Florida quarterback Tim Tebow struggled during Saturday night's Senior Bowl, but said after the game that he's "open" to working on his fundamentals. Tebow looked shaky running a pro-style offense and fumbled twice in the South's 31-13 loss to the North. "I think I'm definitely open to improving my fundamentals," Tebow said after the game. "I think I definitely showed that by being here. If you just watched the way I played, you could see there is room for improvement and what I need to work on."

The teeming throngs were largely gone, though 400 or so fans still crowded the stands--most of them Alabama faithful. The weather turned a little cloudy and it was much breezier than the morning practice. I counted less than 10 NFL teams with more than one person still in attendance. The Dolphins conduct their practice sessions in a much less scouting-friendly manner than other recent Senior Bowl staffs have done. There is very little inter-positional battling, as drills are divvied up almost exclusively to individual positional groups. They do run more 11-on-11 action than others have, and that is very fortunate for this unit, as many of the players appear to fare much better in game action than in drills. OL NC State?s Ted Larsen stood out in drills, showing good explosion and doing a good job staying in balance. During the 11-on-11 2-minute drill he consistently controlled his assignment and got outside nicely on a screen. He?s on the short side (6?2?) but he has an innate upward surge when he initiates contact, and he uses his stature to his advantage. John Jerry from Ole Miss is one big hombre, especially thru the chest and shoulders. He throws one heck of a hand punch, and he surprised many by how well he kept his feet moving while engaged. When he lined up at tackle he didn?t look out of his element. Remember, this is a blocker that graded out higher than Michael Oher in 8 games back in 2008, and he showed a lot of that skill on Thursday. He flattened Georgia?s Geno Atkins when Atkins tried to bull rush him. He?s got some Flozell Adams to him. Arkansas G Mitch Petrus has visibly shorter arms than his compatriots, and it really showed his limitations in drills. Defenders consistently got into his chest and dictated the action, and Petrus? habit of stopping his feet exacerbates the problem. I had a nice debate with a talent evaluator regarding LSU?s Ciron Black. I see a muffin-topped waist-bender best suited (and well-suited) to play inside, but this person insisted he has the footwork and flexibility to play tackle. Black sort of validated both of our positions in the 11?s drills, where he fired off the snap nicely and created movement inside. He also moved his feet well to help USC center Jeff Byers on Terrence Cody, who outweighs Byers by almost 80 pounds. In positional drills he was scolded for keeping his hands too wide, but he moved better than I expected, though he did lunge out over his base a few times. Byers continues to impress. He is very quick to call out the defense and his snap exchange is much smoother with the QBs than the other centers. He?s light (299) but does a good job extending his arms with power, and he is tenacious. His leadership is a plus. Chris Scott from Tennessee is very big (6?5?, 346) but he plays too upright and methodical. His initial surge is hit-and-miss, and he received extra instruction on keeping his arms locked strong without making his whole body stiff. He is ostensibly a tackle but is probably better served moving to guard, though his lack of short-area quickness could limit that. West Virginia tackle Selvish Capers is very agile but clearly lacks sand in the pants. He is very good at getting out on screens and finding targets in space, but he got walked backwards in pass protection more often than not by pretty much everyone he faced off against. The defensive linemen ran some agility drills, including one where they ran a figure eight and then had to fire out and hit a dummy at the end. Observations: Auburn?s Antonio Coleman flew around the course, under control and able to quickly change direction and burst out of the turn. He backed that up in a drill where they were asked to drop in coverage; Coleman flipped his hips better than some safeties on his team and flashed some nice hands. He also quickly sniffed out a gadget play the offense had cooked up. C.J. Wilson from East Carolina had good footwork and body control. He wasn?t as comfortable dropping in coverage, and he didn?t show much variety to his pass rush arsenal in 11?s drills. There was once instance where he was in good position to bat down a Tebow pass but he only got one hand up and just missed. George Selvie continues to have a poor