Senior Bowl on ESPN Today at 5pm

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SENIOR BOWL DIARY

by Jamie Moore, ace staff reporter

Final wrap up:the Top 15... In no particular order, here are the 15 players that impressed me the most at this week's Senior Bowl practice sessions...

RB Greg Jones, Florida State... Should ultimately be the best NFL player to come out of this year's Super Bowl once he fully recovers from last year's knee injury. Jones is a physical stud with a powerful lower body. Jones, though, is more than just a pure power back; he has surprising agility for a man that size showing excellent change of direction and elusiveness for a power back. Jones also has something of a second gear when he gets moving, but lacks that explosive first step; he also needs to be a little more patient at times. And while a functional receiver, Jones needs to work on his receiving skills. Could end up being as good as he wants to be at the next level.

OG Steven Peterman, Louisiana State... Big, mauling interior offensive lineman who also demonstrated very good lateral movement.

DT Darnell Dockett, Florida... Speaking of former Seminoles who can be as good as they want to be, Dockett was dominating when he went hard, exploding upfield and keeping his pads low; he just didn't go hard all the time.

QB J.P. Losman, Tulane... Easily the top QB in Mobile, Losman still needs a little work on his footwork, but showed great arm strength, particularly on deep fade routes on which the ball got there in a real hurry, as well as mobility. There were some whispers about Losman's attitude, particularly when interviews with several teams reportedly didn't go very well, but there is no question that Losman can get the ball where its supposed to be in a hurry.

WR Keary Colbert, Southern Cal... Kind of got lost in the shuffle at USC where sophomore Mike Williams has been the go-to guy the past couple of years, but Colbert emerged as perhaps the most productive player in Mobile this week. Colbert caught everything in sight, including several acrobatic catches; he also consistently got off the line of scrimmmage and showed excellent body control, while getting great separation. And for good measure, Colbert came across as good guy.

WR Ernest Wilford, Virginia Tech... Not a blazer, but Wilford ran the best routes in Mobile; he was very quick into and out of his breaks for a big receiver and also showed nice soft hands. Wilford was very physical going after the ball, using his 6-4, 220+ size to great advantage.

QB Phil Rivers, North Carolina State... Had pro scouts arguing among themsleves (and maybe with themselves) because of that an odd 3/4 arm delivery. Rivers, though, was consistently very accurate with decent velocity and a nice quick, compact, albeit unorthodox, delivery; indeed, it may very well be that the 3/4 arm delivery actually helps Rivers get rid of the ball so quickly, particular when working out of a 5-step drop.

DT Chad Lavalais, Louisiana State... Doesn't look like much in shorts and a tee, but comes off the ball very quickly, gets great leverage and battles until the whistle.

CB Derrick Strait, Texas... Doesn't have world-class sprinter speed, but is very physical and instinctive and breaks well on the ball; Strait also has excellent route recognition skills and can find and react to the ball on the run; and while not a burner, Strait does possess adequate recovery speed.

QB John Navarre, Michigan... Impressed as much with the intangibles including poise in the pocket, leadership and coachability, Navarre also had plenty of zip on the ball throwing short and intermediate routes; Navarre also had decent footwork in the pocket for a man his size, but won't win any foot races.

WR Devery Henderson, Louisiana State... Henderson showed some real YAC capacity after catching the ball; also showed great deep speed and pretty good hands for a former track guy..

C Jake Grove, Virginia Tech... Rough, tough interior trenchman with good quickness who is also very sound fundamentally.

WR Justin Jenkins, Mississippi State... Wasn't even in Mobile when the week started, but made the most of the opportunity when he got a call to be an injury replacement. Jenkins consistently showed very good hands and the ability to adjust to the ball on the fly.

FS Stuart Schweigert, Purdue... Did a nice job locking in on TEs and RBs coming out of the backfield; also showed decent instincts and aggressiveness coming up in support of the run defense.

OG/C Nick Leckey, Kansas State... Quick, aggressive offensive lineman who was solid whether he played at OG or C.

Honorable mentions... In retrospect, a lot of players had strong practice weeks; others who could just have easily made our top 15 list include Minnesota FB Thomas Tapeh; Oklahoma State RB Tatum Bell; North Carolina State OG Sean Locklear; Ohio State C/G Alex Stepanovich; and Nebraska LB Demorrio Williams.

