West Coach Gene Stallings practices are a much slower pace than the East practices, with players getting extensive coaching between reps. Because of that, we learned less than we did about the East squad, and what we did see today often reinforced what we saw on Monday.

QB
Mike Reilly(Central Washington) had a couple of nice passes of throwing on the run, but did not show great velocity throwing from the pocket. He did seem like he was pressing less than he was yesterday and looked more comfortable.

Stephen McGee(Texas A&M) carried the banner for the West QBs once again. In addition to throwing the sharpest passes of the bunch, he looked great scrambling once the play broke down, and often fooled the defense with his play fakes. McGee also had the best timing of the West QBs, leading his receivers and getting rid of the ball on time.

Tom Brandstater(Fresno State) was very sound mechanically and he generated good velocity, but his accuracy and timing looked like they needed work.

RB
Gartrell Johnson(Colorado State) continued to run with a wide base and terrific body lean, running through contact, except on one notable occasion (more on that on the defensive side). Johnson’s initial burst was once again terrific, and he must be rising up draft boards as we speak.

Aaron Brown(TCU) had probably the best vision of the West RBs, gliding through the hole and identifying cutback lanes well. He had little to no wasted motion, running efficiently on most every touch.

Ian Johnson(Boise State) again showed good lateral agility and slashed through the hole, but doesn’t seem to have the power to run through arm tackles.

Jorvorskie Lane(FB-Texas A&M) lacked pop on his few carried from the fullback position.

WR/TE
Jarrett Dillard(Rice) has left us struggling for words to adequately praise his performance. He’s a master technician and once again made most everything look easy, from creating separation in his routes to tracking deep balls over his shoulder. We’ll be surprised if any wideouts at the Senior Bowl look better than Dillard has so far this week.

Sammie Stroughter(Oregon State) was just as precise as Dillard, with less explosion. He froze Lendy Holmes on a double move and hands caught everything thrown his direction. His body control is excellent and he is clearly NFL material.

Manuel Johnson(Oklahoma) looked a lot better today. His excellent quicks were more apparent and he was doing more than thinking out in his routes. His effort was top notch and he looks like he’s taking to the coaching offered by the West staff.

Marko Mitchell(Nevada) had a few drops and body catches. He looked almost uncoverable on a few routes, but mostly looked ordinary and did not stand out.

Mike Thomas(Arizona) still did not “pop” like the small, quick trio of Dillard, Stroughter, and Johnson, but he did show his RB mindset after the catch and good fearlessness over the middle.

Bear Pascoe(TE -Fresno State) must just like to run into the defender attempting to cover him. Watching Pascoe play the last few days has been like watching a wild horse race. You don’t know what is going to happen, but punishment will be doled out and someone will be bleeding at the end of it.

OL
Sebastian Vollmer(OT-Houston) continues to intrigue us. He’s not exceptionally quick or strong, but he’s effective and looks like he’s got a lot of room to improve. He’s been the surprise star of the West offensive linemen.

Cedric Dockery(OG-Texas) lost a few battles to teammate Roy Miller, but he also showed terrific ankle flexion absorbing the rush in the pit.

Jon Cooper(C-Oklahoma) handled larger defensive tackles well in the pit, yielding some ground but holding them at bay. He was also technically sound.

DEF

Roy Miller(DT-Texas) showed good energy in the pit once again, but flashed little in the way of moves or strategy.

Jarron Gilbert(DT-San Jose State) threw opposing blockers to the ground with terrific strength more than once. He’s very disruptive and could be a nice cover 2 DT. He also got into the first real scrap of the Shrine Game practices.

Phillip Hunt(DE-Houston) successfully bullrushed Fenuki Tupou in the pit, complimenting his natural speed rush and sack artist instincts.

Michael Bennett(DE-Texas A&M) made a ton of plays on the other side of the line of scrimmage in 11 on 11s, both vs the run and pass. He had one sure sack of his teammate Stephen McGee that was whistled dead due to the non-contact nature of the practice, and he generally beat his man at the snap.

Kevin Ellison(DB-USC) did not participate and watched the practice from the sidelines in street clothes

Darcel McBath(DB-Texas Tech) has left the practices due to a lingering hamstring injury.

Cary Harris(CB-USC) was the class of the West CBs, and he had the hit of the day, getting lower than and blowing up power back Gartrell Johnson despite giving up at least 30 pounds to him.