week. He runs very upright and shows little explosion out of his stance or off a lateral move. He is fast but straight-linish in his movement. Selvie was a non-factor in 11?s drills once again. Terrence Cody once again dominated the middle. He is an immovable object, but Cody uses his hands well to create a little space to get penetration. He did that a couple of times on Thursday. Cody moved pretty well for a 370-pound behemoth, traversing the figure 8 faster than both Georgia linemen here. One of those Georgia linemen, Geno Atkins, sure looks like a classic DT/DE tweener. He runs with heavy feet and is too far out over them, often needing to take an extra step to gather himself. But he?s undersized and not powerful enough to play inside. The other Bulldog is Jeff Owens, who is one of those that fares much better in 11?s than in positional drills. He got off blocks nicely and flashed some ability to penetrate. In the agility drills he plodded and looked very uncomfortable in open space, which isn?t necessarily a bad thing for a one-technique DT. Troy DE Brandon Lang had a good afternoon, looking spry and very controlled in his movement. He nicely diagnosed a draw play and closed inside quickly. Lang fared quite well when asked to drop into coverage, high-pointing a ball and making a nice catch with his hands. Some other observations from the two-minute drill drill (yes, that?s intentionally redundant): Tim Tebow is so much more comfortable commanding the 2-minute drill. He makes quick decisions and absolutely guns the ball. It?s as if being pressed for time triggers something in him that speeds up his release a bit and improves his accuracy. Tebow fired some real strikes to Joe Webb and Riley Cooper, and on one play he held safety Harry Coleman with his eyes just long enough to complete a slant a little deeper to Cooper, who has clearly seen this movie before. Jarrett Brown did not do as well. He is very quick to pack it up and run, particularly if he feels any sort of outside rush. He tucked it down and ran on 3 of the first 4 snaps, and on one of those he missed Tulane?s Jeremy Williams completely alone on the right sideline about 25 yards downfield. Williams freed himself on the play with a nice change of speed that got Trevard Lindley?s feet out of kilter. On a play where he actually stood in the pocket he once again missed seeing a wide open receiver to his right (this time it was Anthony Dixon) and checked down to his tight end with a low throw. The interior OL consistently allowed very little penetration between the tackles, particularly when Lamarr Houston was playing DT. Houston has no idea what to do with his hands despite having obvious strength and decent feet. Baylor C J.D. Walton completely turned Houston 90 degrees and allowed a huge running lane to Tebow. South Florida CB Jerome Murphy got chewed out for giving up a completion to the outside. I?ve been highly critical of Taylor Mays this week, but he made a play on Thursday that showed his potential. He saw Andre Roberts break inside as soon as the ball was snapped, and Mays flew into the backfield untouched, arriving squared up to Roberts less than a step after he was handed the ball. As I continue to say, he would be better served playing strongside LB than safety. South Carolina LB Eric Norwood chucked USC TE Anthony McCoy well off his clearing route, which allowed Oklahoma State CB Perrish Cox to sprint outside and jump the throw, which he would have picked off had it not been so low. Cox has consistently demonstrated a great knack for jumping routes and closing on the ball. He reminds me of 80s Browns corner Frank Minnifield, though Cox has much better hands than I recall Minny ever having. Jeff.Risdon@RealGM.com

A much sparser morning crowd descended upon Ladd-Peebles on Thursday, as pretty much all the names that most people would recognize have left already. I started the day watching the RBs, who were doing some agility and receiving drills. Thoughts: LeGarrette Blount runs with very high knees and makes very forceful, choppy steps. He squares his shoulders quickly, exuding balance and strength even though he does run high. He received some extra coaching in the passing drills, being instructed to cut sharper and how to present a better target without telegraphing the route. He listened and finished with a ?Yes sir? and showed a little more attention to detail on his next rep. Oklahoma?s Chris Brown is visibly the most slender of the group, particularly through the hips and thighs. One would think that would portend better quickness, but he consistently took extra steps in the agility drills. He doesn?t have the instant acceleration out of the cuts either. He did