fit a pass into a tight window to Tommy Sweeney.  Overall, he showed why he is the first QB out there for the North team.

 

Ryan Finley looks really comfortable out there.  Finley was completing a nice deep ball.  He also has some zip on his passes.

 

Daniel Jones had an average day. He showed at times his ability to throw the deep ball coupled with times where he struggled with the deep ball.  I would define his day as hot and cold.

 

Trace McSorley throws a wobbly ball.  He was probably the weakest in the North Quarterback group.  He is still someone that could get drafted.

 

The lead dog from the quarterback is Drew Lock.  He came in with questions about ball placement and accuracy and showed that he might have improved in those areas.  There is a chance he is the first quarterback taken in this draft.

 

Running Backs:

 

Trevon Westco from West Virginia had a nice grab.  He also had a drop, so it’s hard to know what to make of his hands.

 

Dexter Williams looks explosive.  I know they are only in shells, but it’s obvious.

 

Tony Pollard was also in the punt return line, but seemed to have more trouble than Renfroe returning punts.

 

Overall, it’s hard to judge running backs until the backs on linebackers’ drill.

 

Wide Receivers:

 

Deebo Samuel played some in the slot today.  He surprised me in media day by saying that he prefers the slot.  He showed some good route running in practice.

 

Hunter Renfroe didn’t stand out as a receiver, but he was on the punt returns.  He looked very comfortable fielding punts.  He did need some help lining up in the right place.

 

David Sills V of West Virginia had a nice grab.  He seemed very solid in the first day of practice.

 

Andy Isabella showed good speed and quickness.  He also has good hands in traffic.

 

Alex Wesley, a receiver from Northern Colorado, showed that he is capable of playing at this level.

 

Terry McLaurin had a productive day.  I saw him make three catches and he showed up in the scrimmage.  I am really looking for a receiver who is primarily suited for the outside to get behind and he is the early favorite for that job.  What I like about him is that he looks good in and out of his breaks.

 

The lead dog from the receiver group is Terry McLaurin from Ohio State.

 

Tight Ends:

 

Josh Oliver from San Jose State looks average as a route runner.  He did show good hands on one particular catch.

 

Foster Moreau from LSU had a great day.  He looked like a matchup nightmare against linebackers covering him.  He also had a nice grab in traffic.  I interviewed him after practice, and he was very humble about it.

 

Foster Moreau is the lead dog of the tight ends after today.

 

Offensive Line:

 

Ross Pierschbacher was on the ground in the one on one’s.  I didn’t pay much attention to the OL today, but that stuck out to me.

 

Defensive Line:

 

Carl Granderson looks like he is too thin.  He has long arms, but it seems like offensive linemen are out strengthening him.

 

Dontavious Russell was showing a lot of power in the drills I watched him do.

 

Linebackers:

 

Drue Tranquill looked good in coverage. 

 

Cornerbacks:

 

Jaquan Johnson needs to be more physical in coverage.

 

Amani Oruwariye had a nice breakup in coverage.  It drew some praise from the crowd and coaches.

 

Overall, I want to see more of the defensive backs when there is live tackling.  I think Oruwariye is the lead dog of this position.

 

Winners:

 

While it is hard to crown winners from practice in shells, some people did stick out.  They were Drew Lock, Ryan Finley, Terry McLaurin, Andy Isabella, Foster Moreau, Drue Tranquill, and Amani Oruwariye.