← The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL
The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL
Building the Beast: Who's turning heads at the Senior Bowl?
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- [00:01]
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- [01:07]
Dane Brugler
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- [01:09]
Dave Hellman
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- [01:41]
Dave Hellman
Welcome to another episode of Building the Beast. I am your host Dave Hellman and we are on location this week. Dane Brugler is on his All Star game circuit. He was in Dallas Fort Worth for the East West Shrine Bowl. He's currently in Mobile, Alabama for the 20 Senior Bowl. And we got a lot to get to. There's prospects galore, there's edge rushers, there's quarterbacks worth talking about. And Dane is on hand to give us a firsthand account. Really fun episode with Dane. Let's get right to it. All right, Dan. Well, I gotta say I am incredibly jealous, man. Because while I'm just up here freezing and coping with the end of the NFL season in Chicago, you're watching live football. You are coming to us live. You were gracious enough to set up at your hotel after the first day of Senior bowl practice. Not only that, but you were in Frisco for Shrine bowl practices earlier this week. So I know it's not warm anywhere, but slightly warmer climates, plus the ability to watch some live football. It sounds pretty good to me.
- [02:50]
Dane Brugler
Keyword slightly. Because it is, it is crazy how the. Cause usually this trip is a warm trip, but especially compared to what we're used to in the north. But man, it's been a rough trip weather wise. So I went to Frisco. I was in Frisco for a few days for the East West Shrine Game and then actually changed my flight to get out of there a little bit earlier before the storm hit because there were 70% of flights out of DFW were canceled. And so tried to stay ahead of that. But yeah, now I'm in Mobile today. Tuesday's practice, about 45 degrees, so not the warmest tonight. Packed for a light breeze but not for 40 degree weather. So sitting out there and for five hours, you know, but it beats working for a living, so I'm not going to complain too much.
- [03:42]
Dave Hellman
We checked in with you yesterday when we wanted to get our ducks in a row about doing this show and make sure everything was good. And I was, I'll be honest, I was a little bit worried about you with all of the travel advisories and hearing everything about cancellations and I know DFW got hit hard with ice and snow, but I should have known better. I should have known that you would not be denied with this, with this road swing to see as many of these prospects as you could.
- [04:07]
Dane Brugler
No, it's a, it's such a big stepping stone in this process, being able to see some of these guys up close that I haven't seen in person yet, talk to some of these guys I haven't talked to yet. And you know, these two all star games put together, probably 90% of them will be drafted and 100% of them will be in a camp. So, you know, these are guys that need to get eyes on and need to figure out and eager to do that the rest of this week here at the Senior Bowl.
- [04:37]
Dave Hellman
So Shrine bowl practice is wrapped up. Actually, as we're recording this, the Shrine bowl is kicking off on Tuesday night. Lot of interesting names. I would encourage you, if you haven't, to go check out our conversation with Eric Galco, the director of, of player personnel for the Shrine bowl, get you up to speed on all things in Frisco and then it's right onto mobile. So you wrote a story for TheAthletic.com highly encourage everybody to go check that out too about the biggest storylines in Mobile this week. So I'm, I'm debating how I want to do this because I mean, we could do the cliche thing. We could start with the quarterback. And Garrett Nussmeier out of LSU is going to be one of the biggest names at Mobile this week. He went into the season with major, major hype as one of the top senior quarterbacks. The season could not have gone any, any worse for him and now he's here trying to redeem himself. We could start there, but I don't, I don't want to, to be honest with you, I want to get back to the roots of you and me talking draft stuff. And I want you to tell me about the position drills at Senior bowl practice on Tuesday specifically. Cause we talked to Drew Fabianich, the director of the Senior bowl last week, and he was talking about how deep and how good this edge rusher class is and you got a chance to look at it today. So let's start there with what you actually saw at practice today because I got to imagine it was fun.
