2015 NFL Draft East-West Shrine Game Scouting Guide

The 90th annual East-West Shrine Game kicks off on Saturday, January 17 at 4 p.m. ET. It's the oldest of the collegiate all-star games, pooling over 100 seniors from schools across the country into the East and West rosters.

This week also serves as the unofficial start of draft season for NFL teams, even those still alive in the playoffs. 

Over 300 NFL scouts, coaches and personnel staff have traveled to St. Petersburg to catch the daily practice sessions. There are also lots of media covering the entire process here, from interviewing players to breaking down every detail of each practice. 

The Shrine Game doesn't feature any top-tier NFL prospects. Most of the players here are going to be selected on the draft's third day in Rounds 4-7 or will become undrafted free agents of some regard. This year's talent pool lacks the breakout stars from recent seasons such as offensive tackle Terron Armstead, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo or linebacker DeAndre Levy, but the overall depth of talent is strong. 

Here is everything you need to know about Saturday's game, as well as personal gleanings from the practice sessions and team hotel.

Coaches

Chris O'Meara/Associated Press

This year's head coaches are former NFL head men Mike Singletary and Jim Zorn.

Singletary will coach the East unit. He's best known as the middle linebacker for the Chicago Bears in the 1980s and as Jim Harbaugh's predecessor as coach of the San Francisco 49ers. Following his two-year stint running the 49ers, Singletary served as the linebackers coach for the Minnesota Vikings until 2013.

The West coach is Zorn, a former NFL quarterback most notably with the Seattle Seahawks in the late 1970s and early 80s. After serving as the quarterbacks coach for several teams, he became the Washington Redskins head coach in 2008. 

Like Singletary, he lasted two seasons as a head coach and then returned to being a position coach. Zorn was out of football last season.

East Roster

Chris O'Meara/Associated Press

Here are the players on the East squad:

Heights are rounded to nearest value from Shrine Game weigh-ins.

East Roster

Position	No.	Player	School	HT	WT
C	61	David Andrews	Georgia	6'3"	294
OG	66	Ben Beckwith	Mississippi State	6'4"	317
FS	8	Detrick Bonner	Virginia Tech	6'0"	203
QB	7	Anthony Boone	Duke	6'1"	238
RB	10	Dominique Brown	Louisville	6'2"	232
OT	79	Jamon Brown	Louisville	6'4"	330
DE	71	Anthony Chickillo	Miami (FL)	6'3"	271
CB	27	Justin Coleman	Tennessee	5'11"	184
WR	7	Andre Davis	South Florida	6'1"	207
C	63	Dillon Day	Mississippi State	6'4"	310
FB	26	Larry Dixon	Army	5'10"	237
DT	11	B.J. Dubose	Louisville	6'4"	266
LB	47	Cole Farrand	Maryland	6'3"	244
OG	70	Jon Feliciano	Miami (FL)	6'4"	335
FS	2	Parrish Gaines	Navy	6'2"	208
WR	98	Devin Gardner	Michigan	6'4"	217
OT	64	Mark Glowinski	West Virginia	6'5"	310
QB	14	Taylor Heinicke	Old Dominion	6'1"	211
LB	52	Amarlo Herrera	Georgia	6'1"	247
OT	60	Sean Hickey	Syracuse	6'6"	308
RB	27	Kenny Hilliard	LSU	6'0"	235
DT	97	Darius Kilgo	Maryland	6'4"	320
K	27	Marvin Kloss	South Florida	5'11"	196
TE	86	Khari Lee	Bowie State	6'4"	267
WR	6	Deon Long	Maryland	6'0"	188
DT	91	Derrick Lott	TN-Chattanooga	6'4"	299
RB	14	Terrence Magee	LSU	5'9"	220
CB	25	Craig Mager	Texas State	6'0"	191
FS	16	Dean Marlowe	James Madison	6'2"	206
FS	26	Ronald Martin	LSU	6'1"	217
QB	14	Hutson Mason	Georgia	6'2"	207
WR	3	Tre McBride	William & Mary	6'0	205
C	62	Shane McDermott	Miami (FL)	6'4"	302
OG	70	John Miller	Louisville	6'3"	315
OT	77	Darrian Miller	Kentucky	6'5"	293
LB	48	Deiontrez Mount	Louisville	6'5"	243
WR	25	Keith Mumphery	Michigan State	6'0"	211
LB2	54	Quayshawn Nealy	Georgia Tech	6'0"	237
FS	17	Damian Parms	Florida Atlantic	6'1"	206
DE	59	Jermauria Rasco	LSU	6'3"	259
LB	30	Edmond Robinson	Newberry	6'3"	251
P	36	Spencer Roth	Baylor	6'4"	223
LB	47	Jake Ryan	Michigan	6'3"	238
TE	13	Wes Saxton	South Alabama	6'4"	243
CB	24	Tye Smith	Towson	6'0"	191
DE	94	Za'Darius Smith	Kentucky	6'5"	173
CB	5	Damian Swann	Georgia	6'0"	180
CB	19	Cam Thomas	Western Kentucky	6'0"	195
DE	90	Davis Tull	TN-Chattanooga	6'3"	244
WR	88	Darren Waller	Georgia Tech	6'7"	242
DT	58	Leterrius Walton	Central Michigan	6'5"	321
DT	99	Daryl Waud	Western-Ontario	6'5"	294

