The third day of practice is usually the best, and today didn’t disappoint. In addition to watching the players go after each other in the pit the East also ran the 2-minute drill on offense to close out practice.  Here’s the players that stood out to me on the East squad.

QB

John Skelton (Fordham) is throwing the ball with more confidence but didn’t really come alive until they started running the 2-minute drill.  Earlier in practice he was playing it safe with the football and absolutely refused to challenge the edges of the defense.  There was a play where he rolled out to his right and had Blair White streaking on a 9-route and Andrew Quarless running underneath.  White had tight coverage, but was pulling away from his man—Skelton chose to check down and play it safe.  Had he just thrown it in front of White and let him run under it, the result would have been a big play for a touchdown.  When the team was running the 2-minute drill Skelton seemed really comfortable and had the offense in a good rhythm.  His passes were on time, and he was very decisive with his throws.   

Daryll Clark (Penn State) should think about a position switch.  He fumbled more snaps again today, and generally looked uncomfortable when running the offense.  He doesn’t like to throw downfield, and when he did it was picked off by Van Eskridege (DB - East Carolina).  He likes to look to his tight end from Penn State Andrew Quarless, but even missed him badly on a rollout play.  Clark rolled to his right, had plenty of time and Quarless was wide open— he simply threw it into the dirt about 3-yards in front of the tight end.

Mike Kafka (Northwestern) had his worst day of practice on Wednesday.  His dropback was choppy and his footwork seemed a little off for the first time.  He made a few short throws, but some of his long passes had too much air under them and tended to flutter as they flew further down the field.  Kafka even messed up on a screen pass to Andre Dixon.  He dropped back, and with the rush in his face (to set up the screen underneath) he flicked the ball but it hit Ben Staggs (OL - West Liberty) in the back.  Luckily, Dixon had good enough hand/eye coordination to catch the ball off the bounce, but the play went for a grand total of 1-yard.

RB

Javarris James (Miami) was money when the East was working near the goal line.  His vision, quickness to cutback, and agility are top notch and he scored two touchdowns today.  The moves weren’t ankle-breaking, but very subtle to open things up against oncoming defensive ends.  James ran with a good pad level today, and was ready for contact when going through the hole.  He can glide through a hole, stutter to get away from defenders, or just lower his shoulder.   

Andre Dixon (UCONN) showed great hand/eye coordination when he caught a badly thrown pass from Mike Kafka that bounced off the back of an offensive lineman.  I loved when he did the trademark Walter Payton Pony Step to sneak by a defender near the goal line.  He did get jacked up by Barry Church when he got washed outside on a goalline run.  Later in practice he went after Church—scoring a touchdown by lowering his shoulder.  The offense celebrated, and Dixon yelled, “You Gotta Love It!!”   

Andre Anderson (Tulane) lacks vision to produce at the next level in my opinion.  Too many times today I would see him just run into the back of his linemen.  It’s not a patience issue, the holes never materialized.  Anderson just doesn’t look for the cutback lane if the hole’s not there.  I did see him catch a couple of passes outside, but he doesn’t excite much in space.   

Richard Dickson (LSU FB) is an under appreciated player on the East squad.  He’s a solid checkdown receiver with sure hands.  Dickson is a willing blocker that works hard on his craft. 

WR/TE

Freddie Barnes (Bowling Green) continued to show off his strong hands during Wednesday’s practice.  The wide receivers were on the sidelines testing their strong hands by throwing zip passes at each others face.  Barnes never let a pass hit his helmet, and never let any of his teammates grab the ball away from him after the catch.  After three days of practice the field was getting a little rough, but even when Barnes slipped on a low pass he was able to secure the ball as he turned and caught the pass behind him. 

Alric Arnett (West Virginia) struggled to gain separation in today’s practice.  He had a pass tipped away by Aaron Berry (DB - Pittsburgh) on a comeback route.  Later in practice another pass was broken up because Arnett doesn’t have much of a frame for the defenders to fight through.

Naaman Roosevelt (Buffalo) looked good in the strong hands drill on the sidelines.  He also is among the best at running comeback routes of the receivers here in Orlando.  His concentration seems to be off from time to time, but when he gets in the zone he’s hard to beat. 

Blair White (Michigan State) didn’t have as good of a day today as he did yesterday.  White was slipping on the field (see above about field conditions) and had a few uncharacteristic drops today.  The best play of the day came when he slipped on a slant route.  While on his hands and knees the pass was thrown just ahead of him (where he should have been had he not slipped).  Like some sort of ancient ninja, White leaped forward from the ground and secured the pass in his arms.  It’s just another example of how much this guy wants the football.  It looks like White hates for the ball to hit the ground, and that type of attitude will help make him a great slot receiver. 

Patrick Simonds (Colgate) didn’t do anything to catch my attention today.  The general consensus from those on the sidelines is that he doesn’t have the body control to get separtion at the next level.

Andrew Quarless (Penn State) once again showed solid hands throughout practice.  On a rollout pass play Quarless showed that he is a willing blocker.  The pass was checked down, and Quarless had to break off his route to find a defender.  He was able to push his man out of the receiver’s path, and helped that play gain an extra 10-yards because of his effort. 

O-Line

Chris Scott (OL - Tennessee) wasn’t quite as dominant in the pit as he was yesterday, but he did make a few great plays.  He pushed O’Brien Schofield down after a spin move, showing great arm strength and aggressiveness.  He also stoned Greg Hardy when the D-Lineman tried to come after him with a bull rush.

Roger Saffold( OL - Indiana) did a good job of stopping Rahim Alem on a speed move around the edge.   

Kyle Calloway (OL - Iowa) showed great stength when taking on O’Brien Schofield.  He stopped the rusher easily in the pit with great footwork and balance.

DEF

Doug Worthington (DL - Ohio State) didn’t display as many moves today, but still worked with a tireless motor.  He gets push every time he rushes the offensive line and got penetration to stuff the run when the East was running goalline drills. 

Rahim Alem (DL - LSU) stuffed Andre Anderson on a run, but the back basically ran right into him.  Alem was getting penetration at the goalline, but in the pit he failed to have the same success.

Mike Neal (DL - Purdue) was like Alem today.  He stopped the run in live drills, but in the pit he didn’t have the same production.

O’Brien Schofield (LB - Wisconsin) was able to get past Chris Scott with speed when working against him in the pit.  During 11-on-11 he was able to sniff out the double screen and easily stopped the play for no gain.

Kam Chancellor (DB - Virginia Tech) had a couple of big hits in practice today.  One of them was on Nate Byham (TE - PITT) and the ball almost came loose because of the force of the hit.  The other big hit was on Blair White on a crossing route over the middle.  He also was good in coverage, almost getting an interception on a sideline pass.  His instincts allowed him to knock away the pass as he ran the route better than the receiver (it was again Byham).

Patrick Stoudamire (DB - Western Illinois) showed good instincts today against a wide receiver screen.  He was not fooled by the quick play and easily came in to tackle the receiver for no gain.