The second day of practice featured the players in shoulder pads for the first time, and there was lots of hitting right from the word “go”.  The highlight of the day was watching the players go after each other in the pit.  Here’s the players that stood out to me on the East squad.

QB

John Skelton (Fordham) had a better day of practice today, and was throwing hot nearly every time the ball left his hand.  His throwing motion looked much quicker to me, and I liked the way he would snap his wrist when the ball left his hand.  He still struggled to throw on the run today as the squad went 11-on-11 at the end of practice.  While running a double screen pass, Skelton turned to his right after faking left and had wide open field in front of him.  Instead of running for a first down Skelton instead tried to hit Naaman Roosevelt on a sideline route about 15-yards downfield.  The pass wasn’t even in the same zip code, and sailed high and out of bounds. 

Daryll Clark (Penn State) has to work on his footwork when dropping back to pass.  His feet are off when he has to play fake, and it messes up his rhythm when throwing.  I do like his natural throwing motion and high release point.  He consistently releases the football at the same spot on nearly every throw.  Like yesterday, most of his passes came out hot and low, so they were away from defenders.

Mike Kafka (Northwestern) Kafka continued to look solid today, but not spectacular in any aspect.  I like the way he moves on the run, and he gets rid of the ball on the proper leg when throwing on the run.  The best pass he throws is a comeback, where the receiver is squared up and Kafka can just zip the ball at a spot.

RB

Javarris James (Miami) I saw little of the running back today, as I was watching the pit while they were going through drills on the other side of the field.  However, in 11-on-11 James looked hot and cold.  He was swallowed up when running to the left, and could not create any space with moves even though he tried to.  The offense then ran a counter to the right side of the field, and linebacker Chris McCoy totally bought into the fake and was washed out of the way.  James used his quick initial burst to dash through the hole for a big gain.  He also caught a screen pass on the right side of the field and sprinted down the sideline, but was jacked up by Chris Chancellor on one of the biggest hits of the day. 

Andre Dixon (UCONN) showed the ability to “get skinny” when running between the tackles today.  He consistently runs with a good pad level and has a quick initial burst. 

Andre Anderson (Tulane) looked better today than he did yesterday.  I like the patience he showed in waiting for his blocks to develop before bursting into the second level of the defense.  He is better between the tackles then outside in my opinion, but he surprisingly had a couple of successful runs to the edge of the defense.   

Richard Dickson (LSU FB) was used a lot as a checkdown receiver on rollout passes today.  His hands were solid, but he fails to do much after the catch.

WR/TE

Freddie Barnes (Bowling Green) was sporting silver cleats today.  It’s a little flash to go along with his dash.  Again he showed natural ability catching passes with his arms extended away from his body.  However, he did have difficulty changing directions when running a comeback route.  He would get so much momentum going forward that it would prevent him from turning quickly and coming back to the quarterback.  If he sinks his hips a little more that should improve with practice.  I loved his stutter/go route, and he got separation on cornerback Darian Stewart with ease.

Alric Arnett (West Virginia) has a very thin lower body, and reminds me a little of Todd Pinkston.  He did jet past cornerback Sherrick McManis on a post route and caught the pass over his shoulder.  He is technically sound, but rarely makes plays that standout.

Naaman Roosevelt (Buffalo) had an up and down day.  He was slipping on the field and body catching too many passes throughout practice.  He has a great frame, and strong hands which he finally showed off near the end of practice.  The coaches were teaching him to stay low in and out of his breaks between plays, and his post route is one of the best at the Shrine Game.  However, he does lose too much speed when he breaks off a double move.

Blair White (Michigan State) continued to impress me today.  The guy is relentless and catches every pass thrown his way.  He is a little stiff running routes, but he’s a try-hard player that will do everything to improve.  He can set up defenders with head and shoulder fakes, and even caught one pass out of bounds just because he didn’t want it to hit the ground after a great fake (the throw was way off).  He can high point passes, and even slid on his knees to scoop a pass today.  The best play for him was when he went low for a pass, but had to catch it one-handed because his other hand was on the ground so he could run after the catch.  He gathered in the catch and turned up field quickly.

Patrick Simonds (Colgate) high pointed a couple of passes today.  The quarterback play here isn’t the best, and several of his targets were simply off the mark.  He needs to work on his route running as he was rounding out his post patterns today.  He did make cornerback Stephan Virgil bite on a fake, but body caught the pass and didn’t do much after the catch.  He also had his pinky fingers together on a pass that was above his chest line, which is incorrect. 

Andrew Quarless (Penn State) had another good day of practice.  He has an easy stride and can get up the field in a hurry.  Quarless has a good rapport with his college quarterback Daryll Clark and it shows on the field.  The other East quarterbacks look to him as a hot route option when they feel the rush is on.

O-Line

Chris Scott (OL - Tennessee) was great in the pit today.  He handled speed rushers and power moves all the same.  His feet aren’t the greatest, but he plays with an aggressive style.

Roger Saffold (OL - Indiana) was a stonewall in the pit.  He moved speed rushers out of the way, and he froze defenders trying to go at him with power.

Sergio Render (OL - Virginia Tech) recovered well from a devastating punch by DL Willie Young from NC State.  The initial punch knocked him back, but he quickly went on the fight and stopped Young from advancing further.

Kyle Calloway (OL - Iowa) can absorb and redirect punishment, and can hang with speed rushers.

Cord Howard (OL - Georgia Tech) has functional strength and can strong arm oncoming rushers.

DEF

Doug Worthington (DL - Ohio State) is technically sound and had a motor that just wouldn’t quit in the pit.  He is very adept at hand fighting and can rip/swim or go with straight power.  He also tipped a screen pass in 11-on-11 drills.

Rahim Alem (DL - LSU) had a great rip move in the pit, and was battling hard against the O-linemen.  He was also a run stopper when they went 11-on-11.

Kam Chancellor (DB - Virginia Tech) missed on a few coverages, but he hits with great “pop” if he lines a wideout up in his sights.

Patrick Stoudamire (DB - Western Illinois) had nice moves as a kick returner today. 

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