It was a beautiful day at Reliant Stadium and a good day for the kickoff of practices for the 84th East/West Shrine Game. The players were in shoulder pads and shorts, but the intensity and pace of East coach Bobby Ross’s practice was good. Players instantly began to stand out for reasons both good and bad.

QB
Chase Daniel(Missouri) reportedly measured 6’0” at the weigh-in, but he didn’t look a lick over 5’10” next to his East teammates, and played more like he was 5’7”. His release point was low for a QB of ANY height. His passing motion was exaggerated and anything but the quick efficient release you look for in an NFL prospect. Daniel was indecisive when reading the defense, no matter the coverage. He often pushed the ball and seemed to be aiming instead of throwing. Not everything was bad for Daniel. His three step drop was good-  he looked light on his feet and had a smooth quick setup. His five step drop, on the other hand, was marred by a lack of the proper transfer of energy from his back foot to front foot which caused his passes to sail. We are willing to give Daniel a pass on the first day of practice, but he has to improve by the end of the week if he wants to have an NFL future.

Hunter Cantwell(Louisville) was able to draw the defense off sides with a sharp cadence and looked comfortable quickly getting back into his drop. Cantwell holds the ball high and has a good release point. Cantwell was on point when rolling to his left, but he couldn’t throw a spiral rolling to his right, which is strange for a right handed QB. Cantwell looked the most like an NFL QB of the East signalcallers, but his passes sometimes fluttered and did not match the quality of his stature and throwing motion.

Brian Hoyer(Michigan State) also had a good cadence and had the best zip on his fastball of any East QB. He doesn’t seem to have a huge deep arm ball, but he displayed great arm strength on short and intermediate passes. Hoyer failed to anticipate his receiver’s routes or was consistently inaccurate, because his passes were often behind his target.

RB
Javarris Williams(Tennessee State) showed a “gone before you know it” initial burst, which is even more impressive when you consider that he has a compact power runner build at 5’10” 220 with a thick lower body. He gets low instinctively and also mixed in some effective shake and bake elusiveness, which again was surprisingly for a runner that initially strikes you as a classic power runner. His short area quickness allowed him to easily get open as a receiver out of the backfield when isolated one on one against a linebacker.

Tyrell Sutton(Northwestern) gave us a good dose of the hard charging style that made him very productive in the physical Big Ten Conference. Sutton also had great hands as a receiver (as expected) and seemed to have the quickest feet of the East RBs. His game had the precision and top effort of an NFL player, and he definitely has the look of a player who will stick on an NFL roster despite preconceived notions about short running backs. He’s not as explosive as a Sproles or Jones-Drew, but he’s dependable and multi-talented.

Marlon Lucky(Nebraska) paled in comparison to Williams and Sutton. He fumbled an exchange from Chase Daniel and generally looked average at best.

Collin Mooney(Army FB) showed good concentration as a receiver in backs on backers, holding onto a pass through an attempted strip. He didn’t look like a plodding fullback as a runner, showing decent burst and lateral agility. Mooney clearly loves contact.

WR/TE
Deon Butler(Penn State) was by far the most sudden and explosive player on the East roster. Most of the time the defensive back was reacting to Butler’s break after Butler had already made at least one step out of it. He plays very fast and quick, but still very much under control. Butler is also clearly a natural hands catcher, as evidenced by the ball making the soft “thwip” every time he caught it. Good deep ball tracking, sideline awareness (getting both feet in on an out pattern), and the ability to adjust to errant passes rounded out the skills shown by the most outstanding player in Monday East practice. Butler seems to be on a different level than most of his East teammates – he probably belongs in the Senior Bowl.

Greg Orton(Purdue) first the bad – he lets the ball get into his body. If the ball was over his head, he couldn’t get after it, he isn’t sudden, and he takes a while to get to top speed. Now the good – he caught nearly every comeback route pass thrown at him, Orton naturally got his body between the defender and the ball in flight, he’s a willing blocker, and although not bulky at 6’3” 200, he’s toned.

Aaron Kelly(Clemson) showed good athleticism – he’s more fluid than you’d expect from a long limbed 6’5” wideout. Kelly also naturally high pointed the ball to take advantage of his height. Kelly showed good instincts and fight to get extra yards after the catch.While he didn’t fight the ball, Kelly didn’t exactly have soft hands – unlike Butler’s “thwip”, the ball made a “thwock” when Kelly caught it. Kelly did unnecessarily jump on a crossing route, marring an otherwise solid day.

Darius Passmore(Marshall) looked thicker than his 6’3” 188 height/weight would suggest. He was a consistent good hands receiver. Passmore was much more sudden than we expected for such a long limbed WR, and he separated from defensive backs easily in his routes.

Brian Mandeville(Northeastern) displayed good soft hands and the ability to catch the ball whether it was out in front of him, or behind him. Mandeville showed the ability to get open against safeties in the one on one drills.

OL
Augustus Parrish(OT-Kent State) showed good potential as a pass blocking tackle – Parrish was light on his feet and showed a strong punch.

Alex Boone(OT-Ohio State)  stayed at left tackle and won most of his battles against old rival Matt Shaughnessy from Wisconsin.

Ramon Foster(OT-Tennessee) held on nearly every battle in the pit.

Seth Olsen(OG-Iowa) displayed great fight and technique in the pit.

Jamon Meredith(OT-South Carolina) had the strongest punch of any East offensive lineman

DEF

Darryl Richard(DT-Georgia Tech) showed a quick first step and finishing instincts in the pit.

Clinton McDonald(DT-Memphis) was a standout with his intense energy, great burst off the snap, and non-stop motor in the pit.

Stryker Sulak(DE-Missouri) seemed to rely way too much on his outside speed rush move and didn’t play very physical in the pit.

Curtis Taylor(S-LSU) had a rough day and was a step behind most receivers in coverage drills.

Bradley Fletcher(DB-Iowa) recorded a terrific interception when he got inside position on Aaron Kelly on a deep jumpball.