Senior Bowl Thread

[B1GEast]

Instead of having a separate thread for each Uconn player, let's just put them all here.

http://www.optimumscouting.com/draft/articles/2013-senior-bowl-north-monday-practice-notes.html

-I was impressed today by the two UConn cornerbacks, as I was told I would be by people close to the team. I already was impressed on film by Blidi Wreh-Wilson, and today he showed good balance, tight feet in his drops, and exchanging his hands well. He did get beat on the interior and vertically one time each, but made up for it with a great press and then interception on the same play.

-The other, and less heralded, cornerback was Dwayne Gratz, who I actually thought was more impressive. He showed the quickest feet in defensive back drills and pressed as well as any other defensive back today. I'm excited to see which UConn cornerback looks better this week. Both could play their way into Top 100 (Wreh-Wilson already there for us).

 

[B1GEast]

http://www.rams-news.com/draft-tweets-from-the-senior-bowl-day-1/

UConn CB Dwayne Gratz 2 best DBs in drills. Cyprien physical,closing in run drills. Gratz quick feet,solid press

 

[B1GEast]

http://www.nepatriotsdraft.com/2013/01/2013-senior-bowl-15-thoughts-on-day-1-north-practice.html

12. There are three UConn players on the North Roster and all three made impact plays today. I was impressed with how powerful Trevardo Williams was. He’s known for his speed but, converted that power to speed with leverage and really jolted the OT back off the snap. In change of direction drills he looked really fluid, coming out of his breaks nicely.

Dwayne Gratz made a good interception while covering Aaron Dobson and showed good coverage skills for a bigger corner, including good jams at the line of scrimmage. Blidi Wreh-Wright capped off the day with another interception. Looks like new BC Defensive Coordinator Don Brown did a great job coaching these guys up over the last three years.

 

[B1GEast]

http://www.hogshaven.com/2013/1/22/3902440/senior-bowl-day-1-practice-reports

Blidi Wreh-Wilson also struggled to get an effective jam in press coverage, but looked much more at home playing off-man, breaking on an out route nicely to keep the completion to a minimum gain.

 

[B1GEast]

http://www.detroitlionsdraft.com/20...ne/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Blidi Wreh-Wilson of UConn is a corner that I like more than most heading here, and he solidified that today on the field. He was very tough in jam, not letting Mellette get three yards up the field and showing good quick footwork to mirror the receiver when he danced at the line. He also got a pick on Dysert with a great jam on Wheaton on an out where Dysert never should have thrown it. One negative was that he was very easily blocked against the run

 

[B1GEast]

http://www.behindthesteelcurtain.com/2013/1/22/3900614/senior-bowl-preview-nfl-draft-2013

The North's defensive line is absolutely loaded with every single player being a potential top 100 pick.The top linebackers are Khaseem Greene (No. 20) from Rutgers, Kansas State's talented inside linebacker Arthur Brown (No. 44), and the speedy pass rusher from Connecticut, Trevardo Williams (No. 46).

Finally, Connecticut corner Blidi Wreh-Wilson (No. 15) is a corner who should be a top 75 pick.

 

[huskymedic]

NHRJimFuller 10:51am via TweetDeck
Report: Ankle injury will keep #UConn's Trevardo Williams out of today's Senior Bowl practice Post original url/Sw6jdb

 

[joey3$trike$]

hey when is the game saturday?

 

[huskymedic]

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigeast

"Two others who stood out: Greene and Wreh-Wilson. Of Wreh-Wilson, Weidl writes: "He jammed up Oregon State's Marcus Wheaton, tossed him aside and made a pick in team play. It was impressive. He's smooth for his size."

 

[huskymedic]

NHRJimFuller 10:51am via TweetDeck
Report: Ankle injury will keep #UConn's Trevardo Williams out of today's Senior Bowl practice Post original url/Sw6jdb

Ugh... "ROSTER CHANGES: The North roster underwent some changes on Tuesday. Receiver Alec Lemon of Syracuse was added to the team, replacing Ohio State linebacker John Simon. UConn's Sio Moore has replaced UConn's Trevardo Williams at linebacker and Ty Powell of Harding steps in for Kansas State's Arthur Brown at linebacker. Simon, Williams and Brown all had injuries that prevented them from continuing."

http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2013/01/lots_of_talent_at_offensive_ta.html

 

[uconnbill]

More info on Gratz and his day

Too bad about Williams losing out not be able to practicing and playing this Saturday.

 

[businesslawyer]

You help yourself more in practices than the game, and Trevardo apparently showed the scouts enough that he shouldn't hurt his status. On the other hand, a huge opportunity for Sio now.

 

[Palatine]

Getting injured is never good. Williams can make it up with a good combine.

Zach Hurd limped through the off season after his senior year and he never gained back the ground he lost.

 

[ZooCougar]

I love both of our CBs, but I was always a little more impressed with Gratz.

Big opportunity for Sio Moore.

