Practice Notes from Wednesday’s Senior Bowl practice for NFL Draft Prospects:

Alex Carrington, DE, Arkansas State
Looks like he is making a move up draft boards with a consistent effort and good initial quickness. Uses his hands well.

Brandon Graham, DE/OLB, Michigan
Each day Brandon Graham has been the best defender on the play. Nobody can block him effectively. Great hands and his first step is electric. Needs to keep the edge better on misdirection plays.

Mardy Gilyard, WR, Cinci
Working much better today. Showed better hands and releases off the line better than any other receiver.

Kyle Wilson, CB, Boise State
Wasn’t dominant like yesterday, as Jacoby Ford (WR, Clemson) and a few others were able to catch balls against him. Ford beat Wilson once deep and once on a crossing route. Still showed solid technique, Ford is just a blazer.

Austen Lane, DE/OLB, Murray State
Lost contain on a bootleg by Sean Canfield (QB, Oregon State). Learned from the mistake and stayed disciplined before crashing down the line on the next play, then promptly lost contain again on the next play. Physically talented player that needs to read plays quicker.

LeGarrette Blount, RB, Oregon
Didn’t run very crisp routes in the passing drills and put the ball on the ground during live action. Not his best day.

Donald Butler, LB, Washington
Very active and productive in live action. Put himself in the correct position every time on the field.

Syd’Quan Thompson, CB, Cal
Dorin Dickerson (WR, Pitt) was able to get over the top of Syd’Quan with a deep route. Syd’Quan was tight but needs to get his hands in on the receiver to disrupt the catch.

Jared Odrick, DL, Penn State
Got to the QB multiple times, using an effective twist stunt and a solid rip move on Shawn Lauvao (OL, Arizona State). Very active inside against the run in live action.

Mike Iupati, OL, Idaho
Continued to impress playing at guard and RT today. Stoned Mike Neal (DL, Purdue) with his strong hands and solid balance. Picked up Brandon Graham on a stunt with ease.

Practice Notes from Tuesday’s Senior Bowl practice for NFL Draft Prospects:

South Practice

Brandon Graham, DE/OLB, Michigan
Absolutely flew by Vlad Ducasse (OL, Umass) with his quickness, but got caught by Vlad the second time around. Used his hands well against Zane Beadles (OL, Utah), getting to the QB with a great spin-move. Impressive motor.

Austen Lane, DE/OLB, Murray State
Beat Ed Wang (OL, Virginia Tech) on an inside move then got good penetration with his great bull-rush. Explosive first step.

Devin McCourty, CB, Rutgers
Showed good anticipation of routes although he couldn’t haul in the ball a couple of times. Jumped Jacoby Ford’s (WR, Clemson) with ease. Mardy Gilyard (WR, Cinci) used his hands effectively against McCourty and got open.

Kyle Wilson, CB, Boise State
Got beat by a good route by Taylor Price (WR, Ohio), but played great press against Danario Alexander (WR, Missouri), nearly getting the pick. Very physical corner.

Jacoby Ford, WR, Clemson
Initially beat Brandon Ghee (CB, Wake Forest) but couldn’t pull away, as Ghee broke the pass up.

Syd’Quan Thompson, CB, Cal
Got burned by Gilyard deep, but broke up a couple of underneath routes. Syd is showing that he will need safety help.

Vlad Ducasse, OG, UMass
Ducasse got beat early and often, showing poor footwork. If he caught a guy, he would win, but needs a better first step.

Mike Iupati, OG, Idaho
Was a force in pass-protect drills, stoning his man on multiple occasions including two pancakes on De’Anthony Smith (DL, La Tech). Not great at left tackle against Alex Carrington (DE, A-State), who got Iupati off balance. Great hands and strength.

Matt Tennant, OC, Boston College
Should good hands and a vicious first punch that allowed him to re-anchor and hold his man off.

Practice Notes from Tuesday’s Senior Bowl practice for NFL Draft prospects:

North Practice

Dexter McCluster, RB/WR, Ole Miss
Ran by Javier Arenas (CB, Alabama) after baiting him with a double move and came up with a diving catch. Great route-runner, but did have one bad drop.

