2013 East-West Shrine Game: Practice Report
2013 East-West Shrine Game: Wednesday's East Team Practice Report
By Charlie Campbell - @draftcampbell
The third day of practice for the East-West Shrine Game was held in St. Petersburg, Fla. on Wednesday under sunny skies with temperatures in the low 80s. The East team was in shells (helmets, shoulder pads and shorts) and had a physical practice.
The offensive linemen had their best showing of the week by far on Wednesday. The defensive linemen seemed to be a step ahead on the first two days, but today was a completely different story. The offensive line generally got the better of their opponents the one-on-one battles.
A number of offensive linemen had improved showings on Wednesday. That group included James Madison's Earl Watford and Rutgers tackle R.J. Dill. Watford had an impressive win against Georgia Tech tackle Izaan Cross as the latter was driven outside of the pocket. Dill did well against Missouri Western State's Davis Bass, a pass-rusher who was impressive on Tuesday. Princeton defensive end Mike Catapano had some good battles with Dill.
One of the best interior linemen this week has been South Carolina center T.J. Johnson, and he had a good practice on Wednesday. Johnson (6-5, 315) had some good battles with Florida State tackle Anthony McCloud. In the nine-on-seven run-scrimmage portion of practice, Johnson rode McCloud (6-2, 322) into the ground to blast open a hole for Temple running back Montel Harris to get a touchdown run.
Johnson was tenacious as he was blocking through the whistle. That led to a near fight with a couple of defenders midway through practice, but scouts have spoken highly of Johnson this week. He is playing himself into a third-day pick and is a sleeper center prospect who could be worth developing.
A college teammate of Johnson's, defensive end Devin Taylor, flashed during the team-scrimmage session. On the first snap, he beat the tackle with a speed rush to have a potential sack of quarterback Nathan Stanley. Taylor busted behind the line on the next play to stuff a run for a tackle for a loss.
Taylor had other plays on which he applied pressure. Taylor has had a good week overall, but he flashed in his college career without much production to match his athletic potential. Still, Taylor helped himself toward being drafted at the East-West Shrine.
The tight ends stood out on Wednesday, too. Rutgers' D.C. Jefferson and New Mexico's Lucas Reed had good sessions to finish quality weeks.
Jefferson worked his way wide open in the end zone, but quarterback Colby Cameron managed to badly overthrow the pass to the mammoth tight end. Another bad throw from Collin Klein led to an incompletion on a potential touchdown for Jefferson, who had a mismatch against a smaller defensive back in the corner of the end zone. However, terrible ball placement Klein's part resulted in an incompletion.
Reed made one of the best plays of the day on a touchdown reception. He ran a corner post and had a step on Clemson safety Rashard Hall. The pass was slightly underthrown and Hall got a piece of it, but Reed made a great adjustment to snatch the deflected ball and take off down the field for a 35-yard score.
The younger brother of Texans linebacker Brooks Reed, Lucas Reed has really helped himself this week since New Mexico was incapable of throwing the ball in 2012. That resulted in him not seeing many touches as a senior. Reed (6-6, 255) could get consideration for the mid-rounds, but should at least be drafted.
The other tight end who made his presence felt on Wednesday was Boston College's Chris Pantale. He connected with Klein for a touchdown on a quick slant in the seven-on-seven session. Pantale beat South Florida cornerback Kayvon Webster badly. Pantale's second touchdown catch came after he found a soft spot in zone coverage. Sources told WalterFootball.com that the Ravens are interested in Pantale in the late rounds.
With the offensive line and tight ends having a good day, the running backs benefitted from some good blocking. Pittsburgh running back Ray Graham had a nice touchdown run on a cutback with a giant hole. He ran the ball well aside from a play on which Izzan Cross made a good tackle in the backfield on a screen pass.
Vanderbilt running back Zac Stacy had a long run after cutting to the backside. He also had a touchdown run after Massachusetts tackle Nick Speller had a great kick out block on Bass.
Two defensive backs really stood out on Wednesday. One was Georgia's Branden Smith. He had a nice pass breakup on a sideline out route. Smith showed a good burst to break on the ball. He followed that up with a quick stop on Virginia Tech wide receiver Corey Fuller on a swing pass. Late in the team-scrimmage session, Smith chased down an overthrow along the sideline to make a nice interception. He flew over in zone coverage with a good-hands catch.
Miami cornerback Brandon McGee did well for the second straight day. He had good coverage in the one-on-one's and the team scrimmage. McGee (6-0, 197) has a nice combination of size, speed and athleticism. He definitely has helped himself this week. McGee could be a nice value in the fourth or fifth round.
There were a few other prospects worth mentioning for their Wednesday performances. North Carolina wide receiver Erik Highsmith played well. He had a good run off a bubble screen and beat Vanderbilt cornerback Trey Wilson for a touchdown catch on a jump ball. Wilson could've had an interception later in the day, but didn't turn to locate the pass thrown short of Florida State receiver Rodney Smith. Wilson should've read Smith's hands to make a play on the ball.
