Very limited coverage today and the South team didn’t look like they had the same pace as the North side. Regardless, here are some quick notes I took.
11 on 11 Drills
- Derrick Locke looked very explosive and made some very fast cuts.
- Andy Dalton throws a very poor pass on a short screen play to the WR.
- Anthony Allen tried to run over Shareece Wright and Wright just threw him down.
- Greg McElroy throws a nice pass to Hankerson with bodies all around him in the pocket.
- Colin McCarthy took a bad angle against a run and pretty much took himself out of the play.
- Noel Devine’s size is pretty comical among all the players in practice. On one play he was barely touched between the tackles and still fell down. This is in a non-tackle drill.
OL vs. DL 1 on 1′s
- Phil Taylor just muscled Kirkpatrick and pushed him back in OL drills. Kirkpatrick did a good job on him the 2nd time placing his hands well and anchoring.
- Danny Watkins did a great job on Chris Neild and stuck with him. Watkins mirrored him well. Neild looked really bad there.
- James Carpenter looked really strong and stood his ground against Sam Acho.
- Rodney Hudson with a great anchor against Allen Bailey and stopped him in his tracks.
- O’Dowd got beat by Jenkins. Too slow and got too high. Jenkins killed him again the 2nd time.
- Lee Ziemba was a bit too high and used his hands poorly against Cedric Thornton.
- Clint Boling did a pretty good job against Brooks Reed sticking with his counter move and displaying good strength.
- Phil Taylor beats DeMarcus Love both times. Love looked too slow and was bull rushed by Taylor straight back.
- Neild is by far the worst player in this drill.
- Danny Watkins showing a bit of a mean streak in this drill. Got into it with a couple of defenders and gave a little extra block on each play.
- Sherrod looked ok against Acho.
- James Carpenter struggled a bit against Acho.
- Pernell McPhee beat Ziemba easily with an outside fake. Ziemba couldn’t get his hands on him.
- Ziemba plays way too high. He routinely gets pushed back into the backfield.
- Boling did a good job against Allen Bailey twice. Didn’t let him get anywhere.
WR vs CB 1 on 1′s
- Jeremy Kerley made a very nice diving catch on Wright. Great hands.
- Marcus Gilchrist playing way too soft and gives up an easy completion.
- Leonard Hankerson with a very nice route and nice catch.
- Kerley ran a very nice route and beat Wright deep.
- Courtney Smith tried to run a double move but didn’t get much separation on DeMarcus Van Dyke who stuck with him well.
- Hankerson with another nice catch on a high throw.
- Kerley looks great running routes. Makes very sharp and quick cuts.
- Dalton has missed on a few passes in 1 on 1′s but he’s had some crisp passes as well. Inconsistent throughout the drill.
- Greg Salas makes a great catch on Johnny Patrick in press coverage.
- Courtney Smith drops a pass. Good coverage by Patrick though.
- Hankerson has really good hands. Wright looks a bit lost in coverage and needs a lot of work on his footwork.
Overall Thoughts
It was a limited look like I said, but still there we’re some guys making noise. Both Baylor players, Phil Taylor and Danny Watkins, looked good in the OL/DL drills. Taylor looked very strong and that  frame is not at all flabby as you would expect. Jeremy Kerley and Leonard Hankerson both looked great. Hankerson ran very nice routes and got out of his breaks cleanly while maintaining his speed. Kerley was blowing by people with his quickness and his routes. He looked like a savvy route runner and also displayed great hands.
One guy that looked pretty bad today was Lee Ziemba. He was routinely playing too high and struggled with his hand placement. Defenders would just get under him and drive him back. Allen Bailey did not show much improvement in his hand usage which was the biggest knock on him. He routinely just ran into the OT full speed and while he did look very strong, once the OL was able to anchor and get their hands on him he went nowhere. Chris Neild looked like a boy amongst men in OL/DL drills. It’s apparent Noel Devine won’t be much more than a 3rd down back or a guy that can come in and catch a few passes and get work in space. He looked incredibly tiny and had some difficulty running between the tackles. Shareece Wright was the worst of the CB’s. He doesn’t have great footwork and he struggled with his transition. His hips also appeared to be stiff and receivers had no problem getting open on him. Courtney Smith is a small school guy that got invited so he has a chance to make the most of his opportunity. Unfortunately, he didn’t look that great. He struggled to get separation and dropped 2 balls.
This was my first look at the South team and I wanted to see how good Hankerson and Kerley looked. They we’re definitely the real deal and hopefully I can get some reports on tomorrows practice as well.