West Roster

Chris O'Meara/Associated Press

Here are the players on the West squad:

West Roster

Position	No.	Player	School	HT	WT
OL	68	Mickey Baucus	Arizona	6'7"	309
TE	80	Blake Bell	Oklahoma	6'6"	263
CB	21	Bernard Blake	Colorado State	5'11"	177
HB	28	Malcolm Brown	Texas	6'0"	223
WR	81	Da'Ron Brown	Northern Illinois	6'0"	199
CB	26	Bryce Callahan	Rice	5'9"	184
S	1	Samuel Carter	TCU	6'0"	216
DT	91	James Castleman	Oklahoma State	6'3"	311
OL	52	Cameron Clemmons	Western Kentucky	6'6"	300
S	6	Corey Cooper	Nebraska	6'1"	209
HB	23	John Crockett	ND State	6'0"	217
DT	92	Tyeler Davison	Fresno State	6'2"	315
DE	53	Kyle Emanuel	North Dakota State	6'3"	250
S	15	Fritz Etienne	Memphis	6'1"	215
OL	69	Tayo Fabuluje	TCU	6'7"	359
QB	17	Cody Fajardo	Nevada	6'2"	222
OL	72	B.J. Finney	Kansas State	6'4"	324
LB	44	Bryce Hager	Baylor	6'1"	230
OL	74	Bobby Hart	Florida State	6'5"	336
LB	41	Benjamin Heeney	Kansas	6'0"	226
CB	20	Gregory Henderson	Colorado	5'11"	181
WR	29	Austin Hill	Arizona	6'2"	210
DT	96	Chucky Hunter	TCU	6'0"	298
DT	5	Martin Ifedi	Memphis	6'3"	274
LB	34	Taiwan Jones	Michigan State	6'2"	258
QB	10	Taylor Kelly	Arizona State	6'2"	198
OL	75	Gregory Mancz	Toledo	6'5"	307
CB	22	Bobby McCain	Memphis	5'10"	192
S	7	Tevin McDonald	Eastern Washington	5'11"	192
P	8	Darragh O'Neill	Colorado	6'1"	187
DT	58	David Parry	Stanford	6'1"	308
OL	79	Terry Poole	San Diego St.	6'5"	307
TE	85	MyCole Pruitt	Southern Illinois	6'3"	254
DL	93	Travis Raciti	San Jose State	6'4"	292
OL	54	Collin Rahrig	Indiana	6'2"	291
S	27	Jordan Richards	Stanford	5'11"	211
WR	88	Addison Richards	Regina	6'4"	209
FB	48	Aaron Ripkowski	Oklahoma	6'1"	255
WR	3	Ezell Ruffin	San Diego St.	6'0"	220
DT	99	Ryan Russell	Purdue	6'5"	267
K	32	Niklas Sade	NC State	6'3"	215
CB	16	Josh Shaw	USC	6'1"	203
OL	73	Adam Shead	Oklahoma	6'4"	340
LB	18	A.J. Tarpley	Stanford	6'0"	233
WR	12	Jordan Taylor	Rice	6'4"	204
QB	11	Dylan Thompson	South Carolina	6'2"	223
LB	55	James Vaughters	Stanford	6'2"	258
LB	51	Zachary Vigil	Utah State	6'2"	238
OL	66	Brandon Vitabile	Northwestern	6'2"	304
WR	2	Kasen Williams	Washington	6'2"	219
DT	98	Xavier Williams	Northern Iowa	6'2"	325
HB	31	Zachary Zenner	SD State	5'11"	218

