MOBILE, Ala. - Some quick thoughts before the North practice gets under way this morning:
- Full pads practice. Will see Mike Smith treat this like a training camp practice with far more contact drills. Will be the most physical practice of the week. Scouts will love what they see today.
- Wasn't a great start to the week for Cyril Richardson and Trent Murphy. Maybe when the pads come on today, we will see a different story. Richardson is a massive guard that played like a very average one on Monday. Murphy didn't show the speed and quickness that I thought I would have seen off the edge. Was disappointed in both.
- Keep an eye on Zack Martin of Notre Dame on Tuesday. Didn't know a whole heck of a lot about him but didn't practice like those Irish linemen that we have seen from the past. This guy has balance and some power plus some mobility to his game. He gets out in space really well. Thoughts that he might be a better guard like what we saw in Justin Pugh of Syracuse last season.
- Need to see more from Marcus Smith from Louisville. Been lining up at Sam linebacker but looking forward to seeing him with his hand on the ground and rushing the passer this week. Thought he might be one of those guys that you could make a defensive end out of because on tape, you did see the quickness and explosiveness. [embedded_ad]
- There are certain players that you just like the way that they look in a uniform and Oregon wide receiver Josh Huff is that guy for me. There were two or three times where he really did a nice job of making some flash plays. Has the hands and routes, coming from a passing school makes me want to learn more about him.
- I have had a chance to take a look at two safeties on tape the last couple of weeks in Ha-Ha Clinton-Dix and Calvin Pryor but a guy I am looking forward to really studying is Baylor's Ahmad Dixon who is listed as strong safety, but on Monday, showed some really nice range during the team period. I am interested to see how well he can really cover.