And our all-improved team for the week... Includes Hawaii DT Isaac Sopoago; Tusculum CB Richard Colclough; Tulane RB Mewelde Moore; and Bowling Green QB Josh Harris.

Shoulda stayed home... While not many players really disappointed in Mobile, a handful didn't do much to improve their 2004 draft chances including Oklahoma FS Brandon Everage, who reportedly was suffering from the effects of the flu this week; Florida OT Max Starks, who is huge, but really didn't use his size to advantage or move very well; Illinois OT Sean Bubin; Pittsburgh TE Kris Wilson; Iowa WR Mo Brown; Illinois DE Shaun Phillips; and UCLA DT Rodney Leisle.

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Thursday morning... The pace and intensity of practice was scaled back Thursday as both teams wrapped up their on-field workouts...today, they had walk-though sessions today as final preparation for tomorrow's game....rangy Ohio State WR Michael Jenkins continues to give Southern Cal WR Keary Colbert a run for his money as the top receiver on the North squad, and maybe in Mobile period; Jenkins is no blazer, but he has great size and uses his body effectively to get separation by sealing off the defender; Jenkins will also catch the ball in traffic...Syracuse WR Johnny Morant had a better day Thursday, like Jenkins using his superior size and wingspan to get open on a couple of fade routes in the end zone... consistency has been the watchword for the North QBs this week...John Navarre of Michigan, for example, continues to be very steady and consistent, he also appeared to be very coachable when, after working on changing his cadence with his coaches, forced a couple of offsides by the defense doing just that... meanwhile, Bowling Green QB Josh Harris has gotten better each day this week; he's been particularly accurate throwing the ball on the intermediate routs....Washington QB Cody Pickett, though, contiues to be inaccurate at times, in part, because of something of a slow delivery...continue to be impressed with Oklahoma State RB Tatum Bell who has been the best back on the North side this week; Bell has shown good balance and change of direction elusiveness, along with excellent acceleration when he hits the crease...its been interstesting watching North offensive linemen Alex Stepanovich of Ohio State and Kansas State's Nick Leckey who have been swapping positions all week; when one is at C the other is at OG; both has shown solid footwork; both also used their hands well in pass protection...Illinois OT Sean Bubin, on the other hand, appeared to be very stiff and lacked functional strength; as a result he was consistently being pushed too deep into the backfield...not a lot of hitting situations Thursday as the team ran a lot of 7-on-7 stuff...Nebraska LB Demorrio Williams continued to fly around the field; he's very athletic and active in coverage and will throw his weight around; only problem is, at just a listed 212 pounds, he doesn't have a lot to throw around!..Purdue MLB Niko Koutouvides also had a good day, showing excellent range in coverage for a middle backer...Oklahoma LB Ted Lehman was also solid in coverage; unlike the rest of the LBs who tended to be running after the man they were covering, Lehman got excellent depth in his drops and was regularly able to come up on the play...and while he only had one day of practice to make his mark after replacing an injured Bob Sanders who went home because of a foot injury, Ohio State FS Will Allen did just that; while he isn't that big, Allen looked like a playmaker showing good hip flexibility and the willingness to go and get the ball...Oklahoma CB Derrick Strait had another excellent session intercepting a couple of passes; Strait doesn't have the world-class speed, but is fundamentally very sound; he also has excellent route recognition skills and can find and react to the ball on the run...Tusculum CB Richard Colclough also had an interception - for the second day in a row - and maybe one of the more improved players over the course of the week; Colclough is surprisingly physical and has good athletic skills, including a very fluid back pedal...

