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2012 East-West Shrine Game: Practice Report

2012 East-West Shrine Game: Monday's East Team Practice Report

By Charlie Campbell - @draftcampbell

The East team took to the practice field in St. Petersburg, Fla. on Monday afternoon. The East team is coached by former Detroit Lions and San Diego Chargers head coach Bobby Ross. A number of other experienced coaches worked with the prospects. Overall, the East team did not have the talent of the West squad, but there were some players who started the week strong. The East squad did not wear pads on Monday, while the West team was padded up.

Ole Miss offensive tackle Bradley Sowell (6-6, 316) and Rutgers guard Desmond Wynn (6-5, 305) had the best bodies for the NFL among the linemen. The coaching staff played Sowell at right tackle after he was the starter at left tackle the past few years for Ole Miss. Wynn did well in the one-on-one session and in the team scrimmage. He combines some quality strength and athleticism.

Sowell had some losses and some impressive wins in the one-on-ones with defensive linemen. In one rep, Sowell rocked Virginia defensive end Matt Conrath to his knees and finished the play by blasting him flat on the ground. An ugly play for Sowell came when West Virginia defensive end Julian Miller raced by him on a speed rush. Sowell came back to push Miller into the turf on a sprint around the edge.

Miller was one of the most impressive defensive ends in the East practice, but he had a disappointing weigh in. At West Virginia, Miller (6-3) was listed in the 260s but he weighed in at 256. Considering he was that light, it makes no sense that West Virginia was playing him inside at defensive tackle in 2011. Miller has some speed off the edge that put the East offensive tackles on their heels. With his position flexibility and at his current measurements, Miller could interest teams as a 3-4 linebacker.

Two defensive tackles stood out with good practices. South Carolina defensive tackle Travian Robertson destroyed a lot of the interior linemen in the one-on-one reps. It made one wonder where was that speed and pass rushing during the 2011 season. Robertson did well against Mississippi State center Quinton Saulsberry with a speed and rip rush up the middle. Saulsberry had a disappointing practice.

The other defensive tackle that had a superb day was Baylor's Nick Jean-Baptiste. In the NFL, Jean-Baptiste (6-1, 335) could be a nose tackle in a 3-4 defense. He is a heavy load with some quickness. All of the offensive linemen struggled with Jean-Baptiste. He whipped South Florida offensive tackle Jeremiah Warren. Jean-Baptiste has a sloppy body though. He needs to make strides in redistributing some fat into muscle. Still, he cold be a quality nose tackle in a 3-4 or 4-3 defense in the NFL. Warren had a rough practice and was beat regularly.

The small-school standout of the East practice was guard Rishaw Johnson from California University of Pennsylvania. The 6-foot-3, 309-pounder carries his weight well, but he really stood out with his blocking. Johnson is a fighter who plays with a mean streak. He gives great effort and plays with passion. He has some quick feet and scraps with linemen. Johnson could use some more power, however. Going against the better competition he definitely held his own. There was a play or two or where he was beat, but he had a lot of wins. If Johnson can finish out the week strong, he would be a good sleeper guard for the mid-rounds.

The quarterbacks and wide receivers had an eventful practice, and there were some players that definitely hurt their draft stock. Among them was Miami wide receiver LaRon Byrd. He had at least four dropped passes, and was really struggling. Miami tight end Chase Ford had a rough practice with multiple false starts that got him yelled at by the coaches. He made a tough catch down the seam in the team scrimmage, but may have fumbled the ball as he went to the ground.

The two most impressive receivers was Illinois' A.J. Jenkins and Tennessee Tech's Tim Benford. Jenkins was polished in his route-running, had good hands and showed more speed than the other wideouts. Many of the passes were off the mark and Jenkins (6-0, 192) made some nice adjustments to inaccurate passes. Benford is a speedster who was stretching the field and burning through cushions. Benford also made some quality hands catches. Benford (5-11, 193) had a lot of scouts approach him after practice, and according to sources, he has really impressed the Carolina Panthers.

Michigan State wide receiver B.J. Cunningham is well coached and looks polished, but he had a bad dropped pass on a slant. In the team scrimmage, Cunningham bobbled a pass and it was snatched out of the air by Merrimack College linebacker Shawn Loiseau. The 6-foot-1, 209-pound Cunningham does not get much separation from defensive backs, so if he doesn't catch a pass cleanly the defense is in position to take advantage.

Of the East quarterbacks, Sourthern Miss produce Austin Davis looks like the best prospect. He can throw accurate passes with some arm strength. Florida quarterback John Brantley (6-2, 219) has a good arm and mechanics, but he is thin. At the next level, Brantley could have injury issues and may be brittle. Tennessee-Chattanooga signal caller B.J. Coleman looks the part at 6-foot-3, 234 pounds. He may not have the arm strength, as his deep outs floated and fell short of the target at times. Coleman needs to improve his accuracy as well. Davis looks like a mid-rounder while the other two are late picks or undrafted free agents.

Temple tight end Evan Rodriguez was one another standout from the East. He made a nice acrobatic catch down the middle. He made another good reception beating Penn State's Nick Sukay going toward the sideline on an out. Rodriguez (6-1, 242) looks and plays bigger. He is a sleeper prospect who impressed a number of observers on Monday.