Quarterbacks

Chris O'Meara/Associated Press

Quarterback is the most scrutinized position in every draft class. Unfortunately, the Shrine Game signal-callers are not doing much to engender confidence. 

The best of the crop is Taylor Heinicke from Old Dominion, on the East squad. He lacks size at a listed 6'1", which seems generous, and his arm strength is only average. Yet, he's a four-year starter with strong fundamentals, good athleticism and a great feel for the game. 

On the West, the best passer during practice sessions was Nevada's Cody Fajardo. He's a runner as much as he is a passer, though his accuracy on shorter throws stood out in comparison to Arizona State's Taylor Kelly and especially Dylan Thompson of South Carolina. Expect lots of quick, short throws from the West team. 

The other East quarterbacks are Anthony Boone from Duke and Georgia's Hutson Mason. Boone had some nice deeper throws and possesses a very smooth release. Size is an issue across the board for the Shrine quarterbacks, as noted by Joshua Gleason:

"

Anthony Boone, Dylan Thompson, Taylor Kelly all have flashes at points in their college game but so inconsistent. Kelly and Boone undersized

— Joshua Gleason (@JGleas) January 13, 2015"

At this point, none of the six are any more than a late-round pick.

Running Backs

Chris O'Meara/Associated Press

While there are several backs from prominent schools, thus far it's been two small-school studs on the West team who have stolen the buzz in practice sessions. 

Zach Zenner from South Dakota State put up some awesome numbers for the Jackrabbits, but scouts questioned his speed and ability to handle playing with the "big boys" heading to St. Pete. 

He ameliorated most fears with a solid week of practice. Zenner flashed the jets in Wednesday's session, taking a stretch run and beating the pursuit to the corner. He squared himself up nicely and took off up the sideline for a long run. 

Zenner was also good in the passing game. Pete Smith of WintheFirstPick.com detailed a play that exhibited Zenner's receiving skills:

"

Zach zenner catches a swing pass and ducks under the arm of a defender to get the ball inside the pylon as he goes out of bounds

— Pete Smith (@PeteSmithWTFP) January 12, 2015"

John Crockett from North Dakota State is easily the most popular player on either roster with the scouts and media in attendance. If they offered a Mr. Congeniality award, Crockett wins it hands down. 

He's infectiously positive and always cheering on teammates during practice reps. He also flashed some skills, as noted by Bleacher Report's Michael Schottey:

"

Dude is fast. We're talking gears on top of gears. Numerous NFL teams would surround him after every practice, and he's almost assured of a spot on a roster in a few months. He's a bit of a straight-up-and-down runner, but he's got enough lateral athleticism to make guys miss even if he's providing a bigger target. 

"

On the East squad, the best prospect is Terrence Magee from LSU. Magee is an assertive north-south runner with good burst through the hole and some violence to his movement. He outshined former Tigers teammate Kenny Hilliard, who is more of a heavy-legged thumper, in practice sessions.

Wide Receivers

Chris O'Meara/Associated Press

There are several draft-worthy wide receivers participating.

Washington's Kasen Williams (pictured) is using this week to help redeem his fallen stock. A nasty leg injury in 2013 and an unproductive 2014 took the luster off a player who was highly regarded entering his junior season. He was up-and-down in West practices but has a great attitude about earning his previously strong rep back with hard work. 

