Reese's Senior Bowl Day 2 National Team Notes

Day 2 has just wrapped up for the National Team at the Reese's Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama. Here are my thoughts on what I saw today.

WR-DB 1-on-1s

Penn State CB Kalen King's struggles continued. I genuinely have a lot of sympathy for him. After a great 2022 opposite of Joey Porter Jr. at Penn State, King did not meet expectation this season, subsequently leading a drop in draft stock. He struggled throughout Day 1 of the Senior Bowl, and continued to do so today. At this point, I believe he is in his own head. His confidence has taken a big shot. Hopefully he can right the ship.

Florida WR Ricky Pearsall had an excellent Day 2. He is a smooth, crip route runner and doesn't back down from getting physical to bring in the difficult catches. He has great burst off the LOS, as well. I think he could get a bit better against press, but overall Pearsall is doing himself a lot of favors. He has sneakily been a top performer in Mobile.

North Carolina WR Devontez Walker really struggled today. I tallied five (5) drops throughout the National Team's Day 2 practice. Throughout 1-on-1s, Walker was not finishing routes well and telegraphed several. His body language was concerning as well. I was not impressed.

Washington State CB Chau Smith-Wade had some average-looking reps early into 1-on-1s, but later had a solid rep. His coverage was excellent and he reeled in a toe-tap interception against Arizona WR Jacob Cowing.

Toledo CB Quinyon Mitchell continued to dominate today. He was squaring off against Michigan WR Roman Wilson quite often, which was a treat. Mitchell hauled in an over-the-shoulder interception against USC WR Brenden Rice as well. Mitchell got a ton of work in the slot today, which is something he rarely ever had to do during his tenure at Toledo. There is definitely room for improvement in the slot, but that shouldn't take long for him as he possesses all the tools to do so. Mitchell, who is currently my CB4, is moving up.

USC WR Brenden Rice really isn't "moving" me. Although he is a big, physical target, his separation ability is questionable and hasn't looked great throughout the first two days of Senior Bowl practice.

OL-DL/EDGE 1-on-1s

Oregon C/G Jackson Powers-Johnson was once again phenomenal. Smooth footwork and exceptional hands are propelling JP-J up boards. He had a great rep lined up at right guard against Ohio St DT Michael Hall Jr. Powers-Johnson was spotted heading to the tunnel and did not return to practice. I'd assume his Senior Bowl practice participation is over. He has proven enough, and I think he has solidified himself as a Round 1 pick.

Oregon State OT Taliese Fuaga put together another great showing. I can't see Fuaga making it out of the Top 15 picks in the draft at this point. There was a call-out for him versus Penn State EDGE Adisa Isaac, and Fuaga put him in the dirt. Isaac lost his footing a bit, but also most likely wasn't expecting Fuaga to treat it like a run play. Fuaga went right at Isaac and won with ease.

UCLA EDGE Laiatu Latu looked excellent once again. His cross chop has been dominant, and he had a rep against Utah OT Sataoa Laumea in which he countered a counter with relative ease. Latu's technique is remarkable and continues to put it on full display at the Senior Bowl.

Kansas OT Dominick Puni has been taking a lot of snaps at Center through these first two days of Senior Bowl practice, with no experience at the position, and has looked phenomenal. He is physical, imposing, and can definitely be an interior starter at the next level. His teammate, EDGE Austin Booker, also had a great day. Booker won on consecutive reps against Arizona OT Jordan Morgan, and put Michigan OT LaDarius Henderson on his back.

Michigan OT LaDarius Henderson hasn't been great. He has consistently given up a ton of ground, and has struggled to anchor on multiple reps. I'd like to see more out of him in practice on Day 3.

Washington OT Roger Rosengarten had a great showing for the second day in a row. He is rising.

TE/RB-LB/S 1-on-1s

Utah S/RB Sione Vaki is continuing to prove that he is a two-way threat. He looked really fluid out of the backfield, and really aggressive on the defensive side of the ball. He is really intriguing. There is a lot to like about a relentless, hungry prospect like Vaki.

Oregon State SAF Kitan Oladapo had an awesome Day 2 of practice. He locked down tight ends on multiple 1-on-1 reps. His best one came against Minnesota TE Brevyn Spann-Ford towards the end of practice. Oladapo stayed true to his job in coverage, went stride-for-stride with Spann-Ford, and came away with a nice pass breakup.

Team Reps

National Team quarterbacks were a bit stale today. The expectation would be that they would have shaken off the adjustment period from yesterday, but it carried over into today. The National Team defense has some juice throughout the team periods, but the quarterbacks missed passes on several reps. Washington QB Michael Penix Jr. has a dart to the outside to Tez Walker, but it was dropped. Oregon QB Bo Nix has a fumbled snap. Notre Dame QB Sam Hartman actually made a great recovery on a low snap and ended up running to the left for a gain, but it most likely would have been a sack in a true game.

One play I really enjoyed during team reps was when there was a pre-snap miscommunication between Oregon QB Bo Nix and Florida WR Ricky Pearsall. It was clear that Pearsall was confused as to what route to run, or perhaps there was a mix-up pre-snap since Nix struggled a bit with the relay of plays to his helmet, but it was cleaned up and Pearsall ran a crisp route which led to a nice completion.