 

[huskymedic]

http://www.detroitlionsdraft.com/20...ne/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Blidi Wreh-Wilson of UConn is a corner that I like more than most heading here, and he solidified that today on the field. He was very tough in jam, not letting Mellette get three yards up the field and showing good quick footwork to mirror the receiver when he danced at the line. He also got a pick on Dysert with a great jam on Wheaton on an out where Dysert never should have thrown it. One negative was that he was very easily blocked against the run

http://www.freep.com/article/201301...ions-cornerbacks-senior-bowl?odyssey=nav|head

"MOBILE, Ala. - With a good cornerback crop at the Senior Bowl this week and a pressing need in their secondary, the Lions are spending their nights getting to know some of the draft's top senior cover men. UConn cornerback Blidi Wreh-Wilson said he had a sit-down meeting this week with a contingent of Lions personnel evaluators, including general manager Martin Mayhew. “It was a good conversation,” said Wreh-Wilson, UConn's MVP this year. “It was just getting to know me and I was with some of the bigger personnel. It was a little nerve-wracking, but it was an easy conversation.” Cornerback Dwayne Gratz, Wreh-Wilson’s teammate at UConn, Washington cornerback Desmond Trufant and UCLA running back Johnathan Franklin are among others who've had sit-down meetings with the Lions.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Some tweets from the ESPN NFL Draft Home Page.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/draft

http://twitter.com/intent/user?screen_name=KevinW_ESPN
KevinW_ESPN Kevin Weidl
OLB Sio Moore also jumped out for UConn. Runs well at 242 pounds. Flashes explosive upper body power and ability to get after the passer.

KevinW_ESPN Kevin Weidl
Both Wreh-Wilson and Rhodes have excellent size/length. But Wreh-Wilson moves easier and has better instincts on tape.

As a final OBTW, Fisher from Central Michigan has been tearing it up all week. Kid has dominated all of the North's DL. Will be interesting to see how he performs against the South on Saturday. Could end up being a Top 15 pick.

 

[huskymedic]

Eric Galko (@OptimumScouting)
1/23/13, 12:29 PM
Standout players from the practice today: QB Mike Glennon, WR Marquise Goodwin, LB Sio Moore, DT Sylvester Williams, and DT Brandon Williams

 

[B1GEast]

http://milehighsports.com/2013/01/23/senior-bowl-practice-notes-day-3-north-team/

Connecticut CB BLIDI WREH-WILSON occasionally struggles to keep his balance when a receiver makes a double move in front of him. This is exacerbated by the lack of preparation time for an all-star-game scenario, but is nevertheless a concern. At the other end of the spectrum, Washington CB DESMOND TRUFANT, the younger brother of Seahawks CB Marcus Trufant, has been the best cornerback on the field …

Connecticut LB SIO MOORE, a late injury replacement to the roster, played energetically as a strong-side linebacker and defensive end. Moore was especially strong against the run, where he forced runners to bounce outside and away from their hole after closing from the flank.

 

[B1GEast]

http://nflsfuture.com/2013/01/23/senior-bowl-notebook-wednesday-north-practice-notes/

Dwayne Gratz also looked to have a nice low back pedal. Gratz was active in practice today doing some nice things. He got complimented by coaches for a nice pass break up, showed that he has a nice press.
-Desmond Trufant seemed to be high when coming out of his back pedal. He had a nice pass break up, but was also beat a few times by wide receivers.

http://www.raiders.com/news/article...og-Day-4/ef48b478-8c0b-4c51-84cb-8f5899619577

 

[B1GEast]

http://www.optimumscouting.com/draf...es.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

-UConn cornerback Dwayne Gratz is thick and has obvious natural strength, especially at the line, but he struggled today. He was slow out of breaks and showed only marginal deep speed in downfield coverage. Against double moves, he lacked the foot speed to redirect on the move and gave up too much coverage in man. He may be limited to cover 2 or man under type of schemes.

 

[B1GEast]

http://vikingsauthority.com/senior-bowl-2013-practice-notes-day-2/

Dwyane Gratz, CB, Connecticut - “Able to maintain leverage and position throughout the route with his plus length, Gratz turned manhandled opposing receivers off the line in drills. In 11-on-11′s, Gratz made an excellent play in cover 2-press by forcing an outside release, passing off the vertical stem of the outside receiver and turning inside to locate an incoming target for a pass deflection. Again, great length and physicality from a prototype cover 2 corner.” – Eric Galko, Optimum Scouting

B.W. Webb, CB, William & Mary - “Small school corner B.W. Webb from William & Mary was an early stand out. Webb is one of the shortest corners on the South squad at 5’10″, 180 pounds, which gave him a disadvantage against big receivers like Baylor’s Terrance Williams and Georgia’s Tavarres King. Both of those receivers are rated as top prospects, and Webb won all three of his battles against them. His first was a vertical route against Williams. He did a great job turning and running with Williams and stayed with him step for step. The ball wasn’t thrown well enough for Williams to make a play on it, but Webb was in perfect position to break it up. Webb then did the exact same thing against King a few plays later. Finally, he mirrored Williams well on an inside route. Williams made two cuts, Webb stayed with him on the first cut before allowing separation on the second cut. But Webb recovered and did enough to put off Williams and force a drop.” – UkRedskin, Hogs Haven

 

[B1GEast]

It's amazing how many conflicting reports you get from these so called scouts, I guess anyone who can write a paragraph can be a scout theses days.

 

[B1GEast]

http://www.newspress.me/sports/seni...s-look-to-impress-in-different-ways#more-3636

Connecticut’s Blidi Wreh-Wilson is a big-ticket player when he gets his hands on the ball — he’s got a penchant for pick-sixes. But on Tuesday, he showed a few things that could keep him from doing that a lot at the NFL level. He was late to the party on one slant route to Syracuse’s Alex Lemon, and he seemed a tad late on quick cuts.
Wreh-Wilson’s Connecticut teammate, Dwayne Gratz, lost inside position on Lemon on a deep sideline route to the right, allowing Lemon to move back toward the numbers and make the grab. However, he recovered to pick off a throw from Miami of Ohio’s Zac Dysert to Elon’s Aaron Mellette.

 

[sportsart]

Cool helmets.

 

[EdgewoodNHV]

It's amazing how many conflicting reports you get from these so called scouts, I guess anyone who can write a paragraph can be a scout theses days.

Intelligent people can often disagree on things.