Today at Ladd Peebles Stadium the North squad got in another full session before the game kicks off on Saturday and there were few standouts that are worth mentioning before game time. Two receivers were added to the roster, as Leonte Carroo (ankle) and Tajae Sharpe (hip) have left due to injury.

IMPRESSIVE

WR Geronimo Allison, Illinois – The newly acquired receiver showed off just what he was able to show off at the Shrine game at East-West. He has the speed to get deep but also the quickness to change direction and make would be tacklers miss. He is a reliable target that effortlessly plucks the ball but also makes a habit of catching the football at the point of attack and away from his body, shielding it from opposing defenders. Allison was junior college standout that ended up being one of Illinois biggest threats at wide out this year, pacing the team with 882 yards receiving. He has the chance to stick in the league with his length, quick twitch ability and excellent ball skills.

TE Nick Vannett, Ohio State – Vannett is finally getting the chance to show off his receiver skills here in Mobile with a number of great grabs today in endzone work and in drills. The guy has a monster frame, huge hands and has the talent to be starting tight end at the next level but he was underused at Ohio State due to their game plan and a lot of blocking. That is probably the most appealing aspect of a player like Vannett is that he excels in the running game and is an underrated receiver. He will be a better player that Jeff Heuerman, who was drafted by the Broncos in the third round of last year’s draft.

DT Matt Ioannidis, Temple – This guy has quietly put together a solid week, with great strength on the inside and a series of rip moves that allowed him to win in one on one mathcups today. He destroyed Cole Toner in a drill with a great rip inside and was able to get into the backfield twice during scrimmage sessions. The defensive standout was a tone setter during his career for Temple and should be able to find his way into a rotation at the next level due to his raw power and ability to win one on one matchups.

S KJ Dillon, West Virginia – Dillon is a hybrid type safety/will backer that will likely transition to strong safety at the next level and he’s certainly shown the coverage ability with a number of deflected passes but he also showed up big in run support. Dillon blew up an inside run and unleashed a hit that got the whole crowd at Ladd to say “Ooooh”. He has great length and the athleticism needed to be an enforcer at safety and should be able to develop into starter in time if he gets into the right system.

I LIKE WHAT I SEE

WR Ed Eagen, Northwestern State – Eagen is the other North wide out that was added late this week and he was thrown right into the fryer today with a lot of action in drills and in the scrimmage portions. Eagan caught a bubble screen and put on a series of jukes to score on an endzone drill. He is very undersized at 5’9″ 185 but he does have the quickness and straight line speed needed to exploit matchups against linebackers or against bigger safeties in the nickel.

THE BRAXTON REPORT

The talk of the town and the bell of the ball, Braxton Miller has had a solid week of practice but also was again pulling up in practice. Day three he had to watch roughly half of from the sidelines with cramping in what appeared to be his calf. Outside of that, he has been lights out in practice and has turned in a fine performance for NFL talent evaluators. Miller looks to have answered all the question marks entering this week with his transition to wide receiver and could now be one of the first players at that position off the board in April.
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