- [06:07]
Dane Brugler
No doubt. And it can be tough in these one on ones, especially when it's tough to be a corner, it's tough to be a tackle when you are on an island one on one. And not every rep, not every situation is exactly how things would go in a game. And so you're really at a disadvantage. And especially because this is a really good edge group and a pretty good wide receiver group and I think that's how it's played out. Even with no Reuben Bane who accepted his invite but then later pulled out. Aem Mezador, David Bailey, a lot of these edge rushers ended up not being here, but the ones that are here I thought performed pretty well. TJ Parker from Clemson was here, a guy that man back in the preseason we were talking about maybe a top 10, top 15 type of pick. He didn't have that type of season this year, but now it's okay. Can he get back into that first round conversation with how he does starting this week in Mobile and then at the combine based on the first day, pretty good start because he did a nice job using his power because he's not a speed guy, you know, he is a 6 3, 260, 265 pound guy that wins with power with his hands and he did that consistently and I think it was in team drills. Went right over Trey Zun at left tackle, caught him with his feet up in the air and just planted him on his back. Then in one on ones he won more than, than a few times using that leverage, using those hands. So TJ Parker helped himself, I thought in practice one Derrick Moore from Michigan, same type of deal. Moore is just one of those guys that I really like. Not because he's great at anything, but he's good at everything. You know, he's not going to have that one distinguishing trait that stands out, but he's just, well, round, did solid. Just check the box all the way around. 6 4, 255 pounds. He had a good first day of practice. You see the power, you see, you know, the way he can use his hands getting underneath the pads of blockers. And so he, he's timing is, is really impressive. So not the most violent, but when he does connect, you see the power. And so Derek Moore, TJ Parker, those two guys specifically stood out among these pass rushers.
- [08:37]
Dave Hellman
I don't want to, I don't even, I don't know who it was and I don't want to know because I don't want to single the guy out because that's not fair. Like the one on one drills are, they're designed to help receivers and edge rushers. We say that every year, but man, there's a video and a photo going viral as we speak of TJ Parker long arming this poor guy in, in the, in the one on one drills and just, I mean he's, he's just got him up on a, on a poster and it's, it's pretty, it's pretty great. But like I, every year, right, we.
- [09:10]
Dane Brugler
Get one of the, like last year is Mike Green going up against Josh Connerly, right, Where just you catch him in the right spot and it's just, it's bad news for the tackle. And look, Connerly ended up still being a first round pick drafted ahead of Mike Green. So you know, but for these tackles you are put in a really disadvantageous spot. And so scouts know that, coaches know that, teams know that it's all about digging yourself out. And really you're playing defense as an offensive tackle. It's just, that's, that's part of how this drill works.
- [09:44]
Dave Hellman
So it's only one day of practice. If you didn't see anything that jumps out at you, that's totally okay. But a couple other guys I would want to highlight from this are Missouri. Zion Young is down there, a guy that we've talked a lot about, Alabama's LT Overton, I believe is there. And Texas Tech's Romello height. So not David Bailey, but Romello height, another big piece of that Texas Tech front. So lot of options here to, to be looking at if you, if you find yourself in need of an edge rusher.
- [10:16]
Dane Brugler
Well, and Romello Hyde, I was kind of worried about what he was going to come in and weigh in at. Cause in the summer scouts had him at like 225. He was a good 235 here, which still not great for an edge rusher, but still a little bit better than what we thought it could be. And he, he plays bigger than he looks and we saw that today during drills. Zion Young is a good sized defensive end and not another one of these guys that's not going to win with pure speed. It's more with timing and just understanding how to beat the tackle. One on one, combat. And so Zion Young, he didn't necessarily jump out today, but definitely eager to watch him the rest of the week. But yeah, this is LT Overton, the other guy you mentioned. This is a big week for him because the Flashes with him our first round and this was true last year, and scouts really hope this 2025 season, his senior year, he would turn those Flashes into more consistent production. It just didn't happen. It was more the Flashes where you watch his 10 best plays, you're like, all right, yeah, this is obvious a first rounder, right? But when you watch snap to snap and just the full body of work, you don't see that necessarily from LT Overton. So hopefully this week he can maybe be a little more consistent with his impact.
