The first practices for the East West Shrine Game are in the books and both teams turned in a solid first day, albeit an abbreviated session. The West team will do their work at St Petersburg High School for their practice week and today was a solid session for the coaching staff and a number of players.

C Chase Roullier, Wyoming – I came into this event with some expectations for Chase and they were clearly met by an athletic center that rifles out of his stance, gets on a pull block and finds defenders to flatten. He possesses terrific speed for a big man and he has a very well developed lower half, almost unproportionately large legs. For a guy that only played a year and some spare change at center, he looks to be a natural at the pivot and has a strong punch with his natural arm extension. This country strong kid was a big reason why the Pokes were so effective running the ball and he’s proving that he belongs in the league.

RB Dare Ogunwale, Wisconsin – There’s just a lot this guy is bringing to the table here. Ogunwale has terrific feet, he’s a stout pass blocker, he is a reliable receiver, a willing special teamer and he has adequate speed. If you asked him to Dare would probably drive the bus to the game and parallel park that bad boy for good measure. There has to be a spot for this guy at the end of some team’s draft with how many things he does well. He was a step ahead of the other backs today on bag drills alone. Great balance and footwork!

TE Michael Roberts, Toledo – Roberts just looks like a pro tight end out there. He’s got that big wide body, nice long arms and frame and he has terrific ball skills. On an overthrown pass early in the day, the football rolled out in front of me so I underhanded it back to Roberts but put a little steam on it. This guy catches it one handed, smiles and says thanks. Touche Roberts! He’s got the ball skills to make catches away from his body, he can make adjustments to the ball and for a man of his size (270 pounds), he really gets upfield in a hurry.

RB Joe Williams, Utah – There’s a lot to like about Williams’ movement skills and tackle breaking ability but his footwork during drills today was a little concerning to say the least. He appeared to struggle in the ball security drill with a very intriguing ball on a string mechanism and really drug his feet getting through bag drills but he more than made up for it once there were cutting drills. Watching that guy jump cut is really a joy. He is a plus athlete that possesses great instincts carrying the ball, he just needs to fine tune his fundamentals. He got some great coaching today from Indianapolis Colts’ runningback coach Jemal Singleton.

CB Treston DeCoud, Oregon State – This super size corner can actually run. He’s just a sticky cover man that is tough to beat because of that length and his instincts. He won a rep against Trey Griffey on a short underneath throw and disrupted throws early. He is a high cut type build but he’s making up for it with his size and speed combination out there and thus far hasn’t done anything but boost his stock.

WR Jalen Robinette, Air Force – This is another big bodied wide receiver that does a good job of beating press, blocking upfield and has reliable hands but he does lack suddenness in his movements. His ability to get open against speed corners will remain a question mark but he does make plays away from his body and he has the length to come down with contested passes. Robinette has build up speed more than explosiveness. Definitely a player to monitor for the rest of the week, particularly in matchups against quicker and more shifty corners.

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