2015 East-West Shrine Game: Monday’s East Team Practice Report
By Charlie Campbell – @draftcampbell
The first practice of the East-West Shrine was held in St. Petersburg, Florida under cloudy skies with temperatures in the 70s. The East team is being coached by former 49ers head coach and Chicago Bears Hall of Fame linebacker Mike Singletary. Singletary had the players practicing in shells: helmets, shoulder pads and shorts. With it being the first practice of the week, it was unsurprisingly sloppy with players dropping snaps, fumbling handoffs, jumping offsides, and a number of false starts and dropping passes. Thus, better evaluations can be made after Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s practice.
Brown probably would be a better fit at right tackle to start off his NFL career, but he could be a prospect who rises at the East-West Shrine, similar to how former Indiana and Rams guard/tackle Rodger Saffold did in 2010 when he greatly improved his stock and ended up going at the start of the second day of the 2010 NFL Draft.
LSU has had a number of good backs who have had a hard time breaking out because of a heavy rotation. Alfred Blue was a steal for the Texans in the seventh round of the 2014 NFL Draft, but he fell because he was the backup to Jeremy Hill. Hilliard was behind those two and then-star freshman Leonard Fournette arrived in 2014. Hilliard is a big physical runner, and he could be one of the more physically talented players at the East-West Shrine.
The bigger issue for Walker is he struggles to get separation. That could be seen in some routes going against Georgia cornerback Damien Swann. Sources say Walker struggles to get open at times, but also isn’t physical enough as a blocker to move to tight end. Walker needs to show the ability to separate and block this week to help his draft stock.
It was the opposite for LSU defensive end Jermauria Rasco. Rasco (6-3, 252) tried to use his speed to blow by offensive tackles, but they rode him around the pocket on a number of tries. When Rasco tried to dip by Hickey, the undersized defender was pushed into the turf to negate that rush. Rasco already is small for the ground game, so he needs to show pass-rushing skills in order to get consideration as a late-rounder or undrafted free agent.
WalterFootball.com will have more recaps from the East-West Shrine practices on Tuesday and Wednesday along with a run-down of the post-practice team interviews. Follow @walterfootball for updates.
2015 East-West Shrine Game: Recap - 1/18
2015 East-West Shrine Game: Stock Report - 1/16
2015 East-West Shrine Game: Wednesday's East Team Practice Report - 1/14
2015 East-West Shrine Game: Wednesday's West Team Practice Report - 1/14
2015 East-West Shrine Game: Wednesday's East Team Interviews - 1/14
2015 East-West Shrine Game: Wednesday's West Team Interviews - 1/14
2015 East-West Shrine Game: Tuesday's East Team Practice Report - 1/13
2015 East-West Shrine Game: Tuesday's West Team Practice Report - 1/13
2015 East-West Shrine Game: Tuesday's East Team Interviews - 1/13
2015 East-West Shrine Game: Tuesday's West Team Interviews - 1/13
2015 East-West Shrine Game: Monday's East Team Practice Report - 1/12
2015 East-West Shrine Game: Monday's West Team Practice Report - 1/12
2015 East-West Shrine Game: Monday's East Team Interviews - 1/12
2015 East-West Shrine Game: Monday's West Team Interviews - 1/12
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