2008 Texas vs. Nation - Day 1 Nation Practice Report
by Sigmund Bloom, Cecil Lammey, Marc Faletti & Josh Buchanan

Draftguys spent a lot of the day enthralled by the performance of the linemen in the pit - we'll focus on skill positions tomorrow.

QB

Nick Hill, Southern Illinois

Decent arm and mobility, but only a two year starter, needs a great week to get on the radar as a developmental prospect.

Blake Mitchell, South Carolina

Looked comfortable in the pocket.

Taylor Tharp, Boise State

Good accuracy, hitting receivers in stride.

Omar Haugabook, Troy

At QB today, but scouts want to see him at WR/RT. Height will probably keep him from staying at QB at the next level.

RB

Louis Rankin, Washington

Needs to keep his feet - kept jumping when he was running through trash at the line of scrimmage. It worked once, but when he tried it again, he got rocked. Good athleticism.

Rodney Kinlaw, Penn State

Just doesn't seem to have instincts of an NFL RB, and he was running small today.

Tim Hightower, Richmond

Good moves and cutbacks, but sometimes uses them when he doesnt need to. Takes false steps and can get swallowed up.

Allen Ervin, Lambuth (TN)

Gathered before his cuts at times, did have a long run when he got to the edge.

FB

Carl Stewart, Auburn

Nice job as a receiver, otherwise did not stand out, and did not have any of the nice runs he showed at Auburn.

WR

Pierre Garcon, Mount Union

Showed the speed to take a catch to the house with his run after catch ability.

Darrell Blackman, North Carolina State

Worked some as a punt returner, has some moves.

Tony Burks, Mississippi St

Made a couple of nice sideline catches, and showed nice concentration and hands.

TE

Tyson Devree, Colorado

Had some nice catches, showed good hands and speed after the catch. Willing blocker, but not gifted.

OL

Eric Scott, C, Kentucky

Got beat by Toribio (who is not that quick) on the speed rush, and generally struggled with speed rushers.

Isaiah Wiggins, C, Illinois State

Being transitioned from tackle to center, struggled with shotgun snaps at first, and got better as the day went on. Definitely has potential.

Chester Adams, OG, Georgia

The Big Cheese showed a strong base, did get beat, but for the most part was very consistent and hard to move. Always seemed to keep his feet moving. Also got some work at RT.

Jacky Claude, OG, Florida State

Great initial punch and good effort.

Thaddeus Coleman, OT, Mississippi Valley State

Two dominant plays, threw his opponent to the ground and pancaked him. Looks as good in pads as he did in the weigh-in. Had a strong punch and devastating knockdowns. Lost his balance against Marcus Dixon and still took him down with him without holding. Generating lots of buzz.

Carnell Stewart, OT, LSU

Won most every battle. Struggled with speed rush by Trevor Scott once. Took the other speed rushers outside and redirected them way past the QB. Was the only OL we saw stop Eric Foster (more on that later) - when Foster went low, Stewart pushed him around.

Carlton Medder, OT, Florida

Looked very good. Good handfighting and footwork. Only guy we saw beat Medder was Foster.

Dylan Thiry, OT, Northwestern

Needs to work on balance and footwork, couldnt ride Baldwin outside on the speed rush and got beat.

James Blair, OG, Western Michigan

Played tackle in college, but moved to guard here. Had a ton of fight in him, but never lost his cool. Strong base, strong arms and punch, seemed visibly upset any time he got beat.

Kerry Brown, OT, Appalachian State

Gets a great push initially. At times he was just toying with guys, including Toribio. Strong initial punch and shut down the first move. Strong, but needs to get more of a knee bend. Needs to work on technique, but you can see the mean streak. Played some RT in addition to LG - needs to move his feet more when he's outside. Played better in team portion of practice than one on ones.

Kyle Cunningham, OG, La-Monroe

Starts off well, keeps a good base and neutralizes initial move, but gets beat by the end of the play.

