Senior Bowl 2012: 5 Players Who Struggled During Practice Day 1

During the first practice day at the 2012 Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, the following five prospects struggled:

1. Alfonzo Dennard, Nebraska

Among reviews from draft experts in Mobile—SI's Tony Pauline, National Football Post's Wes Bunting, The Sporting News' Russ Lande and Matt Waldman of The New York Times' "Fifth Down Blog"—all four reported on the struggles of Dennard. 

This was from Bunting:

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He’s a guy who opposing receivers were able to routinely outpace today as he didn’t demonstrate the type of speed needed to run out of his transition vertically.

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It's still early in the process, and one bad day at practice doesn't kill a draft stock. But for Dennard to remain in the first round, he needs to clean it up in several areas.

2. Kellen Moore, Boise State

One of the more accomplished quarterbacks in NCAA history looked like just another guy during Day 1 in Mobile. Moore struggled to get zip on passes downfield, and his arm strength is going to be a serious question mark moving forward. 

Lande had this to say on Moore:

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Moore did not look like an NFL quarterback. His throwing motion was elongated, the ball lacked zip coming out of his hand and his accuracy was terrible. On numerous deep routes, the ball hung in the air, exposing his lack of arm strength.

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Needless to say, Moore has a long ways to go. 

3. Mike Brewster, Ohio State

A top-three center in this class, Brewster struggled in blocking drills during the first day. If anything, Monday's performance from Brewster ensured that Wisconsin center Peter Konz is the top player at that position.

Lande broke down Brewster:

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Brewster looked out of place compared to the other players at his position group. He consistently gets too wide as a run blocker, which prevents him from redirecting against a quick defender. Former Michigan defender Mike Martin went through and around him on nearly every play with relative ease. His weaknesses were constantly exposed in one-on-one blocking situations.

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To be considered among the top-100 picks, Brewster needs to shore things up against top defensive linemen like Martin over the course of the week.

4. Jake Bequette, Arkansas

Bequette has been an intriguing pass rushing prospect over the course of the 2011 season, but his performance in Mobile left something to be desired among 3-4 teams looking for a rush outside linebacker.

Waldman had this to say about Bequette in space:

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He really struggled in space in the team drills, especially in coverage, where he was very slow to change direction and frequently got lost against the tight end. For now, he’s not getting any looks as a pass rusher, though that could change as the week progresses.

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Not being able to play standing up could really hurt Bequette's draft stock moving forward.

5. Brian Quick, Appalachian State

Some pegged Quick as a small-school prospect who could impress among the household names from big schools. During Day 1, those expectations were never realized.

Bunting wasn't impressed:

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[He] looked a bit overwhelmed in his first day of practice vs. the jump in competition. He isn’t a naturally explosive kid, takes a bit to get up to speed and doesn’t have the second gear to simply outpace corners vertically. Plus, he was leggy out of his breaks, didn’t generate much separation on sharply breaking routes and had at least three dropped passes that I counted. Now, obviously he’s a better player than his day one performance, but I still don’t see the guy as a legit top-100 prospect.

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That's simply not the scouting report NFL GMs will want to hear from a player who didn't see top-level competition. Quick has to show something over the rest of the week to give himself a chance to be picked within the first three or four rounds.