Klein had his best practice of the week in large part because he ran the ball well. He had 15-yard touchdown run on a read-option play like he ran frequently at Kansas State. Klein had another touchdown run in the goal-line scrimmage.
Florida kicker Caleb Sturgis has been excellent all week. He has showed off a booming leg and has been making field goals from beyond 50 yards with ease. Stugis drilled a 54-yarder with plenty to spare yesterday and then was good on kicks from 54 and 57 today. He has a consistent motion and a powerful leg. Sturgis looks worthy of a draft pick in April.
2013 East-West Shrine Game: Recap - 1/20
2013 East-West Shrine Game: Practice Stock Report - 1/19
2013 East-West Shrine Game: Wednesday's West Team Practice Report - 1/17
2013 East-West Shrine Game: Wednesday's West Team Interviews - 1/17
2013 East-West Shrine Game: Wednesday's East Team Practice Report - 1/17
2013 East-West Shrine Game: Wednesday's East Team Interviews - 1/17
2013 East-West Shrine Game: Tuesday's West Team Practice Report - 1/16
2013 East-West Shrine Game: Tuesday's West Team Interviews - 1/16
2013 East-West Shrine Game: Tuesday's East Team Practice Report - 1/16
2013 East-West Shrine Game: Tuesday's East Team Interviews - 1/16
2013 East-West Shrine Game: Monday's East Team Practice Report - 1/15
2013 East-West Shrine Game: Monday's West Team Practice Report - 1/15
2013 East-West Shrine Game: Monday's West Team Interviews - 1/15
2013 East-West Shrine Game: Monday's East Team Interviews - 1/15
Good Talent at the East-West Shrine Game - 1/14
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Melikeydraft
01-21-2013
04:15 pm
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Taylor was the most impressive player in the game. I like Sio Moore a lot so I was not surprised he played well. The QB play was substandard, so the WR and TE suffered which was a bit disappointing.
I'LL BLOW YOU IF YOU THUMB UP MY COMMENT
01-21-2013
02:40 am
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I want Devin Taylor on the Seahawks.
rc
01-20-2013
09:08 am
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be nice if you combined these reports now that week is done.
A&M
01-16-2013
11:29 pm
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CMike showing out, always felt he'd be a better pro than college player.
Another dumb Jag's move
01-16-2013
03:22 pm
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The Jag's must have the dumbest scouting department in the league. Another Fing kicker is on the radar?
Green Bay Packers
01-15-2013
10:20 pm
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Ted Thompson is there and the Packers don't talk to anybody. Guess they're playing it to the vest
Corey
01-14-2013
03:58 pm
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Jamie Collins out of Southern Miss is an absolute beast! Same build and playing style as Von Miller and Jarvis Jones. Huge upside and very athletic!
Julio
03-24-2012
11:55 pm
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You did about as good as I did, and I was able to update mine the day bfroee. You offered a lot of insite that helped me get a few of those picks right. Also, if it weren't for you, I would have not welcomed the drafting of Andre Smith. Speaking of Andre Smith, I think it's important that the Bengals and Smith's agent work hard to get a contract done early. That would go a long way toward proving that Smith was not a gamble.
Haedid
03-24-2012
11:07 pm
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Great work Charlie!
Petr
03-24-2012
10:46 pm
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here: NFL MVP Watch- Week Three With the First Pick An NFL Draft blog Tags: ceurrnt, ceurrnt-top, five-after, mvp, rankings, week-three-,
ZamiRitaa
03-23-2012
05:53 pm
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I know ESPN has NFL picks and Meril Hoge is pretty good. Who is the best on the ESPN site? What other sites have GOOD NFL erepxt picks? Not against the spread but just straight up winners?
Simone
03-23-2012
03:57 pm
xxx.xxx.xxx1.30
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I found this site last week to help me with my football picks (the ones i wasn't sure on) and it had a ludlbog in the top left hand corner the site was in green white. Now I can't seem to find the site!!!! Anyone know of the one I am talking about?
Pooja
03-23-2012
02:38 pm
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@B0SSM4N56 I had the displeasure of sieneg them on a festival it actually sounded worse then this, this was a good day for them, they suck that badly live. One of the worst live acts i've ever witnessed
Abhishek
03-23-2012
09:59 am
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they were seeing if they could get the first round and ecsond round done in one evening. they want to make the draft a three day event. so this year was a test run to see if they could get it done. and yes they can. next years draft will more then likely take 3 days instead of just 2
Andrei
03-23-2012
04:22 am
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Great analysis here
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2013 Fantasy Football Rankings - May 17
Charlie's 2014 NFL Mock Draft - May 16
2014 NFL Mock Draft - May 15
2013 NBA Mock Draft - May 3
NFL Picks - Feb. 3
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