Mike Johnson, OG, Alabama
Johnson showed good initial punch in combo-block drills. Was able to get some movement against multiple defenders.

Terrence Cody, NT, Alabama
A 370 pound immovable object. Stood up well against the double team, although he didn’t have to do many back-to-back reps. Good bull-rusher, moved the pocket.

Taylor Mays, S, USC
Mays was exposed a bit in coverage, gambling for the interception a few times and missing. Didn’t show good fluidity out of his backpedal.

Myron Rolle, S, Florida State
Rolle was much more polished today than yesterday. His body looks to be coming up to speed with his brain.

Patrick Robinson, CB, Florida State
Showed good skills in press coverage, getting some effective chucks in and breaking up some passes.

Riley Cooper, WR, Florida
Showed good hands and the ability to catch the ball in traffic. Didn’t gain much separation from either Patrick Robinson or Nate Allen.

Geno Atkins, DT, Georgia
Showed good quickness against Mitch Petrus (OG, Arkansas) by getting to the QB a couple of times with a swim move and shedding.

Ciron Black, OT, LSU
Great day for Black, stoning Brandon Lang (DE, Troy) on two occasions. Lang tried a speed move and a rush move and failed on both.

Dan Williams, DT, Tennessee
Williams showed a strong bull-rush against Jon Jerry (OG, Ole Miss). Didn’t have the quickness to get around him.

After weigh-ins on Monday, there was some football going on with NFL Draft prospects actually practicing. Some very early observations:

Kyle Wilson, CB, Boise State
Looked amazing in one-on-one CB/WR drills. Wilson had great balance in and out of breaks, while Jacoby Ford, a 4.2 forty guy, couldn’t run by him.

Jacoby Ford, WR, Clemson
Incredibly fast receiver showed improving hands and some developing route-running skills. Made at least two great adjustments to poorly-thrown balls, but also had a few bobbles.

Austen Lane, DE/OLB, Murray State
Lane blew by Sam Young (OT, Notre Dame) like he was standing still. Showed improvement from the regular season by using a nice shoulder dip after knocking Young off-balance with the bull rush. Very quick.

O’Brien Schofield, DE/OLB, Wisconsin
Ran around Vlad Ducasse (OG, UMASS) once while Ducasse stoned him the second time – Schofield had to leave the field after the play. Unfortunately, word is that the injury is quite serious.

Brandon Graham, DE/OLB, Michigan
Showed a great swim move and explosive speed. Got to the QB twice (or towel) with hardly a touch.

Jared Odrick, DE, Penn State
Gave Mike Iupati (OG, Idaho) and Jon Asamoah (OG, Illinois) everything they wanted, getting them off balance with a quick punch and solid drive.

Syd’Quan Thompson, CB, Cal
Syd was all over the short routes but was outrun on a deep route by Taylor Price (WR, Ohio). Top-speed might be a concern for Thompson, especially if his ankle isn’t fully healed.

Brandon Ghee, CB, Wake Forest
Ghee was up and down on Monday, losing his balance twice while trying to break on the ball. Showed good speed and measured well.

This week, the 2010 Senior Bowl week, is where the fortunes of many a NFL Draft prospect will be determined. Each day after the two practices are completed, we’ll have an update on how the prospects fared, especially the ones that the Patriots could be targeting.

We’ll be scouting all the Senior Bowl players, but focusing on these players that could fit the Patriot system and team needs:

Austen Lane DE/OLB, Murray State (Interview this week)
Eric Norwood, DE/OLB, South Carolina
George Selvie, DE/OLB, USF
Brandon Graham, DE/OLB, Michigan
O’Brien Schofield, OLB, Wisconin
AJ Edds, OLB, Iowa
Terrence Cody, DL, Alabama
Brandon Ghee, CB, Wake Forest
Syd’Quan Thompson, CB, Cal

Mike Iupati, OG, Idaho
Vlad Ducasse, OG/T, UMass
Mike Johnson, OG, Alabama
Dexter McCluster, RB/WR, Ole Miss