Senior Bowl: North Team Practice, Day One Observations

It was the first practice of three for the North Squad, and you could tell. Players were out of rhythm and looking to shake off the rust. There were however some outstanding performances, and then there were some sub par performances. Let’s take a look at some of the players that caught my eye.

Note: Unfortunately, school starts back this week, so I was not able to attend the Senior Bowl practices. All of my observations come from watching the practices via NFL Network.

The Good
1. Boise State WR, Titus Young – Showed amazing speed and quickness on the practice field today. Consistently got behind the secondary and put 3-5 yards of separation between him and the nearest defender. Did drop a couple of balls, but that’s to be expected on the opening day of practice.

2. Cal DE, Cameron Jordan– Jordan was exceptional today. Showed up great in all phases of practice. Was very impressive during 1-on-1 offensive linemen/defensive linemen drills. Dominated offensive linemen with excellent hand placement, quickness and strength. He was by far the most impressive defensive linemen for the North team.

3. San Diego State WR, Vincent Brown – This was my first time getting the opportunity to see him play, and he impressed. Showed excellent route running ability, and was sure handed. Did a fantastic job at plucking the ball out of the sky. Also showed some ability to run by defenders and get deep.

The Bad
1. Washington QB, Jake Locker – Locker was erratic throughout practice. At one point he hit 5 straight passes during 1-on-1 receiver/defensive back drills. Then at another point, he threw an interception and missed on consecutive throws. He’ll need to show better accuracy as the week progresses.

2. Oklahoma DE/OLB, Jeremy Beal – During 1-on-1 offensive linemen/defensive linemen drills, Beal looked sluggish and un-athletic. He had a hard time getting off the snap and running the boot. He even got pancaked during the drill.

3. Boise State WR, Austin Pettis – Pettis showed good hands, but looked slow in and out of his breaks. He also did poorly on deep routes. At one point, he ran a poorly execute 9-route. He got bodied on the play by Quinton Carter, and ended up on the ground.