2014 East-West Shrine Game: Tuesday’s West Team Practice Report
By Charlie Campbell – @draftcampbell
The second practice of West team in the East-West Shrine was held in St. Petersburg, Fla. under cloudy skies with temperatures in the 60s. After not having pads on in day one, the players were in full pads and getting physical on Tuesday. A large portion of the practice was devoted to individual drills and playbook installation, but it was still more eventful than Monday’s session as it featured some one-on-ones and scrimmage sessions.
The first eventful one-on-one session was between the wide receivers and the defensive backs. The wideout who stood out with a strong performance was Pitt State’s John Brown. The small and shifty Brown was consistently gaining separation from defensive backs and making receptions on the run.
Brown (5-11, 170) beat Arizona cornerback Shaq Richardson on a deep post for a long reception. He ran a nice dig route to get separation on another corner. Scouts said that Brown was impressive and would fit as a slot receiver. Brown had another good gain on an out route in the team scrimmage.
Another small school wideout who performed well Tuesday was Valdosta State’s Seantavius Jones. He beat some corners on deep crosses and also beat North Dakota State cornerback Marcus Williams on a slant for a good gain.
San Jose State wide receiver Chandler Jones had a quality reception on a slant against Notre Dame cornerback Bennett Jackson. In the team scrimmage, Jones beat college teammate Bene Benwikere on out route for a nice gain on a pass from Tommy Rees. Benwikere lost his balance and fell down to allow Jones to break down the field for a long gain.
Overall, the defensive backs really struggled in this drill. Benwikere had a nice pass breakup going against Toledo’s Bernard Reedy. However, the defensive backs on the West team haven’t been impressing scouts. Scouts said there wasn’t anybody there to get excited about.
The drill that received the most attention from the scouts and general managers in attendance was the one-on-ones between the defensive and offensive line. There was a huge crowd following every play of those battles. Overall, the defensive linemen won but a few offensive linemen did well in their reps.
To get things started, South Dakota linebacker Tyler Starr used a speed rush and a spin move to beat Montana guard Danny Kistler.
Stanford defensive end Josh Mauro gave a few lineman all they could handle. Fresno State guard Austin Wentworth was able to get a draw in his first rep against Mauro, but on the rematch, Mauro used a power rip move to get underneath and by Wentworth. Mauro used a spin move to beat Kistler, but on the second play, Mauro tried it again but Kistler was ready.
Another defensive lineman who did well in his reps was Manitoba’s Evan Gill. He beat Furman’s Dakota Dozier with a spin move after taking two reps from Georgia’s Chris Burnette. Gill (6-3, 291) could be a nice developmental tackle as a late-rounder.
The offensive linemen who had some impressive reps were Boise State tackle Charles Leno, Nebraska tackle Jeremiah Sirles and USC tackle Kevin Graf. Leno did a nice job to negate speed rushes from Colorado State’s Shaquil Barrett. Leno rode him around the pocket on one rush and stone walled another. Leno had some other nice snaps. While he’s listed at tackle, Leno (6-4, 295) looks like a better fit at guard.
Sirles had a couple of nice wins against Colorado’s Chidera Uzo-Diribe. Sirles held him up on some speed rushes but also lost on a spin move when he had Uzo-Diribe initially blocked. Sirles (6-6, 312) has some length and agility but he needs more strength. He needs to get better at sustaining his blocks. Too often he has his man blocked, but they work themselves free on a second effort. If Sirles can improve his body and strength, he could be an interesting competitor.
Graf had an impressive block where he rode UCLA’s Cassius Marsh around the pocket. Marsh came back to get a pressure when he used a head fake and a dip to get by Graf. Other than that play, Graf did well and Marsh made his presence felt for the second straight day.
Marsh stood out during the team scrimmage. He held his ground on the line before a shedding a block from Montana right tackle Danny Kistler to stuff a run. Shortly later on a stretch run to the left, Marsh was unblocked and he used his speed to fire down the line to tackle a running back for no gain. Marsh wasn’t supposed to take the back to the ground and his hard hit drew some cheers from the defensive players.
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