First day Senior Bowl notes … It is always important to note that, as usual, the first day’s practices are held in shells, so one doesn’t want to get too carried away with observations from those early sessions. In fact, the early practice involving the National team was a rather tame affair even by first day Senior Bowl standards, although several players did stand out. Texas Tech NT Lee Hunter, for example, looked like a man among boys during the workout; he’s a massive 6-4, 325-pound wide body type who simply ragged doll more than one opposing offensive lineman, especially during team drills. What may have really caught the eye of pro scouts is that Hunter also displayed surprisingly light feet and easy lateral agility for such a big guy. One other player who may have introduced to the national draft world was Western Michigan DE Nadame Tucker. Not that he should have needed an intro as he tied with Texas Tech All-American David Bailey for the national lead in sacks with 14.5 this past season. Tucker isn’t all that big at 6-3, 250, but was very quick on the day, blowing past a number of big-time college OTs on a number of occasions including one poor soul who ended up on the ground without ever getting a finger on Tucker. Meanwhile, the throw of the day was by Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia who dropped a perfectly placed pass in the hands of Baylor’s Josh Cameron over tight coverage by Tennessee CB Colton Hood; Hood, though, got a spot of revenge when he won the end-of-practice one-on-one dual. we should also mention that while Clemson DE TJ Parker did not get that many snaps on the day, he was pretty dominant when he was out there.
The America practice later in the day was a generally livelier affair. Among those that stood during the late afternoon practice were DEs Zion Young of Missouri, Michigan’s Derrick Moore, and Gabe Jacas of Illinois and Florida DT Caleb Banks. And similar to Tucker above, Boston College ER Quin Hutchins also appeared to introduce himself to the wider draft world. Again, not a big guy, but very quick and elusive. While a number of defensive linemen stood out during the American workout, the offensive line actually held up pretty well for the most part with several including Florida C Jake Slaughter, OGs Jeremiah Wright of Auburn and Arkansas’ Fernando Carmona, and OTs Jude Bowry of Boston College and JC Davis of Illinois being particularly effective. On the other hand, one OT that did struggle noticeably was Austin Barber of Florida. Meanwhile, the ‘catch of the day’ award went to Ted Hurst of Georgia State who made a brilliant one-handed grab of a pass in traffic, while Notre Dame’s 6-4 Malachi Fields was also a load for the coverage group.
