2010 Senior Bowl Practice Report: Day Two

Day two has come and gone for the practices prior to the 2010 Senior Bowl.  Television coverage of the event was dominated by the Tim Tebow Show today, which is understandable if not frustrating.  I understand that NFLN is trying to expand their viewership of all pre-draft events and therefore feels it is necessary to show the most popular college player invited to Mobile, but it's aggravating to see so much focus on a player who has very little chance of cracking the first two rounds of the draft.

In my practice breakdown, you'll see an absence of notes on both running backs and linebackers.  This is because during coverage of the practices, NFLN usually shows pass rushing drills involving the offensive and defensive lines and pass drills with wide receivers, defensive backs and quarterbacks.  If anyone has questions about specific players feel free to leave them in the comments and I'll try to relate what I've seen so far or I'll try to keep an eye out in future practices.  Enough talk.  Follow the jump to see the notes.

South

- Taylor Mays (S - USC) didn't have a great day.  He did do a good job separating from a blocking wide receiver during a stalk block drill to pursue the trailing ball carrier, but later was burnt in both press and soft coverage at least three times that were shown.  It's a little unfair to grade him in man-to-man coverage given that he's a safety, but it was still disconcerting to see how awkward he looked on an island.

- Dexter McCluster (RB/WR - Ole Miss) had another spectacular day and his stock is rising considerably.  Following a dominant rushing performance in the Cotton Bowl, McCluster showed off receiving skills today.  He easily defeated press coverage a couple of times on both a slant route and a vertical route on a double move followed by a diving catch.

- Nate Allen (S - South Florida) had an impressive day in coverage.  Despite playing in man coverage on receivers, he more than held his own. 

- Patrick Robinson (CB - FSU) had a good day as well.  Robinson reacted well in both soft and press coverage, although he looked lacking during the stalk block drill which requires the defensive back to shed the wide receiver block and get to the ball carrier.  Mayock thinks Robinson has the quickest feet of any CB in the draft.

- Parrish Cox (CB - OKSU) looks good but a tad bit inconsistent.  He looked weak in the stalk block drill and on one of his routes, but then looked great covering the speedy McCluster on a flat route which should have favored the scat back. 

- Terrance Cody (DT - Bama) had a better day than the weigh-in disaster yesterday, but still not great.  He did a good job of collapsing the pocket in one-on-one drills, but in the two O linemen vs. one D lineman drill, which is designed to test a DT's ability to hold the point of attack and keep both blockers on the line away from linebackers, Cody allowed a free release every time.

- Dan Williams (DT - Tenn) looks like a great two-gap DT.  During pass rushing drills he collapses the pocket with ease and excelled during 2 on 1 drills.  Mayock pointed out that Williams gained 17 pounds in the last year, which makes me wonder how much more weight he could put on his frame.

- Jeff Byers (G - USC) shows great interior line blocking ability.  In every pass rushing drill shown involving Byers he did a great job using his hands and then finishing blocks by knocking rushers to the ground.

North

- Kyle Wilson (CB - BSU) continues to impress during practice.  He showed great ability in press coverage several times.  Mayock led the program by stating Wilson was the most impressive from day one, and shared that he received several texts from friends who were scouts that admitted Mayock was probably right in assigning a first round grade to Wilson.

- Taylor Price (WR - Ohio) is showing that he belongs with the prospects from bigger schools.  He doesn't look like he's a blazer, but he has shown decent speed, good size and phenomenal hands thus far.  He looks like he could be a sneaky later round pick as a possession receiver for the next level.

- Mardy Gilliard (WR - CIN) had a much better day and there was not a single DB that could jam him at the line.  He is extremely quick but his lack of size is concerning.

- Syd'Quan Thompson (CB - CAL) is getting exposed as a slower corner.  Gilliard absolutely burnt him on a vertical route that wasn't even close.  Thompson is known as an aggressive, run-supporting corner, but his lack of speed could drop his stock considerably.

- Mike Iupati (G - Idaho) is justifying the rating as the best interior lineman in the draft.  He is physical and nasty while playing on the inside, but today he took reps at left tackle and looked out of place.  He doesn't necessarily lack the physical skills to play on the outside; it's just something that he's never done before.  If teams feel he could fill in on the outside in case of injury, his stock would rise even higher.

- Vladimir Ducasse (T/G - UMass) continued to struggle against prospects from bigger schools today.  Ducasse has amazing physical attributes, but he will need time to develop skills and get used to the speed at the higher level.

- Brandon Graham (DE/OLB - Mich) is the best performing defensive player for the North thus far.  He has a great mixture of speed and strength and will likely be an outside linebacker in a 3-4 in the NFL.

- Camp Thomas (DT - UNC) is a two-gap defensive tackle who shows no ability to rush the passer.  He might be good at holding the point of attack, but has shown little ability to collapse the pocket.

- Jared Odrick (DT - PSU) has been playing well in one on one rush drills.  Odrick will likely be a one gap penetrator in a 4-3 or five technique in a 3-4 at the next level.  All the same, he has shown good burst off the line.

- Jacoby Ford (WR - Clem) is lowering his stock so far.  Ford is an NCAA track champion but lacks that kind of speed in pads.  Ford will likely wow at the Combine, but he has not fared well in full pads.

That's it for today.  Check back tomorrow for notes after the last day of practice in full pads.  Once again, if you have any specific players you are curious about leave it in the comments.