Thursday afternoon... No player has scouts talking more than North Carolina State QB Phil Rivers who had a solid week of practice; Rivers, though, has that odd delivery which has scouts scratching their heads; what I see, however, is a player who appears to be very coachable, is very accurate and has a nice quick, compact, albeit unorthodox, delivery; plus, it may very well be that the 3/4 arm delivery actually helps Rivers get rid of the ball so quickly, particular when working out of a 5-step drop...also picked up a few whispers about some attitude concerns about Tulane QB J.P. Losman; no QB in Mobile, though, came close to matching either his velocity and mobility....also wonder if Virginia QB Matt Schaub might not ultimately turn out to be a pretty good pro; Schaub didn't do much to excite in Mobile, but he also didn't screw up either; Schaub has excellent size and a decent arm and could end up being a late round steal, although a lack of functional mobility does hurt his overall grade... like OSU's Allen, another late injury replacement, Mississippi State WR Justin Jenkins, has also really taken advantage of the opportunity; Jenkins, who kind of got lost in a lousy MSU offense, has shown very good hands and the ability to adjust to the ball on the fly...North Carolina State WR Jericcho Cotchery, Phil Rivers' go-to guy with the Wolfpack, also continues to show good hands, although he's not very a fluid runner once he tucks the ball away and turns upfield... Tulane RB Mewelde Moore also continues to impress with his pass-catching ability; Moore consistently catches the ball in stride with his hands away from his body...LSU OG Steven Peterman and Virginia Tech C Jake Grove dominated again along the offensive front, showing sound fundamental play...DT Darnell Dockett of Florida State also continued to dominate when he went hard; when he pays attention to detail, Dockett is quick off the ball, stays low, and simply makes plays; Dockett doesn't always pay attention to those details however...

Wednesday afternoon... Back with the North in the afternoon...continuing a theme, the most impressive player this week on the North squad has been Southern Cal WR Keary Colbert who in addition to catching the ball very well, looks like just a fundamentally sound receiver who gets off the line of scrimmage with emphasis, runs great routes, finds the open space and comes up with the ball in traffic; also got a chance to talk to Colbert after practice and he came across as a player with his head on straight...Ohio State WR Michael Jenkins also had another solid day; Jenkins has great size, but isn't all that physical coming off the line; Jenkins, though will really battle for the ball once its in the air, using his height to good advantage...as good as Colbert and Jenkins have been the rest of the North receivers have pretty much disappointed...Oregon State WR James Newson, for example, has really struggled; Newson has shown some speed, but not much else; he appears to be fighting the ball at times showing very inconsistent hands; and while fast, Newson has simply tried to outrun the coverage on almost every play showing little in the way of moves or quality route-running...not much new among the North QBs today; John Navarre of Michigan continues to be very steady and consistent, displaying good arm strength and surprisingly good footwork in the pocket...same story for Washington QB Cody Pickett who has a good arm, but may have a bit of a hitch in his delivery causing him to be soemwhat inaccurate at times...Bowling Green QB Josh Harris, meanwhile has been an intersting story; Harris, who played almost exclusively out of a shotgun at BGSU, has really struggled with with some of the basic fundamentals like taking the snap from centre; otherwise, though, Harris has thrown the ball well with particularly good velocity and accuracy on his deep throws; overall he looks like a guy who needs a lot of work, but has an intriguing upside...Minnesota FB Thomas Tapeh also continued to impress as a better than advertised blocker and a very athletic receiver coming out of the backfield; Tapeh, in fact, could ultimately be something of a sleeper who could also see some action at the next level in a one-back set...Notre Dame RB Julius Jones looked very good running back kicks; Jones catches the ball smoothly and showed excellent straight line speed; Jones, though, is pretty much a N-S runner without much agility...while Jones and Tapeh can catch, Northern Illinois RB Michael Turner can't..period!! Turner isn't helped by the fact that while he is fast, he isn't very athletic or flexible; he's also another pure N-S runner without much creativity once he starts upfield...Oklahoma State RB Tatum Bell continued to show good vision and excellent acceleration once he hit the crease, but put the ball on the ground a couple of times... spent most of the day watching the receivers and DBs, but caught a glimpse of offensive linemen Alex Stepanovich of Ohio State and Kansas State's Nick Leckey making a couple of athletic plays; both are also helped by the fact they have shown some versality working at both OG and C...speaking of the North DBs Oklahoma CB Derrick Strait looks solid as a primarily zone-type CB; Strait doesn't have the world-class speed of some of the top CBs in the NFL, but is very physical and instinctive and breaks well on the ball; and while not a burner, Strait did show decent recovery speed...a couple of small-college CBs also had good days... CB Joey Thomas of Montana State, for example, looked good in man-to-man coverage and showed a nice competitive streak; Thomas also has nice size, but is very raw and needs a lot of reps to pick things up...Tusculum CB Richard Colclough had a nice interception; Colclough isn't overly fast, but has a good short-area burst....Michigan's Jeremy LeSeuer also made some plays, but may not quite have the outright speed to play CB....and we're still waiting for highly-regarded Oklahoma FS Brandon Everage to show up; Everage has looked like he's out of shape and not doing much more than going through the motions...Note: USC CB Will Poole didn't work out for the second straight day because of a reported minor Achilles' problem; he was joined on the sidelines today by Iowa FS Bob Sanders who didn't practice for an undisclosed reason; and there could be a trifecta on the North sidelines tomorrow as Strait was dinged late in practice...