Demetrius Bell, OT, Northwestern State

Technically sound, has scouts buzzing. getting better and looks like a natural fit at LT. Steered speed rushers outside with ease. Needs to be more consistent with his aggressiveness - flashed it at times. More bulk than advertised. Does a good job of holding his ground against the bull rush. Does a good job of anchoring and extending his arms, neutralizing the defender in pass pro. More teams waiting to talk to him than any other player today.

K

Chris Gould, Virginia

Nailed every kick on XP and close FG, right down the middle. We'll see what he does on longer kicks later this week.

DL

Ervin Baldwin, DE, Michigan

Strictly a speed rusher, beaten when the OL got their hands on him. Did turn the corner on Medder with ease. Not big or fast enough to be a dominant pass rusher.

Eric Foster, DT, Rutgers

PLAYER OF THE DAY. MAJOR buzz among spectators. Extreme power at the point of attack, sick spin move on the heels of a successful bull rush. Seemed like a man on a mission - after beating his opponent, he never showboated, just went back to the huddle in a business like way, and had many wins to celebrate. Led one sideline observer to say "we should try three guys on him instead of one". Always great penetration. Blew by Wiggins and Adams with speed moves. Has a high motor. Deadly rip move. Was a late round guy coming into this game, but if he keeps this up, cover 2 teams like Tampa and Indy will fall in love with him and reach for him in the 3rd-4th round.

Josh Thompson, DT, Auburn

"Stump" has a great motor, low center of gravity. Did look like a turtle on its back when blockers got underneath him. Can collapse the pocket and never gives up.

Trevor Scott, DE, Buffalo

Didn't look like a sack artist, was dominated by larger OTs. Decent speed, but ended up on the ground too much.

Frank Morton, DT, Tulane

Got around Wiggins in one matchup. Has a good initial move, but lacks the speed to finish. Better in team portion than one on ones.

Legar Douazble, DT, Central Florida

Generally beaten soundly, struggled today and needs to improve this week to impress.

Anthony Toribio, DT, Carson-Newman

Read a reverse and destroyed the play. When he beats someone, he annihilates them, when he gets beaten, gets beaten by a large margin. Needs to improve on consistency. Has decent speed for his size - moves better than expected for a big kid from a small school. Sleeper if he can bring it consistently.

Marcus Dixon, DE, Hampton

Failed to stand out - got a good push at times, but rarely shed his blocker or collapsed the pocker.

Vernon Bryant, DE, Hampton

Won few battles, Kerry Brown beat him decisively - Bryant lost him helmet on the matchup and seemed frustrated.

LB

Steve Octavien, Nebraska

Generally flying around and in the play a lot.

Ronnie McCullough, Bethune Cookman

Hitting hard all day, nose for the football, took on blocks and showed the ability to shed them. Flows to the play instinctively.

Joe Mays, North Dakota State

Read play well as middle LB and played downhill. Filled the hole and stood up the RB when they met head on. Takes on blocks and plays like an NFL backer - needs to be consistent with his reads, but looks ready to an NFL run stuffer if he can overcome size concerns.

Danny Lansanah, Connecticut

Gets very low in his stance - delivered the hit of the day on an unfortunate Nation RB.

Vince Redd, Liberty

In between positions, was in the pit as a DE, but needs a lot of work. Best suited as a 3-4 OLB, but is a project at this point.

DB

Corey Lynch, S, Applachian State

Playing end on punt block team, look for him to make a block in the game a la the Michigan clincher.

Antwuan Molden, CB, Eastern Kentucky

Smooth transition out of backpedal, good jam at the line of scrimmage. Looks like an NFL CB.











NFL Draftguys is not affiliated in any way with the National Football League or the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Any school or player images displayed within this site are the property of their respective teams and should not be used without consent. This website and its content is the exclusive property of the owners and proprietors of NFL Draftguys. If you wish to reproduce or reuse the original content available here, please contact us.