Didn't really stand out. I'm working on a much more thorough grading. Tauliili definitely did a lot better than I noticed on first viewing. Vasquez not as good as I thought. Best inside lineman is going to be either Cecil Newton, Jaime Thomas, Seth Olsen, Edwin Williams...maybe Juan Garcia. Tempted to go with Jaime Thomas. None of them have stood out especially. But among the OTs, Jamon Meredith stood out but so did Vollmer and Parrish. Foster did well at times but had a few hiccups. At LB, I stand by Maiava having done really, really well. But Tauliili deserves a lot more credit. At DE, I think that Shaughnessy, on second viewing, did a great job. I think probably a better all-around job than Reed. Bear Pascoe was definitely the best TE. On second viewing, Don Carey was probably the best CB but Morgan Trent might have as much or more potential just because I like his back pedal, I like his speed and hips, he just had that horrible bite on Jarett Dillard's fake and he needs to stop gambling so damned much. I can see why he was such a frustrating player at Michigan. He does have the talent.
Another take on the Shrine Bowl's participants: http://www.nfldraftdog.com/College All-Star/2009_east_west_shrine_game.htm Thought he looked good as well. Those two could make good NT material, really good sand in the bucket type of players, both looked like they could add some weight for the NFL. He was just solid all game, and he has a rangy frame, looks like an ex Te. As CK pointed out, he played like an NFL Qb, IMO so did the MSU Qb..Foyer? Augustus Parrish is one of the current FO type of players, small school, huge and mobile. And from the small college players get no respect category:
I haven't gotten to the game yet but he's an interesting prospect. He has the big arm but his accuracy can get all over the place at times. He impresses me at least a little bit every time I watch him. I watched him against Montana and against Northern Iowa and he did a good job in both games. He's got some talent but his motor isn't always running. He's got a nice wingspan and he can disengage well because of that. Every game I watch of Prior's, he makes at least one big play. Against Tennessee earlier this year, he made a nice goal line stop. I like him and I think he's a nice player.
What is in Prior and Taylor's corner is they are what NT typically start out as, guys who can anchor against the run..period...NT typically are later round players who are then taught the art and science of playing NT in the NFL. But a fair assessment is, Soliai is a more talented player then either one of those two, he's just more athletic.
My take was that Prior was better at making plays against single blocking while Darryl Richard was better at taking on the double teams. A lot of those plays that Prior made, he was free to make them because he drew double. And Terrance Taylor gave Travis Bright a hard time, but Taylor himself was not good at leveraging that into making plays. And I don't know what the heck that guy is talking about with Taylor "drawing double teams all day". The thing about Cantwell is this is going to be a guy you'll end up having as your 3rd QB for a while, and then your 2nd QB, and then one day an injury happens and he'll get his shot. He doesn't have a ton of experience and so he hasn't been afforded the time to work through the mechanical issues that show up when you're playing games. He had to transform his delivery in one week of Shrine practices, did it, and came out the better thrower for it...which intrigues me when you put that together with his size.
When I watched Prior make a play, it was because he stayed at home and the play came back to him, he wasn't moved off the play. Ditto Taylor, neither one is much a pressure threat, they did appear to have good technique and a decent anchor in the middle. As for drawing double teams...not from what I watched either. He should have played more, he looked like a Big Qb who didn't have problems with things like dropping back or making a read, compared to Chase Daniels, he looked like Drew Bledsoe.
Personally, I did not see Terrance Taylor as a guy that anchors against the run. In fact, I saw him as another Steven Fifita.
Ouch. Yeah, I really soured on Taylor after the Penn State game. I don't even view him as a value pick. I'd rather take a chance on a guy like Ron Brace or Myron Prior in the later rounds. Or Boomer's guy Pernell Phillips.