look very good catching the ball, including a nice one-handed catch on the full run. I?m reminded of Artose Pinner for some reason. Lonyae Miller of Fresno State looked very smooth and fluid in the agility drills. He?s very light on his feet. He also needed some extra attention in passing drills, as he was looking back too early and making his flare out too circular and wide. On one rep he got praised mid-rep for running a perfect route, but then lost the catch when he tried to pull a low-but-catchable ball in and it banged off his knee. Joique Bell of Wayne State earned praise from the coaches for his body lean and footwork, and he comes out of cuts with real giddy-up to his step. However, he was scolded for running the wrong route once and didn?t get his shoulders turned or head around quick enough to make another catch. He did follow that with a nice hand catch on the run. Virginia?s Rashawn Jackson continues to flash very nice hands and sneaky speed in the open. Reminds me some of Tony Richardson back in his Chiefs days, though the blocking is still a question as little of that is done here. Maryland FB Cory Jackson is a bit out of his element here, as he is a blocking-type back with poor speed and slow feet for a back. He did reliably catch the ball, and in 11-on-11 he threw a real nice block that drove Washington LB Donald Butler well backwards. Next I went to the corner of the end zone and watched the offensive linemen. OL Coach George Yarno had his work cut out for him Thursday, as the group struggled with footwork and agility drills. Virginia Tech T Ed Wang has shown steady improvement throughout the week, and on Thursday he was the best of the tackles, both in drills and in 11-on-11. He?s not as athletic and doesn?t explode from his stance, but Wang showed powerful arms and improved knee bend. His week is similar to that of Illinois? Xavier Fulton last year, who raised himself from UDFA to 5th rounder. Sam Young of Notre Dame had his best day, by far. He looked very spry in agility drills and did a much better job of staying lower in his stance. In 11?s he fired out and turned the OLB to the side on one rep, then followed that up with a nice interior seal block on Purdue?s Mike Neal, who had a poor day. Utah?s Zane Beadles continues to have a tough week. Coach Yarno harped on him more than once for rounding off his cone drill, and in 11?s he was beaten to the gap by Jared Odrick and failed to square up on another. Vanderbilt tackle Thomas Welch was a late addition (replacing Jon Asamoah) and drew major ire from the coaches in agility drills, as he was unable to complete a rep without knocking over a cone. Every guy knocked one over at least once, but Welch hit at least one every rep and it wasn?t always the same one. He is very tall and powerfully built but, like Young, struggles to bend at the knees and get good pad level. UMass project Vlad Ducasse had a better overall day. I?ve been pretty harsh in my evaluation of him this week, but he looked very good in the red zone 11?s drill, firing out and blowing back Murray State DE Austen Lane once and quickly locking up TCU LB Daryl Washington in space on another rep. He also earned audible praise when he completed the cone drill without knocking over a cone, though on his earlier reps he was admonished for looking at his feet while he made his turns. Penn State DT Jared Odrick continues to shine. In one red zone rep the defense ran a zone blitz, with Odrick dropping back from the 3-technique and staying right with Blount to the back of the end zone. On another play he knifed through the B gap and beat QB Dan Lefevour to the spot on a designed rollout. On that same play Arkansas State DE Alex Carrington also easily dodged the block and displayed textbook pursuit technique of Lefevour, who threw the ball away. Notre Dame safety Kyle McCarthy had a very good day, quickly sniffing out and attacking a reverse for a big loss. He also quickly swooped in front of Oregon TE Ed Dickson in the end zone, cutting off a passing lane just as Tony Pike was about to throw the ball. It?s a play that none of his teammates saw but earned him major praise from the secondary coach. Michigan punter Zoltan Mesko had a much better day, getting much better height and depth on his kicks. His place-kicking counterpart, Michigan State?s Brett Swenson, really struggles on kickoffs to get the ball past the 10 yard line. Click below for more reports from Mobile - Monday Senior Bowl Notes - Tuesday Notes (North) - Tuesday Notes (South) - Wednesday Notes (North) - Wednesday Notes (South) - Thursday Notes (North) Jeff.Risdon@RealGM.com