Tre McBride from William & Mary has represented the FCS level nicely. Rotoworld's Josh Norris provided insight on McBride's physical characteristics, courtesy of Optimum Scouting:

"

WR Tre McBride 6'0 3/4, 205 lbs. 9" hands. 31 1/4" arms. (via @OptimumScouting) Some might nitpick hand size. It never looked like a problem

— Josh Norris (@JoshNorris) January 15, 2015"

McBride doesn't have great speed but has the savvy to create space for himself and consistently flashed good hands, especially on Thursday's sparsely attended East practice. 

Perhaps the most intriguing player for scouts is former Michigan quarterback Devin Gardner. He played receiver some for the Wolverines and is making the transition back after his less-than-impressive performance under center in 2014. 

He's flashed potential, showing he is an impressive athlete with breakaway speed in the open field and a good frame. Gardner has also struggled with his hands at times, with several passes clanking off his shoulder pads during East practices. His positional transition is one of the more popular stories emanating from this week.

Others who made positive impressions during the week include:

• Arizona's Austin Hill for the West
• Darren Waller from Georgia Tech, all 6'6" and 240 pounds of him on the East
• Da'Ron Brown of Northern Illinois, who made several leaping catches in West practices
• Maryland's Deon Long, perhaps the fastest player on the East squad

Tight Ends

Chris O'Meara/Associated Press

Tight end also features a former big-time quarterback making a positional change. Blake Bell was Oklahoma's starting quarterback for much of the 2013 season before the "Belldozer" gave way to Trevor Knight and moved to tight end last fall. 

He made a good business decision. NFL.com's Gil Brandt noted that scouts were impressed with Bell during practice:

"

Scouts I talked to said @OU_Football TE Blake Bell put on a show at East-West practice today. 6-6, 259. Former QB. Good-looking prospect.

— Gil Brandt (@Gil_Brandt) January 13, 2015"

The other tight ends appear to be limited-role players at the next level. Southern Illinois' MyCole Pruitt is an impressive physical specimen but shorter than ideal at just 6'2" and not overly fast or quick. Both Bell and Pruitt line up primarily in-line for the West.

The East team features the best athlete of the tight end bunch in Wes Saxton from South Alabama. It didn't always translate well in drills, however. They also have a more developmental type of prospect in Khari Lee from Bowie State, as discussed by Ryan Booher:

"

One of the small school guys who really stood out was Khari Lee from Bowie St. Showed tenacity as a blocker when used inline

— Ryan Booher (@bootang25) January 13, 2015"

He looks and plays bigger than his listed 235 pounds, though Lee is indeed at his best as a blocker.

Offensive Linemen

Chris O'Meara/Associated Press

The centers are the strength of the offensive linemen, particularly on the West roster. 

All three of the West centers appear draftable. Kansas State's B.J. Finney is a solid all-around pivot. Toledo's Greg Mancz is handily the most agile center in this entire draft. Northwestern product Brandon Vitabile isn't technically pretty but makes up for it with tenacity and smarts.

Also on the West, Oklahoma guard Adam Shead showed great anchor strength and decent punch in drills. Goliath TCU tackle Tayo Fabuluje certainly presents intriguing size, as Emory Hunt of FootballGameplan.com noted:

"

#ShrineGame West Notes: #TCU Tayo Fabuluje is very mobile for a 6'6 363 OT. And he was "Cascade" yesterday as he washed many DL in 1-on-1s.

— Emory Hunt (@FBallGameplan) January 13, 2015"

Fabuluje had more losses than wins in drills, but it's hard to argue with the potential his size and brute strength offer at right tackle. 

The East doesn't have the depth of offensive line talent but does feature a couple of intriguing prospects.

Kentucky tackle Darrian Miller had standout practices on both Monday and Tuesday. He consistently showed the best technique of any East lineman. He projects better at guard in the NFL. 

Another Miller, this one John from Louisville, also showed enough power and aptitude to merit a later-round draft pick. NFL Draft Blitz provided some analysis on Miller's playing style and attributes:

"

John Miller (Louisville)is a tenacious, physical run blocker that uses his hands well and he showed that on Day 3 @Shrine_Game #shrinegame

— NFL Draft Blitz (@NFLDraftBlitz) January 14, 2015"

Louisville is one of three schools with two offensive linemen on the East roster. Miami features Jon Feliciano and Shane McDermott, while Mississippi State has center Dillon Day and guard Ben Beckwith. Tackle Jamon Brown joins Miller from Louisville.