- [11:37]
Dave Hellman
It's kind of the story of Alabama's year, isn't it, where I know I'm, I know I'm not crazy. They got a lot of talented players, but the consistency and showing up for evaluators I think is going to be a big part of it. Overton is one of those guys, specifically at the Senior Bowl. Okay, I have, I have done, I have appeased the nerdy side of me, but I do have to, I have to pay the proverbial bills here. And I am, I'm curious for a variety of reasons, but on top of my own rooting interests, we talked Drew Fabianich last year or last week about the Senior bowl. And if Yousef is underselling it when he talks about Garrett Nuss Meyer, what he's been doing to get ready for this opportunity and how healthy he might be, because let's face it, regardless of what Brian Kelly and everybody else wanted to say at the time, Garrett Nussmeier just did not look right when he was still starting games at lsu. So again, I don't want to go overboard off of one afternoon of practice. But, but what have you seen and what is at stake for Garrett Nussmeier? So this week in Mobile.
- [12:43]
Dane Brugler
Yeah, and I don't want to go overboard either, especially it's the first day. Usually I try to give the quarterbacks a lot of grace on their first day. They've never thrown these receivers, you know, it's just, it's a very new environment. It's a tough situation to just be dropped into. And so I want to see you get better with day one, day two, day three, just show that development, that progression throughout the week. But just on going off of Tuesday's practice, Nuss Meyer clearly the best quarterback here. Clearly. And you see the, the ball, the way it comes off his hand, you see the anticipation, putting the ball in spots where his guy can make a play. So I, I think for a guy that came in as obviously the top quarterback here, I don't think there's much debate about that. So you expect him to look good and he did. And I, the way the rest of the week goes, I would expect him to get even more comfortable. And it just, it looks a lot different than the Garrett Nussmeier we saw back in November and when LSU was really struggling to get going on offense and so good sign for him. Hopefully we see him continue to build these days and hopefully all these quarterbacks. Diego Pavia was actually, you know, pretty good. There was a lot of, like I said, given these guys grace on the first day, the running back, quarterback exchanges like, stuff like that, they need to fix the ball, hit the ground too many times. But in terms of timing and putting the ball where receivers can go make a play, Pavia did a nice job. I know there's a lot of lot made of his official weigh ins, but I don't know, let's, let's talk, let's.
- [14:22]
Dave Hellman
Talk about it because I mean you can wave off a lot of things, but Diego Pavia measuring in just shy of five, ten officially. So five, nine and seven eighths. Does that, does that matter? I mean, I'm talking to a guy, I mean you've been very consistent about Diego Pavia's draft prospects this entire time. So I mean, in the context of a guy that you're drafting on day three, regardless if he gets drafted at all, do you think that matters?
- [14:51]
Dane Brugler
But any, our listeners already knew he was Going to be under 5 10. Right? I mean, like our, we. Because we have talked about what he was in the spring and you know, like. So it shouldn't be that much of a shock for the, the people that listen to this podcast now. Does it matter? Of course it matters. You just. There's not many quarterbacks in the NFL who were under 510, under under 200 pounds. That was maybe a little more surprising to me than the height. We knew he was short in the spring he was closer to 210. Now he's under 200 pounds and it's just not a great combination. It's just going to take the right, the right situation for. Because there's only so many teams that are going to be willing to take a chance on him in the draft and it's just going to take the right sequence of events for that, that team to be looking for a quarterback when you get the rounds five to seven and be willing to roll the dice on Pavia at that point. But like I said, I want to give him credit because I thought he threw the ball pretty well in, in day one, Taylor Green was a little up and down from Arkansas. You know, overall, these quarterbacks I'm eager to watch two days just to see who gets better from day one and who can put together the most consistency. And based off of the first practice, I'd say it's a, it's a pretty good start for Nuss Meer.
- [16:13]
Dave Hellman
One guy you did mention in your story that I want to shout out, just because he's the least likely for the average fan to have seen, I would say would be Cole Payton out of North Dakota State.
- [16:25]
Dane Brugler
Right.
- [16:27]
Dave Hellman
Measuring in at A, at 6 to 2, 29. And again, like, yes, let's not overreact to one day of practice, but we've seen what the Senior bowl can do for. I hate to call North Dakota State a small school because we know how good they've been at the FCS level, but we've seen what the Senior bowl can do for guys that don't come from blue blood programs. I mean, Gray Zable out of North Dakota State just did it last year. And I don't mean that to say that Cole Payton would be a first round prospect, but this seems like a guy who has a ton to gain with some good practices and, and good performances against players like this.