Practice kicked off a little late on Wednesday, which clearly frustrated all the Tebow and Alabama fans that crowded Ladd-Peebles Stadium. I spent the first part of practice watching the receivers and defensive backs. WRs Shay Hodge from Ole Miss continues to impress. He?s not the most physical guy here, but Hodge has consistently shown strong, soft hands. Others struggled with the sun on Wednesday, but Hodge tracked the ball nicely and snared some tougher long catches. He ran a nice double-move route where he sold the fake with good shoulder action and broke quickly, hitting top speed right away and leaving the DB (FSU?s Patrick Robinson) in his wake. UAB?s Joe Webb is making the conversion from quarterback, and it simultaneously looks like both a wise decision and a work in progress. He has good height (6?3?) and very long arms, and he made several good catches with his hands. During one drill he showed nice explosive speed but he needs to make sharper cuts and set up his routes better. Jeremy Williams of Tulane doesn?t play up to his 6?0? height, but he has the best footwork of the group and looks very comfortable going across the middle. His speed isn?t ideal and he?s not as shifty as a typical slot guy, and he?s not big enough to line up outside as a #1, which puts him in an odd spot. He showed good body control flagging down a couple of poor throws, and he quickly secured a slant before the safety arrived a step later. Andre Roberts from Citadel showed better feet on Wednesday, making some nice hard cuts and exploding out of them--not every time, but more often than before. He also earned points for coming back on a scramble to help out his QB, presenting a good target and making a nice sliding catch from Zac Robinson. Florida?s Riley Cooper really looks the part and he?s blessed with good speed, but his route running mechanics need a lot of work. He really gears down to make his cuts and had trouble locating the ball a few times. The South had better not have too many pass plays designed for their RBs, because other than Ole Miss? Dexter McCluster they are not good at all in passing mode. USC?s Stafon Johnson runs very stiff routes and consistently battled the ball with his hands, dropping more than he caught. Alabama?s Roy Upchurch had similar woes with his hands, and he also really gears down to make a cut. Ben Tate from Auburn caught the ball well in drills but missed a pass protect assignment in 11-on-11, a disturbing carryover from yesterday?s session. DBs The word that keeps springing to mind regarding the South secondary is ?overrated?. I was quite disappointed with Florida State?s Patrick Robinson, who really stood out during some ACC games but had a poor day. He got his feet crossed on a sharp cut from Roberts and tumbled to the ground on one play, and failed to locate the ball on an obvious fade route another time. He is quite fluid in individual drills but closes his hips and guesses too much in actual coverage situations. Another major disappointment, albeit a more expected one, is Kentucky?s Trevard Lindley. Very slight of build--his calves are pipe cleaners--he clutches and holds far too often and fails to get any sort of redirection. I like his closing speed and he has very nice hands, but he seems tentative and tight on the edge and really struggled to stay balanced when receivers got their hands on him. Javier Arenas of Alabama had a hit-and-miss day. He is scrappy and uses his hands very well for a smaller guy, but he doesn?t consistently burst out of his breaks. He also showed an alarming tendency to try and intercept every ball when the smart play would be to attack the receiver and stay under control. He fared well using inside technique and his confidence is unflappable. He has a lot of Nathan Vasher to him. Perrish Cox of Oklahoma State struggled in positional drills, getting beaten easily on a simple slant route one time and losing track of Mississippi State?s Anthony Dixon in the end zone on a rollout. But he shined in 11?s, making a very nice quick read and jumping a route for an INT one time and flashing the closing speed to break up another pass. He seems much more confident in his coverage with safety help, and he is very good at peeking at the QB in those situations. Read that as, ?If you draft him you?d better have a very good safety behind him?. Taylor Mays failed to impress once again. Honestly I?m not overtly seeking to criticize him, but once again he failed to make plays where plays were there to be made. Three straight times in the closing 11-on-11 drills he had chances to read the field and see where the ball was likely to go, but he failed to act and the throw got completed right where he should have been. On one of the plays the corner (Robinson) properly funneled the route