EW Shrine Game

On defensive backs after one day of practice.
This writer has:

1. Marcus Williams from NDSU impressing
2. North Carolina safety Tre Boston impressing
3. Duke CB Ross Cockrell had a rough go
4. Washington safety Sean Parker disappointing
5. Minnesota safety Brock Vereen, underwhelming
6. San Jose State underwhelming
7. CB Bene Benwikere underwhelming
8. Utah State CB Nevin Lawson underwhelming

The most impressive overall talent group is the East secondary. There are six East DBs with a chance to be drafted by the end of the fourth round: Pierre Desir, Phillip Gaines, Tre Boston, Hakeem Smith, Andre Hal, and Ricardo Allen.

Desir, from tiny Lindenwood University, is a very impressive athlete and is not all that raw either.

http://football.realgm.com/src_article/2398/20140114/monday_shrine_game_practice_notes/[/url]

more on defensive defensive backs

Lindenwood CB Pierre Desir entered the week as one of my top defensive prospects in St. Petersburg and he did little to persuade me from that thought during Monday's practice.

He looks the part with a tall, long frame and he does a nice job staying low and fluid in his stance, backpedal and overall transition.

Desir is going up against FBS-level wide receivers this week like Miami's Allen Hurns and Michigan's Jeremy Gallon, but he hasn't looked out of place through one day of practice. He also received praise from the coaching staff for his ball awareness to get his head turned, find the ball and come off his man to pursue the ballcarrier.

defensive backs who are not expected to participate this week due to injury include Missouri CB E.J. Gaines, Ohio CB Travis Carrie, and Wisconsin SS Dezmen Southward.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/nfl-draft-scout/24408550/shrine-game-monday-practice-report

still on defensive backs

Vanderbilt cornerback Andre Hal showed nice agility and quickness to run with receivers out their breaks. Hal had good coverage throughout the day and broke up a few passes through being in good position. He could stand to improve his ball skills to turn more pass breakups into interceptions.

Louisville safety Hakeem Smith had a good debut. He laid the wood to stop a runner cold a yard in front of the end zone. On a goal-line carry, the back tried to bounce the ball around the left tackle, but Smith came over to flatten the runner. The massive hit drew a lot of "ohhs" and "ahhs" from the scouts. Smith also broke up a pass intended for Michigan speedster Jeremy Gallon. Smith could be a nice value pick on Day 3.

http://walterfootball.com/eastwest2014practice1.php

According to this Southward will be a Senior Bowl and is not at Shrine Game.

@TonyPauline : Dez Southward/S/Wisconsin not at the Shrine Game as he'll be playing next week in the Senior Bowl.

Defensive Backs
-Hopefully one-on-one's tomorrow show more for the defensive backs here, but overall, a handful stood out. Marcus Williams of North Dakota State is a small schooler myself and Matt Elder (formerly of BuffaloBillsDraft.com) have had our eye on since he was a sophomore, but his senior year was a bit up and down. However, he got the chance to play in off coverage, and his hip fluidity, balance downfield, and ability to gain speed and run with receivers was impressive in multiple deep coverage opportunities today. He certainly has the talent level to develop as an off-coverage cornerback, potentially an outside guy in nickel/dime sets.

-Texas's Carrington Byndom and Arizona's Shaquille Richardson both did a good job today protecting vertically today, both in Cover 3 and in man situations. Byndom was surprisingly willing to be physical (though it was against smaller receivers than he faced in the Big 12), and Richardson turned and ran downfield smoothly and with good position on multiple occasions.

http://www.optimumscouting.com/draft/articles/2014-shrine-game-monday-west-practice-report.html

North Dakota State CB Marcus Williams looked good in his first impression. He's well-built at a hair under six feet, and he's got quick-twitch reaction that others lack. On one rep he easily carried Brown on his outside hip all the way down the field. His head is always moving around, showing very active eyes. This was my first exposure to Williams and based on the smoothness and alacrity I saw today, I'm looking forward to seeing more.

