Not a cloud marred the sky as the South team took to Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile for the afternoon session. For those of us from the northern climates it was a wonderful change-up and chance to watch some intriguing NFL draft prospects.

As with the North session earlier in the day, my focus was on the offensive and defensive linemen, with a little bit of running backs and linebackers mixed in.

Biggest Winner: Miami TE Clive Walford. He was not my primary focus but every time I looked in his direction he was making something positive happen. Walford is physically impressive at 6’4” and 254 pounds, and he showed real burst off the line throughout the last two days. He made several catches that drew praise from the gathered scouting and NFL community. There is a major void in this draft at tight end behind Minnesota’s Maxx Williams, and Walford is doing a great job filling that void. He’s certainly making folks look back at his Hurricanes tape for longer looks.

Biggest Loser: Auburn C Reese Dismukes. You know the whole “you have ONE job” meme? Well, Dismukes’ primary job function is to get the ball to the quarterback. He struggled late in the season with his snaps and that has carried over here. His erratic snapping is all over the place, and it’s pronounced when there is a defensive player lined up right over his nose. One of the roots is that he has tiny hands at just 8 1/4”, which is about the size expected of a person who is 5’6”. He’s 6’2” and 295. He also lacks real strength in the pivot, unable to handle bull rushers very successfully. That’s a very real problem because if he continues to have the snapping yips he will need to move to guard, but his lack of strength and length is a bigger problem at that spot.

Biggest Surprise: Houston DT Joey Mbu. One of the things scouts look at is finding a defined role for a player as they project forward. It’s easy to see where Mbu is going to make his living in the NFL. He’s easily the best defensive tackle here at taking on double teams. Mbu manipulates the leverage and understands how to use his very strong lower body and violent hands to hit the weak points of the two blockers trying to engage him. That makes his an attractive 1-technique for a 4-3 defense. He’s not much of a pass rusher but does well enough to get free or with a bull rush to be a solid clean-up secondary rusher. The Raiders, Bears, Cowboys, Seahawks and Lions should be among the teams with interest in the third or fourth round.

Eye Openers:

One of the bigger disappointments in the first two days has been the play of Colorado State offensive tackle Ty Sambrailo. His lack of functional strength is readily evident compared to the likes of La’el Collins or Daryl Williams, the two best tackles on the South. Tackles who lack great strength need to have either exceptional feet (think D’Brickashaw Ferguson) or enough of a jolting punch and exceptional technique (think Duane Brown). Sambrailo just doesn’t have either, unfortunately. My friend Ian Wharton watched much of the practice with me and concurred…

 

On the flip side, Clemson DT Grady Jarrett does a great job understanding his physical limitations and playing to his strengths. Jarrett is shorter and lighter than desired at 6’ and a maxed-out 290, but he has real functional power through his hips and shoulders. There is a polished, violent upward rip move he uses to great effect to get into the pads of the blockers and really seize the leverage by getting up into and under the chest. He also has enough burst and quickness to separate off that move and get into the backfield. He’s not as high-end as Geno Atkins but that’s a similar type of player. A team would do well to pair Jarrett and Mbu together at the next level. That duo could make a lot of hay in the actual Senior Bowl game.

I’ve been critical of Alabama G Arie Kouandjio in the past but he had several successful reps today. He’s clearly more athletic and naturally flexible than his brother Cyrus. Kouandjio still gets too upright out of his stance, but he showed more power with his punch and quicker feet to stay engaged than I saw in his Crimson Tide career. He was one of the few linemen with any success against Jarrett.

Auburn DT Gabe Wright had another strong practice. He’s got a powerful first step and does a good job setting up his moves. One of the things that stands out is that he is able to beat his man while keeping his eye on the quarterback or the ball. That’s not a common trait. He isn’t a dynamic athlete like J.J. Watt or Ndamukong Suh and that will prevent him from being a high-end player, but Wright has a lot of legit, translatable NFL talent. I like him best as a 5-technique for an aggressive 3-4 fronted defense like the Cardinals or Steelers. He’s a solid top 50 pick.

I was surprised to see Georgia LB Amarlo Herrera here after he was underwhelming in last week’s Shrine Game practices. He didn’t stand out against the lower-ranked talent in St. Pete, and he’s really out of his league against the big boys. There just isn’t enough size, speed or strength to compete at the next level as more than a special teams core guy.

Missouri DE Markus Golden impressed many here, though he didn’t catch my eye other than one rep in particular where he eviscerated a lunging Sambrailo. Several scouts were buzzing about how well he set up his moves and transformed speed into inside power when attacking the edge.

Northern Iowa RB David Johnson is helping himself here. He displayed great vision to bounce a run outside and continues to excel in the passing game. One thing which stood out: he was coached up about shortening his sidestep and keeping his eyes up doing an agility drill. On the very next rep he did both and received heaping praise from the Jaguars coaching staff.

Louisville B Lorenzo Mauldin is speedy and reads plays well but he winds up on the ground a lot. A lot.

The South had some injuries.

TCU tackle Tayo Fabuluje is done for the week with a hip flexor. He will be replaced tomorrow by Mississippi State’s Blaine Clausell, a player I’m higher on than most and will grade out higher than the gigantic but largely immobile Fabuluje.

Miami LB Denzel Perryman sat out practice with an abdominal strain. Terrance Plummer from Central Florida will take his place tomorrow as well. It’s a bummer for Perryman, a player with a lot of very uneven tape.

Kansas CB Jacory Shepherd missed practice with a calf strain. He was the worst player on the field in Tuesday’s practice, unable to stick with any of the receivers. Perhaps the calf issue would explain some of that.

UNLV wideout Devante Davis also sat out with a calf strain. Both he and Shepherd will try to give it a go on Thursday.

With Nick Marshall moving to cornerback--and largely acquitting himself nicely according to trusted evaluators--the South added quarterback Bryan Bennett from SE Louisiana. My first impression of Bennett, an Oregon transfer, was largely positive. He throws well on the move and has a clean overhand release. He’s already vaulted himself over all the North QBs (I consider Bryce Petty undraftable due to health and age concerns) and fellow South QB Blake Sims, who was a strong candidate for biggest loser. Only Colorado State’s Garrett Grayson is definitively better than Bennett.

I get asked a lot about some lesser-known online talent evaluators to read and follow. Some of my favorites include:

 Dan Hope of Buffalo Bills Draft and Bleacher Report (note: I run sister site Detroit Lions Draft and also work for B/R).

Bryan Perez of Draft Breakdown, where you can watch videos of almost every prospect as well as reading quality content.

Dan Kadar of Mocking the Draft on SB Nation.

John Owning, who writes at B/R and Draft Breakdown

Justis Mosqueda, a must-follow on Twitter even though he couldn’t attend the Senior Bowl.

Ian Wharton of B/R and several other outlets.

Luke Inman of eDraft, where you might find a video of me talking later tonight…

Finally, I need to thank the Sirius XM NFL Radio Football Heads for inviting me to dinner and wonderful hospitality they’ve shown me all week. Former NFL GM Pat Kirwan, NFL QB Jim Miller and consummate radio pro Vic Carucci were all wonderful to talk with and get to know, as well as Turron Davenport, Three Point, Big Bird, Miami Vice and The Commish and all the other guys who know a heck of a lot about football.