Shrine Game: East Practice – Day Two

The East Team for the Shrine Game has now put two days of practice in the books and today’s session was more lengthy, featured more one on one drills and more scrimmage work as well as seven on sevens and running drills. The coaches definitely took it up a notch today and so did the players for what has an excellent day two session.

OT William Holden, Vanderbilt – Holden has a great big body and a nice long frame to hold up against pass rushers. He excelled at blocking drills and despite being one of the taller tackles, he’s a very good bender that can get low to stime smaller pass rushers. He did take a couple of losses in one on ones but he still showed a lot of ability running drills with rare movement skills for a man that size. He has good feet, shows solid form taking on defenders but just needs to put all the pieces together to showcase what he can do.

DT DeAngelo Brown, Louisville – He’s a short squatty kid that doesn’t have a lot of flash but you just can’t move the guy off his spot and his bull rush has been getting the job done day two. Some scouts complain that he doesn’t have a counter move and that his height is a deficiency but his low center of gravity is a strength and with the right coaching/scheme, he has a chance to be a rotational lineman. Brown was impossible for some of the guards to block today and while he may have mixed reviews from Monday, the player that I saw today was a problem for the offense and a guy that could definitely play as a three technique in an even front.

QB Cooper Rush, Central Michigan – Rush is easily the best quarterback here at the Shrine Game with the ball velocity he is able to put on his passes and the ease of release he shows. His delivery was fast, he has an over the top throwing motion and appears to be at ease throwing to different receivers here in St Pete. He just looked hot early, as Rush hit Whitfield to start drills with a hard in route that just ricocheted right off Whitfield’s chest with a thud. He put a ball right on Quincy Adeboyejo’s numbers on a quick slant that got into his body and drove the ball through coverage in the seven on seven portion to Eric Saubert that had a lot of steam on it. This is a great format for Rush and his skill set.

RB I’Tavius Mathers, Middle Tennessee State – There were quite a few quality runs that Mathers just got a solid rep in but more than anything, one busted inside run, he made a jump cut to the opposite side that just showed off what kind of lateral explosion that made him an SEC recruit. Mathers has quality change of direction skills, he catches the ball well and has the vision needed to see the play open up. He might not possess elite top end speed or the size to move a pile but he is a quality ball carrier that has a place as a third down back.

OG Adam Pankey, West Virginia – Pankey has a nice low center of gravity, he bends well and showed quality power in his jabs today. He doesn’t have a lot of wasted movement, he gets right into contact out of his stance and only ended up on the ground once that I saw on day two. He is technically sound, has a nice frame for the guard spot and understands how to turn defenders and wall off running lanes. Twice today he picked up the extra defender and turned them inside for a run to the outside.

WR Quincy Adeboyejo, Ole Miss – Adeboyejo has prototype size for the wide receiver position but he doesn’t possess elite speed or top tier ball skills. He does find ways to get open and has had some moments throughout the first two days, he just has to find ways to finish. He had a terrific play he made on an underthrown low pass early in the day that he got off the ground with a defender draped on his back but bobbled the ball at the very end for a no catch. He has made some brilliant catches though and flashes unexpected speed for a guy his size but he just needs to fine tune his game because he certainly has all the tools.

Thanks a ton for reading and please bang out some feedback or comments below. You can always e-mail me questions, comments and even complaints to joe@draftscouts.com

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