- [17:05]
Dane Brugler
Oh, I mean, he's here for a reason, right? I mean, in North Dakota State's had a pretty decent run of quarterbacks getting drafted. I think what three of Their last four starters have been drafted in the NFL. So you know and that's going back that Carson Wentz and Trey Lance and you know so I like you said he's not going to be a first rounder like those guys were but he's still going to be somebody that has a shot to get drafted. And I can't help but see Michael Penix with him and maybe it's the lefty thing that's messing with my mind but you know he's also because he has a pretty good arm and he can sling it. I mean he will throw it, you know those far out routes and some of the deep overs but he also scattershot as well kind of like Michael Pennx. And so I can't help but see Michael Pennix with Cole Payton. But yeah this is a big week for him just to see him how he does with with you know, better competition on a more consistent basis. There's a couple small the small school thing is is big for the Senior bowl for these all star games in general just to see and we see few of them these days because if you're good enough chances are you transferred up to FBS and probably even a Power 5 school. But some of these guys stay put and you know for the Cole Paytons and a few of these other guys this is a big opportunity for him down here. The John Carroll wide receiver Montgomery Look I'm all I'm a D3 guy as much as I dislike John Carroll because I'm a mountain Union guy. He can't he showed up today and made some noise. He created a little bit of a buzz with the way he played. He's not a big guy, six foot, just under £200 but he could run and he won the catch point more than a few times. So small school definitely a theme of this week. Even though we don't have as many of the non FBS guys as we usually do.
- [18:56]
Dave Hellman
Tyron Montgomery out of John Carroll which so he's either gonna break onto the scene as a player or he's gonna be somebody's passing game coordinator here in the next three years based on or.
- [19:09]
Dane Brugler
A future GM like the John Carroll.
- [19:13]
Dave Hellman
Illuminati in the NFL is wild. So I'm definitely circling Tyron Montgomery's name. One last thing I want to I'm gonna take a break but I do just I want to hit on that with Nuss Meyer really quickly is just the idea of it's weird to think about this guy's ceiling in an environment like this where, I mean, like we said, the season couldn't have gone worse. And it's hard to imagine that he would get drafted too highly based on that. But we know the talent is there. We know that the 2024 tape is definitely up and down, but, but very, very exciting compared to what we got this year. He's a coach's son. He's Doug Nussmeier's son. Longtime quarterbacks coach and offensive play call, offensive coordinator, offensive play caller in college and the NFL.
- [20:00]
Dane Brugler
Right.
- [20:01]
Dave Hellman
If teams fall in love with this guy, it's, I mean, in a draft where there's like only two quarterbacks definitively above him, not trying to sell him as a first round guy, but it's, it's wild to think what his ceiling could be if this draft process goes really well.
- [20:17]
Dane Brugler
I think it's really unsettled at this point just because a lot of teams loved him over the summer. And even though that love was maybe pushed to the side, it didn't go away. A lot of teams still really like Garrett Nussmeier and for all the reasons you just mentioned, you know, he's not a big guy. He's six one, just over 200 pounds. You know, he's a good athlete, but not a difference making athlete. He, what really separates him is the AR arm talent and then just the command of the offense, that's what really separates him. And that command of the offense comes from exactly what you just said. Being the son of a coach and growing up in just learning how to play the position, you know, he, he, he received his graduate degree in quarterback playmaking at a very young age. And so Nussmeier is going to be if he stacks good tape from this week, week or day after day practice. After practice. Yeah, I mean he's going to be and it's, it'll help that this is just a weak class where you have Fernando Mendoza, who's going to be the number one overall pick, and then it's anybody's guess where the next quarterback comes off the board. Most likely going to be Ty Simpson. Now, is that going to be at pick 20? Could it be a pick 35? I mean, I think that's what we're going to try to figure out here the next few months. But Then who's Quarterback 3I right now, if the draft were today, I'd say pretty confidently that's going to be Garrett Nussmeier. But where he's going to be drafted, that's where I don't have any confidence at all. I would guess it would be like mid third round. That'd be my guess right now. But again, like you said, if he has a good week and he keeps, you know, stacking these practices, could he get into the second round? Sure, why not? I mean, could he get in Tyler Shuck territory, you know, right around the 40th pick or so? Yeah, you. You can't rule that out either. So, yeah, I think this is a big opportunity for nuss Mike.
