Florida State quarterback Christian Ponder is one of six QB’s at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, this week, and is one of the more intriguing prospects in the 2011 draft class. An injury suffered against Oklahoma in the early part of the season hampered him all season long and Ponder missed a decent amount of his senior year. He finished his Seminole career with 49 touchdown passes and 30 interceptions, though he threw 20 TD’s and just eight picks in 2010.
As we get set to wrap-up our week of coverage in Mobile, John Congemi steps up to break down some of the defensive stars of the week at the Senior Bowl. Check here for his analysis of the offensive standouts and keep reading to see who he thinks are the best defensive linemen, linebackers, and defensive backs.
Defensive Standouts, by John Congemi:
DL: Two defensive lineman caught my eye the first day of the Senior Bowl and after three days they were still practicing and playing at a high level.
University of Kentucky RB Derrick Locke ran for 887 yards and 10 touchdowns this past season, despite missing four straight games in October and November with an injury. Locke ran for over 100 yards in each of Kentucky’s first four games in 2010, including a season-high 166 yards in a 47-10 win over Akron. Locke also shined at the Swamp, running for over 100 yards in the Wildcats loss at Florida.
Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy is a winner. As a starting QB, he never lost a game in high school, and lead the Crimson Tide to an undefeated national championship season in 2009. While he and ‘Bama lost three times in 2010, he still put up impressive numbers, finishing the year with a 70.9 completion percentage, almost 3,000 yards passing, 20 touchdowns, and just five interceptions.
Titus Young, one of two wide receivers from Boise State at the Senior Bowl this week, is a 5’11″ 170lb speed guy who caught 19 passes in his final two seasons in college. In the Broncos only loss in 2010, Young did his part, catching six balls for 129 yards and a touchdown against Nevada.
Young spoke with the media earlier this week at the Senior Bowl about his size, his background, what he can bring to whatever NFL team drafts him, and more:
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You can click here for our complete Senior Bowl coverage, including video recaps and interviews.
John Congemi continues his analysis of the players that he got to see at the Senior Bowl in Mobile this week. With so much talk about adding pieces on offense for the Dolphins, we asked John to break down the running backs, wide receivers, tight ends, and offensive linemen that he’s been watching. If you want to see what he has to say about the six quarterbacks, just check out his earlier post.
If you like offensive linemen, then you definitely want to know about Wisconsin’s Gabe Carimi. Listed at 6’7″ and 327lbs., Carimi is a Wisconsin native and has been a dominant force up front for the Badgers the last several years. He stated all 13 games in 2010 at left tackle for the Badgers and when the dust settled, he had won the Outland trophy, was a consensus All-American, and the Big 10 offensive lineman of the year.
University of Miami wide receiver Leonard Hankerson has been turning heads this week in Mobile, after finishing his college career with more receiving touchdowns than any other Hurricane receiver. Ever. After catching just 17 passes and three TD’s in his first two years at UM, Hankerson began working with Dolphin great Mark Duper and ended up catching 6 touchdowns as a junior and 13 more in 2010.
A busy Wednesday in Mobile is in the books and John Congemi, who’s been keeping an eye on all the talent at the Senior Bowl, is here to break down the best of what he saw from both the North and South teams:
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You can click here for our complete Senior Bowl coverage, including video recaps and interviews.
The Dolphins beat reporter called in from Mobile to give the latest on the Dolphins coaching changes. Tune in to hear Darlington’s thoughts on Jake Locker, Christian Ponder, and other quarterback prospects that he has seen at the Senior Bowl.
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