Senior Bowl 2011 Studs and Duds: Who Helped/Hurt Their Draft Stock?
The Under Armour Senior Bowl is a peculiar setting.
Top prospects from a smorgasbord of different systems all over the nation are gathered and brought to Mobile, Alabama. There, they are given a very vanilla playbook, meshed together for just a week of practice and are subject to tons of national criticism.
In the grand scheme of things, all of these things make it very difficult to assess a player's overall skill set and draft stock.
For instance, former Florida quarterback Tim Tebow, considered arguably the greatest college player of all time, struggled mightily in last year's Senior Bowl but was still drafted in the first round and went on to finish the season as the starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos.
Nonetheless, many players, such as Washington quarterback Jake Locker (pictured above), make the trip in hopes of giving scouts an extended look at them, measuring themselves against other top talents coming out of college, and, ultimately, strengthening their draft stock.
Here is a list of some players who appeared to help, and hurt, their draft stock along the way over the last week in Mobile, Alabama.
Stock Up: Louisville RB Bilal Powell
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Derrick Locke wasn't the only running back from the bluegrass state that turned some heads Saturday's Senior Bowl.
Louisville runner Bilal Powell earned himself some money by boosting his draft stock as well.
After the five-carry, 50 yard performance he turned in, he could intrigue a lot of NFL teams in the middle rounds of April's draft.
Like Locke from Kentucky, Powell showed plenty of great vision. He doesn't quite have Locke's top-end speed, but his size (6'0", 216 lbs) is more ideal for the NFL. Once Powell made a cut and committed to a running lane, his downhill running ability was very impressive.
Stock Up: Florida State QB Christian Ponder
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Florida State quarterback Christian Ponder helped his stock this week.
Not only did Ponder's confidence seem to sky-rocket as the week progressed, his accuracy, timing and poise were all noticeable as well.
All week long, and especially in Saturday's game, Ponder seemed comfortable in the pocket and appeared to see the field well. Though no quarterback was overly impressive, Ponder clearly had the best day of all six signal-callers in Saturday's game.
At 6'2", Ponder has less-than-ideal size for an NFL quarterback, but has quick, excellent feet in the pocket and great mobility.
Ponder finished the Senior Bowl 7-13 for 132 yards and two touchdowns and was named MVP.
Stock Down: Washington QB Jake Locker
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Washington quarterback Jake Locker instantly became the center of attention this week simply because of his mere presence.
Locker was last year's version of heralded Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck: a consensus first-overall pick thought to be the future of a franchise who elected to forgo the NFL and return to school.
It has worked for some signal-callers such as Peyton Manning and Sam Bradford. It hasn't worked so well for others, such as Brian Brohm, Matt Leinart and, apparently, Locker.
With all eyes focused on Locker and how he would perform after a less-than-stellar senior season, he appeared consistently...well, inconsistent.
Locker continually missed receivers and didn't appear to make the throws scouts wanted to see him make. While under pressure, he seemed to panic and was inaccurate.
Locker's ball security skills while at Washington will more than likely be evaluated over the coming months after losing a couple fumbles during the practices this week.
During Saturday's game, in a classic example of his inconsistency, Locker showed great athleticism as he bolted from the pocket and found open space. However, he lost the ball when Mississippi State defensive end Pernell McPhee stripped him as Locker tried to put a move on him.
Locker is believed to be teetering between the first and second round, so the next couple of months will be huge for him.
There are many quarterback-needy teams that will be evaluating Locker closely, hoping that he gives them a reason to take a chance on him in the first round.
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Stock Up: Texas A&M OLB Von Miller
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Not only has Texas A&M linebacker Von Miller been the best player in Mobile this week, he has consistently been the best player on the field while making the transition from defensive end to outside linebacker.
While smoothly making that transition, Miller has been virtually unblockable this week during practices and his ability to tackle in the open field during Saturday's game was outstanding.
Miller even showed great versatility by lining up as an edge-rusher during some snaps.