- [22:15]
Dave Hellman
Let me flip on some of these practices on NFL Network and see him rip a couple missiles and I'll. I'll be back to my reckless ways in no time at all. All right, we're going to take a quick break and after that, I've got. I'm just going to pepper Dane with names I want to know about at the Senior bowl right after this.
- [22:33]
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- [25:03]
Dave Hellman
All right, Dane, I'm going to do exactly what I said. I got the Senior bowl roster in front of me and I've got your article in front of me as well. And I'm just going to ask you about guys that I'm curious about. Let's start with a guy that we both loved heading into the season and unfortunately another guy where injuries just got in the way. But I was ecstatic to see that Florida's Caleb Banks took a Senior bowl invite and I was even happier to hear that he's healthy enough to do stuff and man, I'm going back to 2024. But my God, what a disruptive player when he was healthy last year and so curious what you've seen and curious again, very similar to Garrett Nussmeier even though they have very different jobs of just how can a guy's a guy like this ceiling be when, when you don't have much of a 2025 season but get in front of some evaluators and kick the right guy's asses and you never know what can happen.
- [26:04]
Dane Brugler
Very different body types as well. Caleb, Caleb is so impressive in person. Just when you see him in person and you see how big he is and He's a legit six six, 335 pounds. Just a massive, massive dude. And it's, it's all good weight. Like it's not, it's not all in his like this is something that happens with scouting is you legitimately and this is why scouts show up early for just guys stretching you body shame. Okay. And it's not something that you necessarily are proud of, but it's part of the report and you got, okay, he's got a little bit too much weight in his belly. He's got, you know, a little too much weight in this section. Whatever. But the thing with Caleb Banks is from the calves to the bubble to the shoulders, it's well distributed that £335 is really well put together in that frame. And to see him move the way he does with the power, the length, it's. This is why even though he missed most of the year, he's still in that first round conversation. It's just hard to find guys that look like him, that move like him. And just talking to before this week, talking to who he was training with, how motivated he was to get right for. Because he came back late in the year, played what, two games? I think late in the year for Florida. But still I, I think a lot of guys in his position would have skipped this. Let's just get ready for the combine. No, he wanted to train extra hard to make sure he was good to go for this week because he knew just how much it could help him just to see, for scouts to see him back out there. So Caleb Banks right there in that conversation to be the highest drafted player that's out of this game.
- [27:58]
Dave Hellman
Jumping over to cornerbacks. There's two guys I wanted to talk about for similar reasons. I think they both qualify under the radar is not the way to describe it, but guys that maybe aren't getting talked about as much. And we've talked a lot about the top of the cornerback position and we've talked plenty about Tennessee's Jermad McCoy who didn't have a 2025 season and is not at the Senior bowl cause he's an underclassman. His teammate Colton Hood is there and I feel like he gets lost in the shuffle when you're talking about the guys at the top of the cornerback position or at least he does for me. And then a guy that you've talked about several times is at the Senior Bowl. That would be Chris Johnson out of San Diego State, who he seems like he's got a, a lot of fans in the hipster football community. Like the number of people that have told me, yeah, yeah, yeah, they're cool. But have you watched the San Diego State kid? Like I hear that regularly. So what are we looking for from these guys this week?
- [28:57]
Dane Brugler
Man, Chris Johnson was my guy back in September as like, you know, my sleeper, my. This is going to be my guy. And then the secret got out and it's just, it's not cool anymore to say Chris Johnson's your, your sleeper. But you know, he's having a, he had a good first day of pract. Really clean pedal, very fluid in his transitions. He, he. I like the way he can balance looking for the football while still understanding the route. He recovers well and I think that Was my biggest question with him is just how fast would Chris Johnson be it. It wasn't an issue for him today. You know he, when he did get beat by a step, he was able to recover, get back in phase. You know he is a, he's good size. He's 6 foot 190 pounds. So I, I, there are ball skills, instincts. I mean Chris, Chris Johnson fan. I, I think this guy is going to be, he has a good chance to be a second round pick. Colton Hood is now he was in my first round mock. You know, he's a guy that I think okay, mansour Delaine, Jamon McCoy and then I think it's a discussion, you know who's that next quiz? Is it Avion Terrell?
