Ten impressions from Day 2 South practice

MOBILE, Ala. -- News, notes and observations from day two at the Senior Bowl:

1. The guy who made the biggest impression on me during Tuesday’s South practice was Ole Miss RB Dexter McCluster. McCluster found ways to consistently separate during one-on-one drills, making plays both underneath and vertically down the field and was also impressive running the football between the tackles and accelerating into the open field. He may be slight, but if used correctly, this guy can create in a number of ways for an NFL offense.

2. Another Ole Miss standout was OL John Jerry, who was absolutely dominant at times during practice. He lined up at both tackle and guard, and his combination of size, length and overall lateral quickness through contact gave opposing linemen fits. He does a great job continuing to move his feet while reworking his hands in order to stay on blocks and handled anyone the South roster threw at him. A pretty impressive day for a guy who also grades out highly as a run blocker.

3. Miami tight end Jimmy Graham looked a lot more explosive off the snap than I initially thought and did a nice job all day slipping the bump off the line and cleanly getting into his routes. He’s a tight end who can also get up to speed quickly and was able to generate some vertical separation down the field. He still struggles when asked to adjust to the ball, but he’s a really intriguing prospect with a lot of upside and looks to be improving every time he sets foot on the field.

4. I’ve always considered Troy defensive end Brandon Lang one of the most overrated prospects in the draft, and Tuesday’s performance again made me feel good about my assessment. He plays too high to be an efficient bull-rush threat at the next level and doesn’t look real coordinated or instinctive when asked to work his counter-move. He was handled all day in practice and doesn’t grade out any higher than a reserve-type lineman.

5. Kentucky cornerback Trevard Lindley is a frail, undersized corner who struggled when asked to be physical with receivers in coverage Tuesday. To make matters worse, he looked uncomfortable in his back-pedal in off-coverage and simply doesn’t project as a real effective man-to-man corner in the NFL.

6. Speaking of corners out of their element, Oklahoma State DB Perrish Cox definitely looks that way. The guy struggles to sit into his drop, has a tendency to get overextended with his footwork and is stiff when asked to turn and run. He also looked uncomfortable in off-coverage all day and needs a lot of work from a technique standpoint if he hopes to hold up in man at the next level.

7. West Virginia offensive tackle Selvish Capers definitely looks the part, but the guy gets too high off the edge and displayed little anchor strength during one-on-one drills. He seems more like a zone blocking scheme-type guard to me.

8. Another West Virginia product, quarterback Jarrett Brown, appears to be the most physically gifted quarterback here. The guy can really spin the football, has a strong arm and can make some quality NFL throws. But he also has a tendency to lose sight of the strike zone and will let some throws go that make you scratch your head. The physical skill set is there, but becoming a more consistent passer is his biggest obstacle at this stage.

9. When Florida quarterback Tim Tebow was able to see the throw, I thought he did a good job accurately delivering the football. However, at this stage he simply isn’t a decisive quarterback in the pocket and really struggles when asked to anticipate throws in the pass game.

10. Baylor center J.D. Walton showed well for himself, quickly getting his hands up out of his stance, anchoring at the point and sticking to blocks through contact. He looked comfortable in pass protection throughout the entire session and, paired with his ability to run block in space, looks like another starting-caliber center prospect.

Follow me on Twitter: WesBunting

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