Defensive Ends

Chris O'Meara/Associated Press

There have been a couple of standouts from practice sessions.

Martin Ifedi from Memphis (pictured) has been the most impressive edge player on the West. Scouts love to see pass-rushers who can transition speed into power, and nobody has done that better in practices than Ifedi. There is polish to his pass-rushing moves. 

Another West end who stood out is Kyle Emanuel, a North Dakota State product. He's a very different kind of player from Ifedi—a more workmanlike presence who gets by on guile, effort and anticipation. Bleacher Report's Dan Hope compared him to New England Patriot Rob Ninkovich, and the shoe fits. Emanuel looks more like a 3-4 outside backer than 4-3 end in the NFL.

On the East, Miami's Anthony Chickillo showed improvement every day. He made NFL.com's Mike Huguenin's list of most impressive players. His ability to quickly win leverage and finish with power stood out.

Kentucky's Za'Darius Smith earned a lot of fans for his strong all-around play. He put a nice bow on East practices with an expertly executed twist inside to get a clean shot at the quarterback on the penultimate rep of Thursday's final session. His maturity and leadership also stood out, as Bleacher Report's John Owning pointed out:

"

The leader of the DL was Za'Darius Smith. Always first in line and most vocal of group.

— John Owning (@johnowning) January 12, 2015"

On the West, Purdue's Ryan Russell showed a lot of physical potential. He's got very long arms and moves well for a taller guy, characteristics noted in analysis shared by Emory Hunt of FootballGameplan.com :

"

#ShrineGame West Notes: I think #Purdue's DL Ryan Russell can play multiple spots up front. Complete understanding of how to play w/length

— Emory Hunt (@FBallGameplan) January 13, 2015"

Another West edge player to watch is San Jose State's Travis Raciti, who is a natural 5-technique for defenses playing in a three-man front in the NFL. He's also the long snapper.

Defensive Tackles

Chris O'Meara/Associated Press

Once again, the small-schoolers stood out.

Derrick Lott from UT-Chattanooga has really elevated his profile with a strong week of practices for the East. Originally a Georgia Bulldog, he thrived in the FCS, and it translated quite well to the field at Shorecrest Academy where East practices took place. DraftBrowns.com's Justin Higdon discussed Lott's good practice day, noting the offensive line had difficulty double-teaming him on several occasions:

"

UTC DL Derrick Lott had a good day of practice. OL couldn't even double team him on a couple of reps

— Justin Higdon (@afc2nfc) January 13, 2015"

Fellow FCS-level tackle Xavier Williams, from Northern Iowa, earned buzz with the West team. He has the size and technical prowess to make the bigger jump to the NFL. B/R's John Owning provided analysis regarding Williams' performance in practice:

"

Xavier Williams has looked great today. Great production at UNI. Great strength and knows how to use his length. Disruptive all practice

— John Owning (@johnowning) January 13, 2015"

Teams looking for a pure pass-rushing tackle will have interest in Fresno State's Tyeler Davison. He's very quick off the snap and possesses a wicked swim move, but he looked pretty one-dimensional in West practices. 

The Canadian representative on the East roster is Darryl Waud, and he acquitted himself nicely. Waud, from Western University (Ontario), was recently listed as the CFL's top Canadian prospect, but he showed he might have some NFL in his future too. 

Leterrius Walton from Central Michigan is a player with a great deal of athletic potential, but he doesn't appear polished enough to make a team as a rookie. He did impress scouts with his physical tools and willing attitude, and the Chippewa tackle did show a knack for being around the ball.

Linebackers

Chris O'Meara/Associated Press

One of the week's biggest winners, Michigan State's Taiwan Jones excelled in both coverage and pass-rush drills for the West. He looks the part and has solid game tape from his Spartans career to reinforce how strong he looked in every session. 