Penn State safety Stephen Obeng-Agyapong made a nice deflection on a quick hit up the seam, bumping the ball right to Notre Dame LB Prince Shembo. The Irish backer quickly seized the ball and flipped his momentum to become a return man, and he looked good with the ball in his hands.

http://www.detroitlionsdraft.com/2014/01/shrine-game-monday-west-notes/

I miss the days of the EW Shrine Game being in SF and attracting the top players in the draft.

Nice updates

Marcus Williams cornerback from North Dakota St has also been invited to the NFL Combine.


Cornerback Marcus Williams also got an invite to the Combine, according to his father Jeff Williams, who got his information from an agent.

http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/423129/

Initial reports from the EW Shrine bowl indicated that Marcus Williams, a cornerback from North Dakota St, is doing well.

He is one of my favorite small school players.

In addition, Williams has been invited to the combine. If he continues to do well at the Shrine Game, he could earn an invite to the Senior Bowl.

Williams played in 58 games at North Dakota St.
He had 61 passes defended--24 interceptions and 37 passes broken up.

He returned 3 punts for 78 yards--26 yard average.
He returned 44 kick offs for 1209 yards and two touchdowns--27.48 average.
He returned 24 interceptions for 409 yards and 7 touchdowns--average of 20.96.

In summary, in 58 games Williams had 71 total returns for 1,790 yards and 9 touchdowns.
He averaged 25.21 yards per return.

Williams was named to the first team FCS All American Team three times--he is one of five players to achieve that.

North Dakota St has won three consecutive national titles. Williams knows about winning football.

Reported Interviews

San Francisco 49ers - Arizona cornerback Shaw Richardson

San Francisco 49ers - Florida State defensive lineman Demonte McAllister, Western Kentucky linebacker Xavius Boyd and McGill (Canada) tackle Laurent Duvernay-Tardif.

San Francisco - Cornell quarterback Jeff Mathews

San Francisco 49ers - UCLA defensive end Cassius Marsh

compiled from

http://walterfootball.com/eastwest2014interviews2.php

Originally posted by buck:

On defensive backs after one day of practice.
This writer has:

1. Marcus Williams from NDSU impressing
2. North Carolina safety Tre Boston impressing
3. Duke CB Ross Cockrell had a rough go
4. Washington safety Sean Parker disappointing
5. Minnesota safety Brock Vereen, underwhelming
6. San Jose State underwhelming
7. CB Bene Benwikere underwhelming
8. Utah State CB Nevin Lawson underwhelming

The most impressive overall talent group is the East secondary. There are six East DBs with a chance to be drafted by the end of the fourth round: Pierre Desir, Phillip Gaines, Tre Boston, Hakeem Smith, Andre Hal, and Ricardo Allen.

Desir, from tiny Lindenwood University, is a very impressive athlete and is not all that raw either.

http://football.realgm.com/src_article/2398/20140114/monday_shrine_game_practice_notes/[/url]

Good stuff brotha, keep it coming

Originally posted by buck:
Reported Interviews

San Francisco 49ers - Arizona cornerback Shaw Richardson

San Francisco 49ers - Florida State defensive lineman Demonte McAllister, Western Kentucky linebacker Xavius Boyd and McGill (Canada) tackle Laurent Duvernay-Tardif.

San Francisco - Cornell quarterback Jeff Mathews

San Francisco 49ers - UCLA defensive end Cassius Marsh

compiled from

http://walterfootball.com/eastwest2014interviews2.php

Thanks Buck for all the updates. Who did the thread last year with all the meetings, interviews, lunches, etc before the draft last year? Really should put this in a thread and update it because last year we drafted like 3 guys we met/interviewed/had lunch with. Every year there are a few; its something fans should look at before the draft.

Defensive line prospects shine on Tuesday

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/nfl-draft-scout/24409329/shrine-game-defensive-line-prospects-shine-on-tuesday