Miller possesses prototypical size for the linebacker position in the NFL and displays great top-end speed to go along with it.
Of all players who played in the Senior Bowl on Saturday, Miller should be the first one drafted. He has been locked into the first round for quite some time now, but now he's making a case to break into the top ten picks.
Stock Down: Nevada QB Colin Kaepernick
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Just because Nevada quarterback Colin Kaepernick didn't do much to help himself over the past week, it doesn't mean the potential isn't there.
Because he has a lot of it.
However, Kaepernick showed this week that he still needs plenty of work.
At nearly 6'5", Kaepernick has great size, good athleticism and, most noticeably, a rocket for an arm. Conversely, Kaepernick also comes from a pistol offense at Nevada and doesn't have much experience as a dropback passer.
While he has good feet, Kaepernick's mechanics and throwing motion need work. Also, he needs to see the field, diagnose defenses and go through his progressions more quickly.
He's raw, but the upside is clearly there and his intangibles are off the charts.
There will most certainly be a team that will take a chance on Kaepernick to develop him as a project. The question is just where exactly that might be in the draft.
Stock Up: Kentucky RB Derrick Locke
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Kentucky runner Derrick Locke continues to show great potential as a third-down, change-of-pace back.
Though he comes with durability concerns over his tenure at Kentucky, Locke may have boosted his stock with an impressive performance at Saturday's Senior Bowl.
Locke showed excellent vision and quickness, bursting through holes and moving the chains for the South team.
Locke, who comes from a track & field background and once ran a 4.22 40-yard dash, did a nice job of finding holes and utilizing them by hitting them with excellent speed.
Stock Down: USC WR Ronald Johnson
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USC wide receiver Ronald Johnson was once thought to have good top-end speed. If he does, it wasn't on display this week in Mobile.
Johnson failed to show any big-play capability in both receiving and returning kicks during practices throughout the week and in Saturday's game.
Particularly, on a third-quarter kick return, Johnson not only showed no initial burst, but seemed to lack a second gear in open areas when returning the kick.
That will not fare well for him at the next level.
Stock Up: Miami WR Leonard Hankerson
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Leonard Hankerson made a name for himself at Miami as a tough receiver with good size (6'3", 213 lbs) who makes tough catches in traffic.
However, he showed much more during the past week in Mobile.
Hankerson was the best receiver throughout the week during practices and was clearly the best receiver prospect in Saturday's game as he dominated with five receptions for 100 yards receiving.
Hankerson's catches included an 18-yard touchdown and a 48-yarder to set up another score, both from quarterback Christian Ponder.
Hankerson has the massive hands that scouts love and showed what he could do with them, making all of the different types of catches throughout the week.
Stock Down: Michigan State LB Greg Jones
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It hasn't been a very good week for Michigan State linebacker Greg Jones.
Scouts went into Saturday's Senior Bowl with questions about Jones' abilities in the open field, and Jones did little to ease those concerns by whiffing a tackle on Tulsa running back Charles Clay.
Jones has shown great durability and intangibles throughout his college career at Michigan State, but needs to work on diagnosing plays and taking better angles before he can be successful at the next level.
Stock Up: North Carolina CB Kendric Burney
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Aside from all the hoopla that surrounded North Carolina's defensive unit this offseason involving improper agent-related benefits, cornerback Kendric Burney has been a bright spot not many people have been talking about.
If there was a standout player in an abysmal performance from the North squad in Saturday's game, it was probably Burney.
At just 5'9", Burney lacks ideal size and doesn't have amazing top-end speed, but proved to be a bit of a ball hawk this week, coming up with several interceptions in practices.
Burney also came up with one of the plays of the day for the North team when he stepped in front of a much bigger receiver in Miami's Leonard Hankerson to break up an apparent touchdown pass. NFL scouts have to love plays like that from an undersized corner.
Burney's size and lack of blazing speed could keep him out of the first few rounds of the draft, but he could develop into a solid slot corner at the next level.
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