There were a few other notables from the East squad. South Florida safety Jerrell Young had a strong first showing. Tennessee running back Tauren Poole (5-9, 206) looks smaller than his listed measurements. Sukay has been moved from his collegiate position of linebacker to safety.

Here is a run down of some of the post-practice interviews between the player and team that was spending some time talking to the prospect:

Denver - West Virginia linebacker Najee Goode

Tampa Bay - Tennessee Tech wide receiver Tim Benford and Duke safety Matt Daniels

Arizona - Columbia offensive tackle Jeff Adams

Baltimore - Temple guard Derek Dennis, Southern Miss quarterback Austin Davis, Adams

Houston - Benford, Coastal Carolina defensive back Josh Norman

San Francisco - Benford

2012 East-West Shrine Game Recap: Charlie's - 1/22
2012 East-West Shrine Game Recap: Walt's - 1/22
2012 NFL Draft Stock: East West Shrine Practices - 1/21
2012 East-West Shrine Game: Wednesday's East Team Practice Report - 1/19
2012 East-West Shrine Game: Wednesday's West Team Practice Report - 1/19
2012 East-West Shrine Game: Tuesday's East Team Practice Report - 1/18
2012 East-West Shrine Game: Tuesday's West Team Practice Report - 1/18
2012 East-West Shrine Game: Monday's East Team Practice Report - 1/17
2012 East-West Shrine Game: Monday's West Team Practice Report - 1/17

Cristiane 03-23-2012 03:39 am xxx.xxx.xxx.125 (total posts: 1)

You can find NFL picks from different ebwsites. Some sports experts, fans, and aficionados post their top picks in several ebwsites. There are also some ebwsites that post picks chosen by a computer system. Some people prefer those picks chosen by people while others prefer computer-picked teams. The benefit of using NFL picks chosen by fans and experts is that you can be sure that their decisions are based on their knowledge and experience. The disadvantage is that there might be favoritism involved. On the other hand, computer-generated picks are based on numerical data and stats.I get this information from this website .refer to the sourceenjoy it!!!

Mel Kiper 02-01-2012 08:16 pm xxx.xxx.xxx.144 (total posts: 2)

129

Nick Sukay is a great pro prospect, and should be looked at early in the 2012 draft.

Mock Draft Mel Kiper Todd Mcshay Scout's Inc first round Andrew Luck

Nick Sukay 02-01-2012 08:08 pm xxx.xxx.xxx.144 (total posts: 2)

439

The ball fell to me? I'm a play-maker. Give me some credit.

Mike Mayock 01-23-2012 12:00 am xxx.xxx.xxx.111 (total posts: 1)

321

Rofl, I didn't know I clicked on NFL.com to read Mike Mayock's take on the East-West Shrine game. You suck at scouting football players, but hey, it looks like you've got a future in transcribing for REAL NFL talent evaulators!

You get paid for this??? 01-22-2012 08:34 pm xxx.xxx.xxx3.37 (total posts: 1)

Is Mayock aware that you two hacks just repeat everything he says on here?

hey 01-22-2012 08:28 pm xxx.xxx.xxx.218 (total posts: 2)

How did Justin Bethel do?

Chad 01-20-2012 01:40 pm xxx.xxx.xxx3.91 (total posts: 1)

Excellent coverage guys. Draft nerds like me live for this stuff!

One question....Is there no one the Steelers talked to? I know they are pretty private organization. I was thinking they might be looking at 3-4 nose out of Baylor.

Thanks again.

Aj 01-19-2012 12:19 am xxx.xxx.xxx9.68 (total posts: 1)

California university of Pennsylvania? Jokes, jokes..thanks for the great coverage!!

Fusue Vue 01-17-2012 10:46 pm xxx.xxx.xxx.191 (total posts: 1)

Wylie isn't undersized. He's the same weight as Antonio Brown and 1" shorter. And Brown plays outside, too, not strictly slot.

Alonzo 01-17-2012 09:46 pm xxx.xxx.xxx4.86 (total posts: 1)

Dan Persa is like another Jeff Garcia. My guess is Allen was looking more at the o-line and Hurney was looking at d-line.

Wylie is extremely undersized. How many 5-9 sub 190 wide outs are there in the NFL?

TempelTUFF 01-17-2012 07:51 pm xxx.xxx.xxx.230 (total posts: 1)

Desmond Wynn (Rutgers) did not play at Temple (as reported earlier), Derek Dennis did.

Nice overall coverage though!

Brent 01-17-2012 05:13 pm xxx.xxx.xxx72.1 (total posts: 1)

Thank you for the Canadian content. No other media covered them, but I find it interesting to see them against some of the not quite elite US competition.
Well written.

Carl 01-17-2012 05:09 pm xxx.xxx.xxx.143 (total posts: 1)

No name players in this game?

Walter 01-17-2012 04:44 pm xxx.xxx.xxx4.88 (total posts: 1)

We will definitely have tons of Senior Bowl coverage.

Browns Fan 01-17-2012 04:37 pm xxx.xxx.xxx.133 (total posts: 3)

Nice job with the reports Walt

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2013 Fantasy Football Rankings - May 20

Charlie's 2014 NFL Mock Draft - May 20

2014 NFL Mock Draft - May 15

2013 NBA Mock Draft - May 3

NFL Picks - Feb. 3

2012 East-West Shrine Game: Practice Report

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