- [30:06]
Dave Hellman
Is it Cole Terrell?
- [30:09]
Dane Brugler
You know I think that yeah they're all those guys are in a similar conversation and good on Hood for being here to kind of put his, his best foot forward about why he should be that guy wasn't a perfect practice. I mean he did get beat by in its kind of nature of the position it's going to happen but he's so patient and then fluid in his transitions that it just, you don't see a ton of separation there. There was one time I can't remember what who the receiver was but able to stop and Colton Hood just kept going. So there was a few times where you know, like we said it's tough to be a corner in these one on one situations. Credit to Hood, he had more good plays and bad plays. You, you understand why we're talking about him as a first round pick when you see him move out there at that size. And it's also interesting. So I've talked to a ton of players over the last week. Two of the players I talked to down in Frisco at the Shrine game, two Georgia players, Dylan Bell, Colby Young, the two receivers. I asked both of them who who's the toughest corner that you face this year. They both without a hesitation said Colton Hood. And I think that that says a lot. And these were separate interviews by the way. They didn't know which who these guys were, you know who they were going to say. So for both of them to say Hood I, I think that and when I asked why they gave great explanations about just how, how patient he is, how sticky is as a corner. Like he's just, there's a lot to like about him at the next level. So Colton Hood, you know he's going to be one of the top highest drafted players that comes out of this game.
- [31:46]
Dave Hellman
It's like I said, it's not fair to call him under the radar because if you're paying attention to the draft, you've definitely heard Colton Hood's name a lot. But I do think it's fair to say he is not usually lumped in up there with, with Delane and with his teammate McCoy and the way that we talk about him. Well, go have, go have three great practices and see where that lands you. Because we see it happen every single year where a guy who's maybe again, not off radar, but not in the square center of it either. You can sure wind up in the middle of that thing by the end of the week.
- [32:21]
Dane Brugler
No doubt. That's it. And it's. We've seen it. I mean, Dave, how many senior bowls have you been to where, you know, whether it's Zach Martin or Aaron Donald back in the day. But guys that come in with, you know, some hype, they're not totally unknowns, but then they play at a much higher level than some were expecting. Now all of a sudden it's like, like, okay, well why aren't we talking about him as a top 20 guy? Why aren't we talking about him as a top 15 guy? You know, and so that happens every year.
- [32:51]
Dave Hellman
And Cole, I mean, it's an. It's an easy comparison to draw. Cause they played the same position. But like, and again, everybody knew who Quinion Mitchell was when he got to the Senior bowl, right? But by the end of the week, it was like, oh, hell yeah. Quinon Mitchell's a baller. And it like, it just sort of solidified it in a way that maybe it wasn't as unanimous before Senior bowl practices. And Colton Hood is. He's not a G5 5 player. He plays in the SEC, so it's not a one to one. But there's no denying what a good week can do for you. Not just in the eyes of evaluators, but just public perception too.
- [33:27]
Dane Brugler
Yeah, no doubt. And obviously it means more for a guy like Quinon Mitchell coming from the Mac and compared to Colton Hood coming from the sec. But it still doesn't hurt. And I. Hood's one of those guys where he's on the short list of, you know, Caleb Banks, Colton Hood, like, it's a short list of guys that are have a chance to be first round picks here at the Senior Bowl.
- [33:51]
Dave Hellman
Before we move on, let's take one quick break.
- [33:57]
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- [35:03]
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- [35:36]
Dave Hellman
So there were a couple linebackers you wanted to talk about and we can definitely do that. But just looking through the roster, man, there, there are, there are a ton of fun and interesting linebackers in Mobile and I think that just plays to the overall class. I mean, so two guys you wanted to highlight. Arizona State's Keyshawn Elliott as well as Pittsburgh's Kyle Lewis. But that's on top of Bryce Betcher from Oregon being down there. Jacob Rodrig from Texas Tech is down there. Scooby Williams, the A and M linebacker. I mean, my goodness, we, we got, we got, we got a lot to sift through here. But, but Elliot and Lewis were two guys that stuck out to you.