While he struggled with physicality and playing the whole field in practices, Ben Heeney from Kansas had some momentum headed into the week, as CollegeFootball 24/7 shared:

"

Conversations with personnel men yielded same result: (Ben) Heeney can play -- @LanceZierlein http://t.co/sbPICFCqHF pic.twitter.com/UZfm40yiwI

— CollegeFootball 24/7 (@NFL_CFB) January 14, 2015"

On the East roster, the top linebacking prospect is Michigan's Jake Ryan. He's strictly a two-down player in the NFL—watching him in coverage was downright painful—but he's good at snuffing out inside runs and has some pop behind his pads. 

Maryland's Cole Farrand was a tackling machine for the Terrapins, and he had his moments for the East squad as well. Like Ryan, he's a major liability playing in space but can be effective in tighter quarters. He's really easy to spot with his flowing mane extending halfway down his back.

Cornerbacks

Chris O'Meara/Associated Press

USC's Josh Shaw is a known commodity for many, but unfortunately, it's for the wrong reason. This week in drills, he looked fully recovered from his ankle injury and definitely passed the eyeball test. Note the muscle tone in the picture above, and Shaw isn't shy about using his strength. 

Colorado corner Greg Henderson has some impressive game tape, notably against Jaelen Strong and Arizona State, and he earned a lot of buzz on the West sidelines. Here he is in action from Wednesday's practice:

"

Colorado CB Greg Henderson in a drill. He has impressed NFL guys this week https://t.co/WIfSC4Zk4z

— Jeff Risdon (@JeffRisdon) January 14, 2015"

Craig Mager from Texas State opened some eyes with his plucky play in East drills. Like Henderson, he's slighter of build than scouts typically prefer, but he proved he could disrupt big Darren Waller with a jam on Thursday. 

Damian Swann's ball skills really stood out on the East. The Georgia product is very aggressive in going after the ball in the air. He also has a good feel and anticipation for routes and receiver breaks. 

This is the deepest position on the East. Tennessee's Justin Coleman, Western Kentucky's Cam Thomas and Towson's Tye Smith are all legitimately draft-worthy prospects, though all had mixed results throughout the week.

Safeties

Chris O'Meara/Associated Press

This is perhaps the deepest position between the two rosters. 

The East features some impressive talents. Damian Parms from Florida Atlantic is a coverage safety who consistently showed up in passing drills for his crisp footwork and instincts on the back end.

Even though he broke his hand in November, he caught the ball like a receiver in drills all week long. His coverage skills are in high demand in the increasingly pass-happy NFL. 

Navy's Parrish Gaines also flashed some coverage skills for the East. It makes sense because he was a starting cornerback earlier in his Middies career. In fact, Gaines expressed a real openness to move back to corner when I interviewed him after Wednesday's practice. At 6'2" and a chiseled 215 pounds, he fits the profile of the bigger press-man corners teams covet. 

On the West squad, TCU's Sam Carter immediately stood out for his impressive size. He was also an immediate leader, evident when the team walked off the bus for Monday's practice. Carter had some good practice sessions and showed initiative, per Ryan Booher:

"

Sam Carter was the 1st guy in line in every individual drill. Looks bigger than he is. Showed plus movement skills

— Ryan Booher (@bootang25) January 14, 2015"

Fritz Etienne from Memphis is even bigger, and he proved he has the movement skills and field awareness to make an impact at the next level. The Philadelphia Eagles team website did a nice feature on Etienne. 

A couple of safeties who received mixed reviews from the practice sessions are LSU's Ronald Martin for the East and Jordan Richards of Stanford for the West.

Special Teams

Chris O'Meara/Associated Press

This group has underwhelmed in practices, though to be fair, the place-kickers have had little chance to show off their ability.

Colorado punter Darragh O'Neill was the most impressive specialist on the West team. He boomed kicks on Wednesday and has some directional kicking ability. 

On the East, Marvin Kloss from South Florida showed a big leg for the Bulls. He only got a few precious attempts during practices on Thursday, missing one from 35 yards where he appeared to kick the ground first, but he nailed every other effort high above the crossbar. 

