Senior Bowl 2023: Day 2 practice recap

The second practice of 2023 The oldest bowl officially in the books. Wednesday’s exercise was much cloudier and cooler, which was appreciated after Tuesday’s media basking in the sun. As expected, the defensive play of both teams improved due to a better understanding between the passers and their receivers. This gave us a better look at the receivers as well as the defensive backs who had ample opportunities to make plays on the ball.

Check out my immediate results from practice on The Falcoholic Live:

Read on for my top takeaways from my second day of hands-on experience in Mobile. You can too check out my Twitter timeline for the rest of the recorded practice clips.

National practice

After spending most of Tuesday on the national team’s offensive and defensive lines, I moved on to looking at skill prospects on Wednesday. This group has been less heralded than Team USA because it lacks “star power” at receiver. However, these receivers—headed by State of Michigan‘s Jaden Reid– Today he really fought back from the defense.

Defensive backs

• This group stole the show, thanks in large part to the Stanford CB’s performance Cue Blue Kelly. Kelly played all over the place, dominating most of his one-on-one matchups and helping lose money in team sessions. He’s my biggest overall winner since Day 2 and has really helped his stock.

• Another standout on the corner, Iowa Riley Moss made some noise after hitting the fastest speed of any DB on Tuesday. He tracked down Wednesday’s addition Malik Cunningham on a scheduled series and generally played consistently close.

• The safety group on the National Team has been relatively quiet, with the exception of Cal Daniel Scott. Scott made a pick on Day 1 and then had another nice pick on Day 2 along with some impressive reps in man coverage.

Wide receivers

• Michigan State was the biggest winner today Jaden Reid, who had a number of impressive plays. He has a very diverse skill set and showed off his deep ball ability with this TD catch.

• After a slow start, Michigan WR Ronnie Bell put together a much better Day 2. He had one of the few successful replays against CB Kyu Blu Kelly of the day.

• The biggest star since day one BYU WR Natsu shoots, was on the side in casual clothes. There was no official word on his status until the end of the week, but it was frustrating.

Offensive line

• First of all, Ohio State OT Dawand Jones— who dominated Tuesday’s practice — was absent Wednesday. Jones was reportedly held out of practice because of possible concussion-like symptoms.
• BYU OT in his place Blake Freeland had to do a lot more repetitions. After struggling badly on Tuesday, Freeland bounced back today. He looked a lot more controlled and spaced out his shots better.
• North Carolina OL Asim Richards was another standout today. I didn’t watch him much, but he played inside quite a bit during practice on Wednesday. He is definitely a name to keep an eye on as he performed well against a talented DL group.
• Another plus in the interior was UT-Chattanooga McClendon Curtis. Curtis struggled to get off the line and had a very good day overall.

Defensive line

• Clemson EDGE KJ Henry was again impressive, using his power and explosiveness to wreak havoc. He sliced ​​the “bag” in practice and consistently blew it.

• Northwest DL Adetamiwa Adebowore is a very unique prospect and had a good day playing primarily on the interior. At 6-foot-1, 284, he’s kind of a tweener, and he played outside a lot in college.
• Tech DL Keion White had another good day showing his power and looking very tough to handle one on one. White got the job done on both the interior and the exterior.
• Coastal Carolina DT Jerrod Clarke there was another deflected pass in the team session today and there wasn’t much to block overall.

Other famous players

• I really liked what I saw Washington State POUND Diane Henley. He was a clear leader on the field, controlling the hustle and taking responsibility for making sure everyone lined up. Henley also made his share of impact plays and looked good as a coverage player.
• Illinois RB Chase Brown continued to impress me as both a runner and receiver. with Roshon Johnson sitting out with an injury during Tuesday’s practice, Brown took advantage of the extra opportunities to stand out.

American practice

It really seems like the American team is just more talented from top to bottom, and that has also helped make their practices more even. Just like with the national team, I changed my priorities for this unit on Wednesday: I spent a lot of practice focusing on the trench players rather than the skill guys.