Tuesday morning... First chance to check out the South squad after spending Monday afternoon with the North...players were in pads in good football weather - dry with temps in the mid-to- high 40s...no question that Tulane QB J.P. Losman is the best QB at this year's Senior Bowl. Losman still needs a little work on his footwork, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with his arm. Losman showed great arm strength, particularly on deep fade routes on which the ball got there in a real hurry; Losman also had outstanding velocity throwing 10-15 yards routes...North Carolina State QB Phil Rivers, who came to Mobile looking to possibly challenge Losman for the #3 ranking among QBs, was also solid, but just doesn't have the same velocity as Losman. Rivers, though, did show nice touch, a quick release and was very accurate, but the ball doesn't really jump off his arm...Virginia QB Matt Schaub, meanwhile, was very 'average'; he did everything adequately, but didn't really stand out in any area...other than Losman, a legitimate first-round prospect this coming April, the South player pro scouts were probably most interested in seeing at this week's practices is Florida State RB Greg Jones. The bruising Jones was considered to be a potential top 5 pick at last April's draft before tearing up his knee mid-way through the 2002 season; Jones was back at FSU this fall, but didn't play much and didn't show the same power or explosion when he did get on the field. If nothing else, Jones looks the part of a stud RB with a powerful lower body. And while its still too early to make too much out of what is going on in Mobile, Jones looked very good yesterday, showing excellent change of direction and flexibilty for a power back; Jones also caught the ball reasonably well...another big back looking to put some injuries woes - not to mention off-field troubles - in the past is Cedric Cobbs of Arkansas who also looked very flexible for a big back; Cobbs also showed decent hands catching passes coming out of the backfield...the best hands of any back in Mobile, though, belong to Losman's Tulane teammate, RB Mewelde Moore. Moore consistently caught the ball with his hands away from his body and should make an outstanding 3rd down back at the next level. Moore also looked like he had something to prove as he ran out every play well downfield...Auburn FB Brandon Johnson delivered a couple of good blocks, but also looks a little stiff...Alabama RB Shaud Williams, on the other hand, didn't show much in the way of special quickness or acceleration, not a good sign for a small back...among the South receivers Ernest Wilford of Virginia Tech and LSU's Devery Henderson stood out; Wilford was very quick in and out of his breaks for a big receiver and also showed nice soft hands, while Henderson showed some quicks after catching the ball...another Va Techster, C Jake Grove was solid along the offensive front as was North Carolina OG Jeb Terry...on the other side of the ball, LSU DT Chad Lavalais doesn't look like the prototype NFL DT; that is, until the ball is snapped when he gets upfield in a hurry; Lavalais is very quick off the ball and has a high-intensity motor...DT Darnell Dockett of Florida State struggled in the some of the agility drills, but was much better in one-on-one contests where he also showed the ability to get upfield...Dockett's FSU teammate, LB Michael Boulware was one of the top back 7 defenders, showing good hands as well as burst coming off the edge...Florida CB Keiwan Ratliff was also solid in one-on-one coverage, although he looks a little small to be an every down DB...Maryland FS Madieu Williams had the hit of the day, separating a would-be receiver from the ball coming over the middle...