NFL coaches will be carefully watching the coverage and blocking units, as that is the ticket to an active roster spot for most of the players here. Keep in mind, most of these players haven't played extensively on special teams during college, so this is a great opportunity to show off more NFL-ready value.

Players to Watch

Chris O'Meara/Associated Press

Here are some of the more intriguing players to watch during Saturday's game:

Devin Gardner

As noted earlier, Gardner is making the switch from quarterback to wide receiver with the East. He's the most recognizable name for the casual fan, and he's shown enough during practices to merit a longer look. When watching, note if he's consistently getting open and if he uses his body to help catch the ball. 

Tyeler Davison

He has a favorable matchup in the game, as the West defensive tackle has way too much speed and initial quickness for the pedestrian interior linemen on the East squad. If the Fresno State product can finish some plays in the backfield, his stock will only rise. 

Darren Waller

The Georgia Tech wideout really stands out at 6'6" and 240 pounds. Look for the East QBs to look his way in the red zone, but he had some issues creating space for himself in drills. He might have a brighter NFL future as a tight end, where his lack of suddenness and long strides in and out of breaks are less of a negative. 

Andre Davis

He figures to be a fan favorite, playing as South Florida's all-time leading receiver. That can add pressure to perform, and given the shaky quarterback play, it could frustrate Davis, who knows a little about that from his USF days. He was a vocal fixture in practices. 

Tayo Fabuluje

He already earned a call-up to the Senior Bowl next week, which indicates NFL personnel want a more in-depth look at him against stiffer competition. As such, the TCU offensive tackle should dominate with his astonishing length and bulk. If he can't handle the speedier East edge-rushers, such as Za'Darius Smith or B.J. Dubose, it's not going to be pretty in Mobile next week.

Practice Winners

Chris O'Meara/Associated Press

Winning in practice sessions indicates players who raised their profiles or draft stock with performances in practices and interviews, though they might not necessarily have been the most impressive players on the field. 

Ten players who helped themselves this week, in no particular order, are:

1. Greg Henderson
2. Tre McBride
3. Za'Darius Smith
4. Daryl Waud
5. Taiwan Jones
6. Craig Mager
7. Fritz Etienne
8. Josh Shaw
9. John Miller
10. Terrence Magee 

Practice Losers

Chris O'Meara/Associated Press

As with the winners, the losers from the practice sessions aren't always the worst performers. Rather, they are the players who did the least to augment their draft stock and profiles.

One of the ways players can "lose" is by showing they are too limited athletically to make the transition to the NFL. That was certainly true of Michigan linebacker Jake Ryan. He was repeatedly exposed in any drill that required him to do anything other than run defense inside the box, as DraftInsider.net's Tony Pauline discussed: 

"

Jake Ryan/Michigan just cannot make plays in coverage. Struggles staying with TES/RBS. Two down defender.

— Tony Pauline (@TonyPauline) January 13, 2015"

Another way to lose is to keep making the same mental mistakes or failing to implement the coaching techniques in drills. LSU defensive end Jemauria Rasco continually lined up offside. He also kept misfiring with his hand placement, despite repeated instructions from the East coaching staff to not swing his arms back so far or wide. 

The failure to adjust to the differences between college and pro rules flummoxed Eastern Washington safety Tevin McDonald, as noted by Dan Hope at Buffalo Bills Draft on Tuesday:

"

Eastern Washington’s Tevin McDonald has been consistently physical—a little too physical—with opposing receivers in West practice. While he has done a great job in press coverage of getting on his man and keeping receivers from getting clean releases off the line, he has failed to release his contact after five yards, which leads to penalties in NFL games.

Clayton Lopez, the defensive backs coach for the West squad, lectured McDonald on numerous occasions about how he must learn how to avoid illegal contact penalties.

"

Despite those lectures, on the first two reps in Wednesday's practice, Lopez once again had to loudly remind the grabby McDonald to know of his field position. 

It's important to keep in mind this is just one piece in a much larger evaluation puzzle. Yet the Shrine Game is a critical cornerstone for many of these players who have received less exposure than the more prominent seniors and underclassmen.