2014 East-West Shrine Game Recap
By Charlie Campbell –
@draftcampbell
The East-West Shrine Game served as a confirmation for a lot of the players who were impressive during the previous week of practice. The two players who really stood out played well on Saturday. Here is a rundown of the players who had notable performances in the game.
Eastern Illinois Jimmy Garoppolo and Coastal Carolina wide receiver Matt Hazel were two of the most impressive players at the Shrine. Garoppolo threw a nice touch pass just before halftime and had a number of good throws that illustrated his arm strength, delivery and decision-making. To end the drive, Garoppolo threw a bullet on a slant to Hazel for a touchdown against Texas cornerback Carrington Byndom. Both Garoppolo and Hazel were of a higher physical talent level than the rest of the players in the game.
Ball State quarterback Keith Wenning threw some nice passes, but overall it wasn’t an impressive performance. Wenning fumbled a snap away on the first drive of the game. He then came back to make some nice passes including a perfectly thrown deep ball for about a 45-yard touchdown, but it was dropped by Toledo wide out Bernard Reedy. Wenning laid out another well-thrown deep ball, but the cornerback made a play to help break up a pass that could have been caught.
Wenning hurled a ball up for grabs for Reedy, but Vanderbilt cornerback Andre Hal was able to outfight Reedy for the underthrown ball. Hal received a pass-interference penalty to negate the pick, and Reedy had Hal beaten by a few yards before the ball was underthrown. Pass pressure forced Wenning to underthrow the pass and let Hal recover. Wenning had a good week overall.
Northern Illinois quarterback Jordan Lynch didn’t have a standout game. He threw a bad interception right at Aldon Darby, who had good coverage with a few other defenders. At the end of the first quarter, Lynch had a pass jumped by Arizona cornerback Shaq Richardson for an interception.
Darby got his second pick when he undercut a pass thrown to the end zone by Cornell quarterback Jeff Mathews. Mathews had the receiver open but didn’t throw the ball soon enough and he put too much air underneath the ball. It was an easy play for Darby, but two interceptions is still a good day for Darby.
Purdue cornerback Ricardo Allen had some good tackles, but lost sight of ball for a 45-yard catch downfield that was dropped. Allen had some struggles in coverage but did a nice job as a punt returner.
Duke cornerback Ross Cockrell made a nice break on the ball to make a juggling interception. He could be a late-rounder who sticks as a dime or fifth cornerback.
West Texas A&M’s Ethan Westerbrooks was the defensive MVP. In the first half Westerbrooks made his presence felt. First he got to Keith Wenning for a sack. Just before halftime Westerbrooks burned Nebraska offensive tackle Jeremiah Sirles with a speed rush to get a blind side sack-fumble on Tommy Rees. Westerbrooks did his job at the East-West Shrine and gave scouts something to think about this week.
Baylor tight end Jordan Najvar continued his big week by getting down the seam and extended to make a reception of about 30 yards. He had an excellent week of practice to really send a charge into his draft stock.
North Carolina safety Tre Boston fired into the backfield to make a nice tackle for a loss in run defense.
Toledo receiver Bernard Reedy went up to make a great catch for a 20-yard touchdown on a pass thrown up for grabs by Keith Price. Later, Price had a nice play to duck under a sack and run for 11 yards. Both Reedy and Price had mixed outings and neither did enough to help themselves this week.
West Virginia’s Will Clarke had a sack in the second quarter after beating USC right tackle Kevin Graf to get a sack of Tommy Rees with a speed rush off the edge. Clarke beat Graf off the snap, and his get-off was impressive all week. Clarke (6-7, 273) looks like he would be a potential 3-4 end with some pass-rush ability.
The other pass-rusher who played well was Bloomsburg defensive end Larry Webster. Webster got off the edge to get a sack of the quarterback with a powerful bull rush that put the left tackle flat on his back. However, Webster blew containment on a run on the next play. The athletic Webster could be worth developing, and some teams are thinking of moving him to tight end.
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