inside to his safety help (Mays) but Mays either failed to anticipate it or failed to react. I was standing next to a recently retired NFL safety during this time and he exclaimed, ?What the f*** is he waiting for?? LSU safety Harry Coleman also struggles to quickly diagnose the action, and he lacks Mays? freakish speed. He fills the box nicely and he looked pretty good covering the tight ends, but he is not a zone cover safety or centerfielder. South Florida?s Nate Allen is smaller than the other safeties but he has the best instincts and most functional range of the group. He showed a real nice understanding of what the offense was going to do and quickly closed on the ball in front of him. His Bulls mate, CB Jerome Murphy, is another grabber that doesn?t come out of his breaks real quickly, but his arm length and physical strength help him compensate. He fared quite well in short-field conditions, blanketing a fade route and flipping his hips nicely to stay right with an inside slant. I spent a little time watching the big boys up front. Quick thoughts: Texas DT Lamarr Houston did a great job extending his arms with power and giving himself space to make his moves. He has very good lower body strength and displayed a nice bull rush. Auburn DE Antonio Coleman made a couple of very explosive outside moves to get around the tackle. He explodes out of his stance and does a good job of getting his inside shoulder under the outside shoulder of the tackle, and he showed he can break out of that and track down the QB with controlled speed. Ole Miss OL John Jerry had trouble with outside speed when lined up at tackle, but on a couple of running plays he sealed the edge with power, turning the defender?s shoulders and driving with his legs. Both he and LSU T Ciron Black received some attention early on about keeping their hands tighter inside, and Jerry clearly applied it quickly. Miami LB Darryl Sharpton is quite small (5?11?, 229) and he really struggled moving thru the trash and getting outside. His instincts and diagnosing skills are solid but he?s not as rangy as an undersized guy needs to be to succeed. There you go, a day of South practice notes with no mention of Tim Tebow! Try and find that anywhere else... Jeff.Risdon@RealGM.com

It was chillier this morning in Mobile, but the wind was almost still and the nary a cloud in the bright blue sky. Star of the Day Arkansas State DE Alex Carrington put on a show today. The lines were doing a drill where the D-linemen twisted, and Carrington flew into Shawn Lauvao and flattened him with such force that Lauvao?s helmet hit the ground. Later on Carrington drove BC center Matt Tennant backwards into the pseudo-QB, showing great pad level and leg drive. Then in 11-on-11 drills he quickly diagnosed a bootleg by Central Michigan?s Dan Lefevour and chased him out of bounds, staying with him step for step. My enthusiasm is somewhat tempered by the poor quality of North OL play (more on that later), but Carrington has shown great burst, energy, and base power all week. I spent the first part of practice watching the linebackers, who worked on agility and coverage drills. Observations from the LBs: Koa Misi, Utah--real good athlete with very quick feet and a nice closing burst in gunning down the receiver, which is important because he was flat-footed in coverage. He shows a tendency to raise up a little early on his hits. Daryl Washington, TCU--very impressive in agility drills, very fluid and controlled. He showed he can explode to the ball and can change direction quickly and then close with power. He?s not a loquacious guy but he exudes a quiet leadership and is clearly respected by his mates. Hits with real authority. Sean Weatherspoon, Missouri--extremely fast, but in agility drills he consistently kept his feet too close together. Nobody goes from a standing position to top speed better than Spoon, and in 11-on-11s he flew to the ball, doing a nice job of sifting thru the trash and staying fast. He yaps nonstop, and that is the subject of some debate amongst the observers--and some North teammates--today. A lot of guys eat it up and love his vigor, but we saw a couple of times where certain teammates just rolled their eyes. When he was not in the 11?s drills, he stood behind the offense and correctly yelled out tip-offs and tells that the offensive players were showing. Donald Butler, Washington--best LB in coverage here, real comfortable playing in space and anticipating routes. He quickly sniffed out a screen and blew it up, and he closes on the ball like a safety should. There were a couple of instances where he stopped moving his feet upon initial contact, including one play in 11?s where he