Offensive line

• Center of Minnesota John Michael Schmitz continued his dominance on Day 2, with a strong overall performance in 1v1s and that hilarious pancake block on the screen at the end of practice.

• Speaking of centers, I was impressed TCU‘s Steve Avila too. He’s a bigger center but seems to move pretty well. He also handled his one-on-1s better than most interior guys.
• Alabama Emil Ekior Jr had a good day’s training, but what’s even more remarkable is that he’s cross-training in the center. I really like his potential, and he seemed to take on the new position — and succeed — pretty quickly.
• Florida Guard O’Cyrus Torrens this is one big and nasty dude. That’s really all I can say.
• That group wasn’t as flashy as the national team, but the guys who seemed to consistently win 1-on-1s on Wednesday were Syracuse’s team Matthew BergeronTennessee Darnell Wrightand Georgia Warren McClendon Jr

Defensive line

• Iowa State EDGE Will McDonald IV continued his dominant week with another great day on Wednesday. He gave opponents fits with his speed and sharp hands and was pretty good when he got into zone coverage in team drills. I think he’s improved his stock more than any other edge rusher so far.
• Stormy EDGE Derrick Hall continued to stand out and look like the supposed first round pick that he is. He’s just too powerful and explosive for most of these forwards to handle, especially in the 1v1 game.
• I was impressed with the TCU DL Dylan Horton once again, as he continued to look very impressive on the outside as well as on the inside.
• As for the interior, I was thinking South Carolina DT Zach Pickens Wednesday was a much more active day. He caused problems in 1v1 play and often found himself at the back during team sessions.

Defensive backs

• After a relatively quiet first day, security from the post-Soviet space Jamie Robinson was the star of the show for an American high school Wednesday. Robinson was scrutinized all over the field and didn’t blink, including some terrific tackles against a talented group of WRs.

• I also liked what I saw LDU security Jay Ward. The converted cornerback showed off his coverage skills in 1-on-1 drills and moved very well.

• Miami CB Tyreek Stevenson were outplayed several times on Wednesday, but also played in sticky reports and generally made life difficult for opponents. This week he was the winner.
• Kansas State CB Julius Brents continued to impress, showing off his unique combination of length and athleticism. His measurables likely got him drafted late on Day 2, but his performance in Mobile could push him heavily into Round 2 territory.
• Security of Georgia Christopher Smith II he didn’t have a flash day, but he was always in the right place in coverage and always close to the ball.

Running backs and wide receivers

• Tulan R.B Taija Spears was the most impressive running back at the Senior Bowl. He had two long TD runs in today’s practice and also showed off his skills as a receiver. Spears helped himself by weighing in at over 200, and clearly didn’t lose any strength as a result. I’d be shocked if he made it out of Day 2 at this point.
• Even in a stacked group of wide receivers, Houston has Dell tank continued to stand out. He is very difficult to cover and has a knack for finding open space in the zone. Aside from its size limitations, there haven’t been many obstacles to Dell’s mobile game.

• Princeton WR Andrei Iosivas had a better day overall on wednesday and was helped by better play from the backs. That catch against Tyreek Stevenson was a thing of beauty.

• SMU Rashi RiceIowa State Xavier HutchinsonVirginia Don’tayvion Wicksand TCU Darius Davis all had their share of impressive reps. Did I mention that this American wide receiver group is stacked?

Other famous players

• TCU LB Dee Winters once again stood out in coverage with an impressive interception during the team session. On the very next play, Winters forced a fumble that was returned by the defense for a TD. He was a big winner.

That’s it for today’s recap! On Thursday, I’ll do my best to go where the action is most – be it the trenches or the skill positions. Stay tuned for another workout recap tomorrow and don’t forget to check out my Twitter for the latest workout clips @FalcoholicKevin.