Tuesday afternoon... Back with the North in the afternoon...same as Monday, the most impressive player on the day on the North squad was Southern Cal WR Keary Colbert who made a couple more acrobatic catches, showing good hands and body control, while getting great separation...same at QB where John Navarre of Michigan looked solid for the second day in a row; same for Washington QB Cody Pickett who also had a solid day one, but did tend to be inaccurate at times...Minnesota FB Thomas Tapeh also continued to impress with a couple more solid isolation blocks...Oklahoma State RB Tatum Bell looked good running with the ball; Bell showed good vision and excellent acceleration once he hit the crease... Miami of Ohio OT Jacob Bell impressed along the North offensive line showing very good feet....same for East Carolina OT Brian Rimpf who also came across as smart and a hard worker...Purdue OG Nick Hardwick, though, lacked strength and tended to get overwhelmed at the point of attack...actually concentrated more on the North defense where Hawaii DT Isaac Sopoago was a beast; Sopoago is a huge player and showed big-time strength as he consistently collapsed the pocket...Ohio State DT Tim Anderson also stood out showing an effective rip technique while rushing the passer...same for Iowa State DT Jorden Carstens who did a nice job in one-on-one drills...Purdue DE Shaun Phillips, on the other hand, spent most of the afternoon simply trying to around people and didn't show much in the way of pass-rush technique...Nebraska LB Demorrio Williams continued to fly around the field...Oklahoma CB Derrick Strait was very physical in one-on-one passing drills...Iowa SS Bob Sanders, who was very aggressive coming up to the line on Monday, struggled somewhat in straight coverage where he was burned for a couple of big gainers...highly-regarded Oklahoma FS Brandon Everage was almost invisible...CBs Joey Thomas of Montana State and Michigan's Jeremy LeSeuer both struggled at times to get off blocks coming up to support the run; LeSeuer, though, did show solid back pedal technique...Note: USC CB Will Poole warmed up, but didn't work out because of an Achilles' problem....

Monday afternoon... With both teams working out at the same time, had to make a choice of who to watch...went with the North team for no other reason than its in our name too!! ...players worked out in helmets and shells; obviously no contact (or at least not much)...the weather wasn't the most hospitable for playing football with cool temps in the low 40s and a greasy field...the most impressive player on the day on the North squad was Southern Cal WR Keary Colbert who made a couple of acrobatic catches, showing good hands and body control...Ohio State WR Michael Jenkins was also solid...another veteran Big 10 WR, Mo Brown of Iowa struggled on the other hand; Brown was slow getting into his routes and didn't show much acceleration; he also often didn't always appear to be on the same page as the QB...Oregon State WR James Newson also had an up-and-down day, making a number of nice catches, but also dropping a couple when he appeared to lose concentration...Utah State TE Chris Cooley did a nice job snapping and had a couple of scouts commenting that he might make it as a short-snapper; Cooley also showed some decent receiving skills although he appeared to be a little slow coming out of his breaks on occasion...Pitt TE Kris Wilson, another pass receiving TE prospect, also showed good hands, but appeared to be somewhat stiff and not overly athletic...Michigan QB John Navarre looked good; he had plenty of zip on the ball throwing mostly short and intermediate routes; Navarre also had decent footwork in the pocket for a man his size; he also showed good poise and leadership on the field; one team that appaered to play very close attention to Navarre was the Giants...Washington QB Cody Pickett also had a solid day one, throwing the ball efficiently although his timing appeared slightly off on occasson in the 7-on-7 drills; overall Pickett reminded a little of Patriots' QB Tom Brady...Bowling Green QB Josh Harris, ho is trying to prove to scouts that he is more than just a very athletic QB, showed decent arm strength and very good accuracy, but it was obvious that he needs a lot of work on his mechanics, particularly his footwork...Notre Dame RB Julius Jones stood out among the RBs; Jones was very quick into the hole; he also showed good hands catching the ball coming out of the backfield; while a bit of straight line runner, Jones did show decent acceleartion and body lean...Northern Illinois RB Michael Turner also showed good straight N-S speed, but not much in the way of agility or athleticism...Minnesota FB Thomas Tapeh had a couple of solid isolation blocks and had scouts from the Browns paying particular attention...Pitt FB Lousaka Polite also was solid...on the other side of the ball, Southern Cal CB Will Poole looked very smooth coming out of his back-pedal, while Oklahoma CB Derrick Strait stood out in one-on-one coverage with a couple of pass break ups...unheralded Montana State CB Joey Thomas also showed he belonged holding up well when asked to cover some of the big-name receivers in Mobile...a couple of Big 10 safeties were also flying around the field...Purdue FS Stuart Schweigert was also solid matching up one-on-one with a number of TEs and RBs, while Iowa SS Bob Sanders was very aggressive, delivering one real pop on NIU's Turner...meanwhile, one scout commented that the North LBs weren't very strong; Ted Lehman of Oklahoma was the best of the bunch, although Nebraska LB Demorrio Williams also showed good range, but looked awfully light...Will get my first look at the South when they work out tomorrow morning; then its back to the North in the afternoon session.