Defensive Backs Continue to Shine as Senior Bowl Practices Close | Practice Diary
MOBILE, Ala. — Thursday is getaway day for many of the NFL executives, coaches, scouts, and hoards of agents who descended on Mobile for this year’s Senior Bowl.
The third day of practices featured variations of a walkthrough in final preparations of Saturday’s game at Hancock Whitney Stadium.
Thursday, as they have all week, the National Team practiced at an uptempo and competitive pace despite wearing shorts, shells, and helmets. Even without contact or tackling, there were still some competitive showdowns in one-on-ones and seven-on-seven periods.
Meanwhile, the American Team plodded through its practice (WHILE WEARING PADS), with multiple individual drills and at the same snail’s pace it had all week—as if it were an NFL team installing the playbook during April or May minicamp practices.
Nevertheless, here are the key takeaways and biggest moments from Thursday’s final Senior Bowl practices:
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Best Battle of The Day
LSU TE Mason Taylor vs. Oklahoma CB Billy Bowman Jr.
Taylor and Bowman were stride for stride in an early one-on-one drill, and Taylor did a nice job adjusting to a slightly underthrown pass to come back for the ball and pull down a contested catch, practically ripping it out of Bowman’s hands, for the touchdown.
Play of The Day
On one of the final seven-on-seven snaps of the National Team’s practice, Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel rolled to his right and tried to rifle a dart near the pylon that was tipped up into the air and pulled down by Nebraska cornerback Tommi Hill for an interception.
Rising Star From Thursday’s Practice
Azareye’h Thomas, CB, Florida State
It was a strong week overall for the defensive backs here in Mobile, and Thomas had his moment on one of the final snaps of the final practice.
Locked in a one-on-one near the far sideline, Thomas showed exceptional awareness and body control to come back to an underthrown football and pick it off in the corner of the end zone.
Alabama TE CJ Dippre with a winning rep
Player of The Day
Jackson Hawes, TE, Georgia Tech
There’s, unfortunately, only so much that can be gleaned from a pair of practices that maxed out at three-quarters speed.
But, Georgia Tech tight end Jackson Hawes caught just about everything that was thrown his way on Thursday afternoon, including going full extension while falling backward against Wisconsin defensive back Hunter Wohler to haul in a touchdown.
In a loaded tight end class, Hawes needs to find ways to stand out, and his catch Thursday helped, in a big way.
In Case You Missed It
Does the pace of practice imply anything about the coaches? (I ask with hope as a Giants fan that Mike Kafka is competently coaching young players.)
I immediately googled Hancock Whitney and was so disappointed to discover it's a bank and not some southern aristocrat who revolutionized some aspect of cotton farming, served six terms in the state Senate, fought against segregation and had a drink named after himself. I say, I say, just a bank.