met the ball carrier in the hole and stood him up. Phillip Dillard, Nebraska--the thing that stands out with Dillard is his economy of movement. He?s not real quick but wastes no energy. He plays a little upright and doesn?t get outside real fast, but as a downhill between-the-tackles backer he?s reminiscent of Gerald Hayes of the Cardinals, though Dillard is bigger. AJ Edds, Iowa--great instincts, but he?s not real fluid. He reminds me of Scott McKillop from last year, only a little bigger and a harder hitter. Justin Cole, San Jose State--it shows that he was a collegiate DE because he is quite literally lost in space and appears very unconfident and tentative in coverage. He?s a lunging tackler, and both Edds and Weatherspoon (that?s right, LBs) did the old matador move on him as receivers and he went flying by out of control. In 11?s he lined up on the line in the way the Lions often deployed Julian Peterson last year and he fared much better, showing a strong initial burst and getting upfield quickly. The wideouts and DBs did some jam drills, of which I only caught the last few reps. Notes: Ohio?s Taylor Price made a nice swim move to shed Rutgers CB Devin McCourty and beat him downfield. Boise State CB Kyle Wilson absolutely locked up Clemson WR Jacoby Ford in one rep, and he handled Cincinnati WR Mardy Gilyard nicely in another, not falling for a double move. Ohio State safety Kurt Coleman stayed with Gilyard nicely. One longtime NFL WR standing nearby opined that Gilyard is tipping off his moves, and the Lions coaches talked to him about consistency of how he lines up. Good days Murray State DE Austen Lane can be a real handful on the edge, and he showed he can twist inside with good pad level for a taller guy. He whipped UMass OL Vlad Ducasse, who once again badly struggled at tackle. Lane has great size at 6?6? and 274 pounds and he is having no trouble making the jump from the OVC to running with the big dogs. Virginia CB Chris Cook made a nice INT, jumping a route and seizing the Tony Pike throw from the air with his hands. On another play he nicely steered newcomer Donald Jones (WR, Youngstown State) out to the sideline and allowed no throwing lane. Cook isn?t real fast but he?s consistently shown good body positioning and instincts in coverage all week. Penn State DT Jared Odrick is having an easy time with the interior O-linemen. He?s leaner than most DTs but he drove back his blocker consistently. Odrick used a nice arm punch to create space and motored inside Idaho G Mike Iupati, easily the best offensive linemen here. Cal DE Tyson Alualu learned from his mistakes yesterday and stayed home on backside containment. He likes to line up very wide and he plays shorter than his 6?2? frame suggests, but he can really crash down the line. He quickly chased down a run to the opposite side, hitting low and wrapping up nicely. Bad days Michigan P Zoltan Mesko ruined the punt return drills by being unable to kick the ball far enough to allow a return more often than not (my rough count was 2 returnable out of 7), and his kicks consistently bounce backwards or straight sideways. Utah OL Zane Beadles continues to look very overmatched, no matter who he is facing. He flat-out whiffed lunging for Odrick on one play, then got bulldogged backwards by UNC DT Cam Thomas on the next. I continue to have mixed opinions of Thomas, who flashes a nice variety of interior moves but is basically lost outside the A gap. Notre Dame T Sam Young is also in over his head. In the aforementioned comments on Weatherspoon calling out tip-offs, he was looking right at Young. While playing RT he leaned inside on a running play to the left, and he is almost painfully high in his base stance. I?ve yet to see him win a pad level battle this week. Non-draft tidbits Lions Assistant DL Coach Kris Kocurek is a star amongst observers. He?s incredibly demonstrative and loud, repeatedly yelling ?Beat their ass? and running up to his charges after the play, with his trademark backwards hat and unzipped track pantlegs. I spent a couple minutes after practice talking to him and he?s nothing like that off the field. One of the painful reminders of the physicality of football is watching all these former players limping around, talking about their artificial hips and knees and shaking hands with mangled fingers. I spent a few minutes talking to two former Cleveland Browns along the fencerow, and both expressed genuine, unprompted optimism about the direction of the franchise. Both said that bringing back Eric Mangini was ?absolutely the right move?. And this just in, shamelessly eavesdropping on a radio crew here--Kurt Warner is expected to announce his retirement on Friday.

