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The Senior Bowl marks the official start of draft season. We’ve seen the first of many battles between Todd McShay and Mel Kiper on Sportscenter, which are sure to get even more heated as we get closer to the draft.
A side note here. How much do you think Mel Kiper Todd McShay hate each other? Every time they have a debate it turns into each of them yelling at each other like they just insulted the other one’s mom. You can see the disgust on their faces as McShay just wants to scrub all that moose out of Kiper’s hair and Kiper is furious that this baby faced, little squirt is trying to and eventually going to take his job. Personally, I love it. It’s made the draft a lot more entertaining the past couple years.
Anyway, this past week, many of the nations top prospects took the field in Mobile, Alabama looking to up their draft stock. Some players succeeded and some fell flat flat on their face. Here’s a breakdown on how they fared:
Stock Up:
Myron Rolle, S, Florida State
If not for Tebow’s presence, Rolle may have been the story of the Senior Bowl. The former Seminole was studying at Oxford this past year as a Rhodes Scholar, but you never would have know that by watching him. He was in excellent shape and as the week progressed he started to get back into the groove of playing football. The talented safety should go off the board in the first three rounds.
Brandon Graham, DE/OLB, Michigan
After measuring in at only 6-1, the week didn’t start off well for Graham. Though when he stepped on the field, all seemed to be forgotten. He showed gret pass rushing ability and could fit in either a 3-4 or 4-3 scheme. In the actual game, Graham recorded two sacks and a forced fumble, earning him MVP.
Dexter McCluster, RB/WR
McCluster may not possess the size to be an every down back in the NFL as he’s just a shade under 5-8, but he showed he can be a valuable weapon on any team. He showed off his versatility lining up at running back, in the slot, and returning kicks. The explosive back has vaulted himself up draft boards and may come off in the second round.
Kyle Wilson, CB, Boise State
Wilson was the most impressive corner back down in Mobile. He excelled in both press and off man coverage, shutting down any receiver that he guarded. He isn’t the fastest corner back though, and his forty time at the combine will be a big determinant in where he ultimately goes.
Mike Iupati, G, Idaho
The question heading into last week was how Iupati would face against upper level competition. Well, he erased the scouts doubt and then some. He was dominant in line drills and showed the versatility to play multiple line positions. He looks like a sure fire first rounder and could go in the top half.
Stock Down:
Tim Tebow
The most talked about player at the Senior Bowl had a week he’d like to forget. It started out with strep throat and it didn’t get better from there. He struggled taking snaps from under center and showed poor throwing mechanics including an elongated release. He was mercifully ripped all week long by Todd McShay on Sportscenter. His struggles continued in the game where he fumbled twice and threw for only 50 throws on 12 attempts, a 4.2 yards per attempt average.
Tebow only has a month before he is scrutinized again at the combine. It’s now clear that he will be a big time project at quarterback and hopefully all the talk of him going in the first round will finally cease. I still don’t understand why Tebow was ever ranked that high. He was a great college quarterback, but that has nothing to do with how he’ll do in the pros. It happens all the time with great college quarterbacks. Jason White, Eric Crouch, Danny Wuerffel are just a few examples. I could go on and on but the point is that maybe he just isn’t cut out for the pros. There’s nothing with that. He’ll go down as one of the all time greats in the collegiate ranks and he should, but don’t try and tell me he’s going to be a franchise quarterback. Perhaps all of this is the fault of the media, which ate up Tebow while he was a Gator and put these great expectations on him that he shouldn’t have.
Taylor Mays
What a difference a year makes. If Mays would have come out as a junior he probably would have been a top 10 pick and now he may find himself out of the first round. He was a liability in coverage, which has led to doubts that he can play safety at the next level. Some scouts are comparing him to current Carolina Panthers player Thomas Davis, who was a college safety that converted to outside linebacker in the pros.
Terrence Cody
Mt. Cody showed up in Mobile weighing 370 lbs and looked like this. After seeing Andre Smith last year, you have to wonder what they’re feeding the kids at Alabama. Anyway, scouts were not happy that he gained almost 20 pounds since National Championship and this will make teams think twice before spending a high pick on him in April.