- [36:19]
Dane Brugler
Well, and this is just a great linebacker class in general. You know, obviously it starts with Sonny Styles and then as you move through, it's just, there's a lot of names that, that are just, just good football players. And I, Kyle Lewis is, see, he's, this is the Senior bowl is set up for him specifically because he, he's undersized. There's no way around that. He's under 6 foot 224 pounds. So you know, like that's, that's what you worry about. He's not a take on guy. And so watching his tape from pit coming into the week is a really tough player to get an, an idea of. Okay, what are you. Because he's, he, he's at his best in space. He's not going to take on blocks. This is not who he is. There's not a ton of coverage stuff. So it's just, he hadn't. His grade is incomplete because it's just okay, how am I, how am I going to use you? You're not a stack linebacker. You're not quite a safety. And so this week is kind of made for him where it's all in space. It's all just show us what kind of athlete you are. And that's what he did in the first practice, especially these one on ones against running backs. He had an interception and he had a coup other knockdowns. So Kyle Lewis is still. I don't think we're going to come away from this week with a better idea of kind of what are you. But I think we're going to hear some buzz about just what kind of athlete he is and competitor he is because this is set up for him to play well. Now with Keshawn Elliott, he's more of okay, he, you look the part. He's 6 2, 235 pounds. I, I think I heard great finish finish at least five times when we're talking about Keyshawn Elliott and his reps, whether it was in the, in the run game, in his tackles, the way he can square up the ball carrier and finish and then they don't take guys to the ground and especially in the first practice. But the way he'd square guys up and be able to be in a position to wrap, finish and then playing through the hands of, of running backs and tight ends and coverage. So I mean, Keyshawn Elliott, whether it's popping guys in the hole, finishing, making plays in coverage, a great first practice and he's making a case why he should be considered a top 100 player.
- [38:41]
Dave Hellman
I've always thought linebackers and running backs are really hard to evaluate at these sorts of practices, but when they kick ass though, it's, it kind of, it kind of pops out where you're like, all right, it's hard to evaluate, but that looks the way it's supposed to look.
- [38:58]
Dane Brugler
Yeah, that's, that's fair and running Max, especially because it's. Aside from the past pro Drills, you know, it's kind of tough to take too many big takeaways away. But yeah, I think the, the, the line is like we said, it's a good linebacker group and so far so good for those guys here.
- [39:15]
Dave Hellman
Couple more guys to hit before we get you out of here. When you brought up small school guys before the break, I thought you were going to tell me cause it's so obvious already. Like you talked about them in your article. We talked about him with Drew Fabianich last week. Week you're a Ted Hurst guy. Like maybe that's your new guy. If like if that's not too obvious. Like it's. Is that under the radar enough to be your guy? Because I, I feel like you're a fan and just based on following your work over the last couple weeks was.
- [39:47]
Dane Brugler
Maybe before Thanksgiving I had an article where on the Athletic where I had speaking to a scouting director. He gave me five names and I and this is all in the article. Five names that were considered under radar guys and Ted Hurst was one of them. And look, Georgia State has not been a good program at least in the wins and loss the record this past year. I think you know, it's so if you're going to watch Georgia State tape you better be standing out and Ted Hurst does that. His production at for a program that's not very good is off the charts. A lot of big plays down the field. He is a big guy. He's 63207 and he consistently wins down the field. He had a play in one on ones this week or in today where he didn't have a ton of separation but the way he tracked the ball went up and got it. I think he caught it with one hand in the corner of the end zone. It was just really, really impressive. So Ted Hurst is one of those names that I think is going to be a little buzzy this week with the way he plays. The way we go come out of this week how they're talking about him. You know, he's just a really impressive player and if he played at at Ohio State or Alabama or Georgia, one of these other schools, we'd be already talking about him as a day two player. But I think it's a chance to get there this week by the way he plays.