Another beautiful morning in Mobile, bright skies and very little breeze--perfect for football! I started the day focusing on the DBs, which I missed on Monday. Kyle Wilson of Boise State is the best corner on the unit. Very good size and he?s comfortable in his body. Doing some side-by-side agility work he blew away Cal?s Syd?Quan Thompson, showing excellent burst out of his backpedal and the ability to flip his hips and change direction with fluidity and quickness. He also showed (as expected) very good press coverage ability, jarring the receiver at the line and then not losing him after disengagement. Moore was scolded once for not being ready for a rep, however--a cardinal sin to the Lions coaches running practice. Thompson really struggled to come out of his backpedal, often stepping in the bucket and getting little drive. He did have one nice coverage moment where he used good inside technique on Pittsburgh?s Dorin Dickerson, but Thompson then muffed the INT. Virginia?s Chris Cook had some nice moments, and he moves well for his size (6?2?, 210). He lacks top-end speed but showed good awareness in the coverage shell and a good feel for reading the route. Cook showed good hands in a drill, probably the best of the group. Terrell Skinner of Maryland is very big (6?3?, 218) and he comes across as a CB/safety tweener. He lacks great burst but his long stride allows him to cover ground quickly. There was a play where Missouri?s Danario Alexander made a nice out-and-up move to get behind him, but Skinner tracked down the play and got a hand on the (underthrown by Lefevour) ball. Alexander showed no fight for the ball on the same play, for which he was scolded. The safeties are largely unimpressive, especially in coverage. The tight ends consistently got free and the recovery speed was lacking. Ohio State?s Kurt Coleman showed real trouble making a hard cut and got torched by Oregon?s Ed Dickson on a pattern. Dickson nicely turned the route deep and caught a great throw from Tony Pike for an easy score. Nebraska?s Larry Asante wasn?t much better. Illinois TE Michael Hoomanawanui blasted him backwards and then got Asante?s feet crossed as he broke it outside. Asante also got caught flat-footed by Dickson on a simple seam route. But he was markedly better than Notre Dame?s Kyle McCarthy, who plays small for his size (6?1?, 210) and shows little range or burst. Both were much better filling the box against the run, and Asante did a nice job of shedding a Dickson block to get in position for a tackle. TE/WR Ed Dickson had a very nice morning, showing good top-end speed for a 6?5?, 235 pound tight end. His hands are very good and he innately creates space for himself with crisp footwork and nice shoulder action. Hoomanawanui displayed nice hands for his size (6?5?, 270) and one coach who would know compared him to Donald Lee, though Hooma isn?t that fast. The wideouts ran some hands and route drills, and I decided to count drops not caused by bad throws. The tally: Dickerson 2, Jacoby Ford 2, Alexander 1--though he double-caught several, Taylor Price 2, and Mardy Gilyard 7. That?s right, seven drops for Gilyard. I get the impression from many here that he?s one of those guys that everyone really wants to like and chooses to overlook his faults because he?s a truly great guy with a nice story and has quickly emerged as a leader here. But his hands have been real spotty two days in a row and he is visibly slighter than Ford, who is 4 inches shorter but just 4 pounds lighter--and blessed with better feet than Gilyard. Both appear destined to be slot receivers and I would rate Ford higher based on the first two days here. Some random moments: Oregon State QB Sean Canfield threw a perfect pass...to Falcons GM Tom Dimitroff, who was standing 5 yards out of bounds. The intended receiver was Dickson, who was wide open on a nice out route. Dimitroff has some seriously nice brown leather shoes. Michigan DE Brandon Graham embarrassed UMass lineman Vlad Ducasse several plays in a row. Ducasse is another guy that everyone seemingly wants to embrace and overlook his faults, but there is absolutely NO WAY he can play left tackle in the NFL. He couldn?t even handle Graham with false starts on two of the plays. I?ll give Ducasse this though--he?s a tenacious, fundamentally sound run blocker. Missouri LB Sean Weatherspoon continues to fly all over the field, quickly