Senior Bowl Recap Day 2
The second day in Mobile brought out more standouts and a bit more offense than Day 1. Seeing these prospects for a second day in a row helps separate the players who need to raise more eyebrows, those who are taking advantage of the moment, and others who need to make a play in order to get more eyes on them. I will give my breakdown of standouts from each team and takeaways heading into the rest of the week.
National Team Player to Watch: Jayden Reed, WR Michigan St. & Kyu Blu Kelly, DB Stanford
On the offensive side of things, Jayden Reed WR from Michigan St. had a strong showing today on the second day. He showed good fluid route running, quickness to gain separation from the defender, and reliable hands catching deep passes on the 1v1 release drills. Reed was the biggest standout out of the group of the national team WRs. One of his biggest strengths was his ability to make tough contested catches and he showed that today in the two deep pass reps in the drills.
The biggest standout today on the defensive side of the ball was CB Kyu Blu Kelly from Stanford. It started off rough at first with him during the 1v1 release drills where WRs Ronnie Bell and Tre Tucker got the better of him but in a rep against teammate Elijah Higgins, he was able to undercut an out route and pick it off. Kelly’s day continued to trend upwards during the 11 on 11 drills where he would make an amazing interception again off of Elijah Higgins Ricky Manning Jr. style which turned to a pick-six and the national team’s defense celebrating with him in the endzone. Kelly had a strong day showing that he has the ability to jump routes and has good instincts at anticipating routes.
American Team Player to Watch: Kenny McIntosh, RB Georgia
As far as the American team on the second day of practice, it was hard to pick between the two RBs Tyjae Spears from Tulane and Kenny McIntosh from Georgia who had the better day. It was good to see McIntosh back on the field today after leaving yesterday’s practice with a leg cramp. McIntosh has all the ability to be RB1 one day but at the very least coming into the league an excellent change of pace back. He held his own in the blocking drills and showed explosiveness when hitting the gaps. Tyjae Spears during an interview said that he wanted to prove that he is a true four-down RB and has proven it far. He showed fearlessness in the pass-blocking drills against Jackson State’s Aubrey Miller and showed great vision and second-level speed when hitting the gaps. Spears has shown that he’s nothing short of a big-play RB on the next level and that when it comes to the debate on who is RB1 on the American roster between Spears and McIntosh, it’s a hard decision to make but since both are teammates at the moments the National team is going to have its hands full on Saturday.
Starting with the National team one player who really stood out was Notre Dame guard Jarrett Patterson. Patterson was continuously drawing attention by dominating the defensive line in one on one drills. Between Patterson and Michigan lineman Ryan Hayes and Olusegun Oluwatimi the National Teams offensive line was getting a heavy push upfront allowing Illinois running back Chase Brown to find holes during the 9-on-7 period. These lineman weren’t the only ones putting on a display of elite blocking. Purdue’s tight end Payne Durham was undefeated during his 1 on 1’s and was making noise holding off defensive lineman at the tight end position. On defense, for the National team Army’s linebacker Andre Carter continued his successful first day with another solid performance on Wednesday.
The American team yet again outshined the National team on Wednesday. Princeton wide receiver Andrei Iosivas turned heads once again on his second day of the Senior Bowl. Iosivas was displaying all you need from the wide receiver position, amazing route running combined with downfield speed, and reliable hands. The Ivy Leaguer is becoming one of the most coveted receivers at the Senior Bowl this week helping his draft stock tremendously.
Another takeaway I have after watching this talented and deep American roster practice for two days is that it makes sense that TCU made it all the way to the National Championship. Most would think that quarterback Max Duggan and wide receiver Derius Davis would be the horned frogs making noise this week but it actually comes from the defensive side of the ball. Linebacker Dee Winters and defensive lineman Dylan Horton have been aggressive and very impactful on both days. Winters had a pick today during a live 7 on 7 period then happened to force a fumble on the very next play. Horton on the other hand was winning his one on ones all day long with the combination of his bulrush and hand swipe. Beware of this American team they look out for blood heading into Saturday.
-By: Sam Kirk & Kris Thomas