- [41:12]
Dave Hellman
It is the easiest position. Ed Edge rusher and receiver. Like we said, the easiest positions to really pop at the Senior Bowl. Ted Hurst from Georgia State, Jacoby Lane from USC is down in Mobile. You mentioned Tyron Montgomery out of John.
- [41:31]
Dane Brugler
Kyle Carroll, Josh Cameron, the, the Baylor receiver. He's.
- [41:36]
Dave Hellman
Oh man, I forgot about Josh. Cameron baller.
- [41:39]
Dane Brugler
Yeah.
- [41:40]
Dave Hellman
I'm just thinking back to that SMU Baylor game from earlier in the season where, I mean, he went nuts. So did everybody else in that game. But yeah, really, really fun player.
- [41:49]
Dane Brugler
He. And he's a big dude. I mean, he. I've got the weigh ins in front of me. I mean, I think he weighed in, yeah. 2:23. So he's six one and a quarter at 223 pounds. He's a big dude. His, his par. A barbecue food truck. So you know he's, he's even good down there. Yeah, yeah. So. But he had a really nice fingertip grab down the field. He. I think he was one of the winners of day one. So glad we're able to mix his name in. Very eager to see if he can keep it up throughout the week.
- [42:21]
Dave Hellman
Oh, man, my guy, Romello Brinson from SMU is also at the Senior Bowl. Another guy who went crazy in that game. Yeah, there's. There's so many players worth getting excited about. One more for you. I know you got to go. Lee Hunter. We talked about Romello height already. David Bailey didn't make the trip. But again, this Texas Tech front had so many players on it and this seems like a big week for, I would say the least heralded member of it in Lee Hunter.
- [42:50]
Dane Brugler
Yeah, talking about A big boy, six, three and a half, 320 pounds. And you know, you see it with the way he just clogs up run lanes, taking on doubles. Then he had a few plays and I'm eager to watch the tape, you know, because when you're, when you're at practice, you're, you're watching this, you're watching that. There's so much to watch at once. You try to take it all in. I saw the end of one of his one on ones. I think it was against Bo Stevens, the guard from Iowa, who I like a lot, I think is going to be probably drafted somewhere in the top four rounds. But Lee just. Lee Hunter went right over him. Just pure power. And that's what I want to see more out of him. Like I, I know you can hold up versus the run. Can you give me a little more juice as. As a pass rusher? And I think based off of day one of practice, he was able to do that.
- [43:42]
Dave Hellman
I could just keep asking you players, but I. Like I said, I know. And here's, here's the fun part. I'll take y' all behind the curtain. I told Dane we would get him out of here. And I assumed he had dinner or drinks with like a scouting director or. Or a GM him or something fun and, and very prestigious going on. And he was like, before I do anything else, I got to watch the tape of practice. And that is why. That's why Dane's the best, is because he's going to finish. He's going to finish doing this pod and go grind tape for two hours before he goes and tries to get intel at. Is it still Viets? Yeah, it's got to be Beats.
- [44:22]
Dane Brugler
Yeah, I mean, that's still going strong there. Downtown. Moe's barbecue is a good one for. You know, there's always some scouts there. But yeah, you know, I, I've got a. It's always with. With practices now being later in the day. Like you don't care as much about how late you stay out because practices don't start till 1:00 clock now, which is a good and bad thing. But it, it definitely helps in terms of the night before and not having to worry about making sure you're getting back and actually getting some sleep.
- [44:54]
Dave Hellman
That is a great point. You can, you can grind tape till your heart's content and still get into plenty of mis afterwards and learn plenty of. Of new nuggets and tidbits that you can then tell me which. Speaking of which, we got a schedule change for y'.
- [45:09]
Dane Brugler
All.
- [45:09]
Dave Hellman
We are actually coming back. We will do. With the super bowl coming up, we will do next week's episode of Building the Beast. We'll do that Sunday for Monday. So heading into super bowl week, Dana and I will recap everything else that happens at the Senior Bowl. We'll talk about about the rest of practice. Whatever Dane learns at Mobile's various watering holes as well as the game itself, we'll have plenty of info for you. I'm really looking forward to that. But until then, Dane, stay warm, have fun. We'll talk to you soon and we'll catch you all next week.
- [45:57]
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- [46:56]
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