getting to the sideline on a couple of outside runs. However, he seems a little slow to find his keys and has to use his great speed to compensate for a lack of instincts. He did make one great play where he side-stepped Arizona State G Shawn Lauvao and met Oregon RB Legarrette Blount right at the hole. North Carolina DT Cam Thomas is always loudly woofing, but it appears he needs to work on his conditioning. He got his shoulders turned too easily by Boston College C Matt Tennant, who had a nice day. Cal DE Tyson Alualu needs to work on developing something other than an outside speed rush. He doesn?t know what to do with his hands. Alualu is very straight-line speedy but he was easily neutralized by Notre Dame?s Sam Young, who can?t handle anyone else here. He also got caught up and in when backside containment was his, and Blount ran right through where Alualu was supposed to be. Washington LB Donald Butler is short at 6?1? but he closes quickly and with some real power. He sniffed out a screen and nearly beat the ball to the receiver. Reminds me of Jordan Dizon of the Lions, only Butler is a little bigger. Wayne State RB Joique Bell made a great between-the-tackles cut, showing the ability to plant and then burst hard. Both safeties and Weatherspoon got caught unbalanced and chasing Bell?s dust. Bell has some Jonathan Stewart to him, though he?s nowhere near as top-end fast. A couple of roster changes: San Jose State defensive end Justin Cole has replaced O?Brien Schofield, who tore his ACL yesterday. Kentucky RB John Connor will join the South team today, with Mississippi State back Anthony Dixon moving to fullback for the rest of the week. Seen talking after practice: The Chiefs fanned out their staff and talked to every cornerback here. The Bears coaches also showed distinct interest in the CBs, particularly Wilson and Rutgers? Devin McCourty. As I was talking to Ohio?s Taylor Price, the 49ers and Seahawks were both waiting. I moved to Utah LB Koa Misi, who was talking to the Ravens. The Packers quickly seized up to Idaho G Mike Iupati, who is as big of a star here as you can be for an interior lineman. Several other teams crowded around him as well. The Raiders were talking with Jacoby Ford, Sean Weatherspoon, Tyson Alualu, and Brandon Graham. Sean Canfield stood uncomfortably by himself until he was rescued by an NFL Network camera crew. Jeff.Risdon@RealGM.com

Florida quarterback Tim Tebow insists that he'll be himself for scouts as the NFL Draft approaches. "Coach Meyer called me last night and he said, 'Promise me one thing: Just be you and you'll be fine,' " Tebow said Sunday as he prepares for the Senior Bowl. "I'm just going to be me. I'm going to be excited, I'm going to be passionate, I'm going to have fun," Tebow said. "I'm going to love playing the game out there, just like I always have. Hopefully the coaching staffs and the owners and general managers will just like me." He's been adamant about the fact that he doesn't want to change positions in the NFL. "I'm here to be an NFL quarterback," Tebow said.

Toby Gerhart announced Friday that he will enter the NFL draft instead of staying at Stanford for a fifth season, according to an Associated Press report. Gerhart thanked coach Jim Harbaugh, former running backs coach Willie Taggart and his offensive linemen for helping his success this season. He could have stayed for a fifth season because he played just one game in 2007 because of injuries, but opted for the NFL instead.

Joe McKnight said Friday that he will leave USC to enter the upcoming NFL draft. "The time is right," McKnight said. "This was my first healthy season and I really don't want to come back and risk injury." McKnight was held out of the Emerald Bowl against Boston College in December amid an ongoing investigation into whether he violated rules by using an SUV that does not belong to him, as well as his relationship with the vehicle's owner, Santa Monica businessman Scott Schenter.

Jevan Snead is going pro, skipping his senior season at Ole Miss to enter the NFL draft. "The fans, coaches and my teammates at Ole Miss have been unbelievable, and I want to thank them for an incredible experience," Snead said. "In the end, I had to do what is best for me and my family. Having finished my degree, I look forward to the challenge and hard work that comes with pursuing my dream of playing quarterback in the NFL."