The second day of Senior Bowl practices here in Mobile saw the clouds roll in after a sun-soaked Tuesday. Wednesday’s action from the American and National teams was fully padded and featured more intense contact.
After focusing on the skill position players in the first practice, today was about the linemen. The offensive and defensive lines offered up some serious action at Hancock Whitney Stadium.
Here are some standouts and observations from the second day of practices.
The Darnell Wright show
The Lions have themselves a Pro Bowl right tackle in Penei Sewell, so there probably isn’t much of a market for Tennessee’s Darnell Wright in Detroit. Having said that, the idea of two power-oriented tackles with outstanding athleticism on the same team sure conjures up some really joyous intrigue.
Wright did a great job emulating Sewell in Wednesday’s practice. The power, the movement ability, the sheer aggression in attacking the defensive players–even in pass protection. Primarily playing right tackle, Wright absolutely dominated the 1-on-1 reps in the American team practice.
At 6-foot-5 and 342 pounds, Wright is a behemoth of a man. But he’s also, like Sewell, light on his feet and capable of making reach blocks and pulls. Generally projected as a second-round pick coming here, after what we’ve seen in Mobile you’re going to see a ton of Wright’s inclusion into the late first round of post-Senior Bowl mock drafts. And he’s earned it so far.
Small schoolers rise up
One of the true joys of coming to the Senior Bowl is finding smaller school players who prove they can swim in the deeper waters. There are three who stood out on Wednesday, two of them on the offensive line.
McClendon Curtis from Chattanooga had an outstanding day for the National team. Playing both guard and tackle on the offensive line, Curtis really impressed with his hand placement and ability to stay balanced and square to his blocking mark in 1-on-1 drills. He had a great rep in stonewalling Notre Dame EDGE Isaiah Foskey, and Curtis isn’t shy about finishing.
Cody Mauch of North Dakota State had some fanfare coming here. Mauch has been up-and-down, but he found a lot of success on Wednesday playing center. His short arms almost certainly relegate him to playing inside, and he’s not a power-oriented player despite looking like an extra from a Viking movie. Mauch has excellent agility and very good foot frequency for a lineman that help him generate extra power.
The last small schooler is someone who I had not even heard of until this week. Sacramento State linebacker Marte Mapu had a very strong day, notably in coverage drills but also team drills. Mapu is just under 6-foot-3 and weighed in at 217 pounds; he looks more like a Legion of Boom safety than a linebacker, but he showed very impressive power and pad level for an angular guy. He showed legit coverage instincts and the ability to jump routes. Mapu has made me want to watch a lot of Sacramento State game tape, and that’s not something I ever anticipated saying.
Michigan men
Michigan has two offensive linemen featured on the National team, Olusegon Oluwatimi and Ryan Hayes. Oluwatimi had himself a pretty strong day, primarily playing his familiar position of center but also mixing in some guard duties. Hayes was at right tackle a lot and had more losses than wins on Wednesday.
I did a quick video recap of the Wolverines linemen here:
OL winners
Several offensive linemen had outstanding days. Among them:
–Minnesota C John-Michael Schmitz. He came here as a likely first-rounder and has done nothing but reinforce that status. His strength for his 306-pound frame is very impressive.
–Florida OG O’Cyrus Torrence. As several National team defenders learned, bull rush Torrence at your peril. He simply does not get moved backward. In team drills, Torrence flashed some agility to get out on a pull too.
–Nick Broeker from Ole Miss has very good open-field movement skills and the ability to engage in space from a variety of angles. He’s not a terribly powerful run blocker but he wins with hands and great feet. Very good fit for a team that likes to use its guards on the move.
–Syracuse OT Matthew Bergeron can get a little tall at times, but he’s tenacious and capable of quick recovery if he loses on a rep initially.
–Jarrett Patterson from Notre Dame told me in the morning interview session that he’s capable of playing any OL spot. He’s played all but left tackle in the two days here and looked very nice at both center and left guard on Wednesday. Patterson has all the traits to be a useful No. 6 OL as a rookie with the potential to grow into a starter at guard or center down the line.
