MOBILE, Ala. – It was a rainy Wednesday at Hancock Whitney Stadium, but it was productive.
The second day of Senior Bowl practices got underway in dreary fashion, but the weather didn't prevent some standout performances in the two Wednesday sessions. Unfortunately, the weather has moved Thursday's practices indoors – where there isn't enough space for media to attend. So for the time being, this notebook will have to suffice.
Here's some more news and notes from the Senior Bowl:
- It needs to be said off the top, but Perrion Winfrey (Oklahoma) had one of the most dominant performances seen by one player in the last few years of Senior Bowl practices. The defensive tackle was in the backfield nearly every play, forcing fumbles, recovering said fumbles, and showcasing some impressive strength and pass rushing ability on what would've been sacks.
- Some of the offensive lineman that were impressive on Tuesday continued their success into the rain-filled session Wednesday. Trevor Penning (Northern Iowa) showed off a bit of a mean streak as he pancaked and laid on top of Penn State edge rusher Jesse Luketa. While Daniel Faalele (Minnesota) had a few solid reps against guys like Dominique Robinson (Miami OH) but then was beat by Luketa a little later in one-on-ones.
- The movement and footwork in position drills from two small school linebackers was very impressive on Wednesday. Troy Anderson (Montana St) and Chad Muma (Wyoming) both stood out early on while Muma continued to shine in the pass rush section. He looked quick and showed off some visible agility.
- Wide receiver Velus Jones Jr. (Tennessee) ran some sharp routes and displayed good hands in the rain. He found his way open in team drills a couple times on Tuesday, but he expanded on that in this practice as he put a nice double move on Akayleb Evans (Missouri). With a good throw, it would've resulted in an easy touchdown, but instead it was put behind him and out of bounds.
- Really liked the blocking rep I saw from running back Dameon Pierce (Florida, who got a great pickup of Tariq Carpenter (Georgia Tech) coming from the second level. He was great as both a ball carrier and a blocker. Later in practice, he had a massive gain during the team drills and was selected to pick up a blitz from linebacker D'Marco Jackson (Appalachian State) to end practice. Which he did with ease.
- In the team portion of practice, Braxton Jones (Southern Utah) looked like he belonged against Power 5 linemen. He pancaked Phidarian Mathis (Alabama) and held the pocket for most of his drive, which can't be said about some of his small-school counterparts.
- The only player that seemingly got the best of Jones on Wednesday was edge rusher Kingsley Enagbare (South Carolina), who had a great showing overall. He started the competition period of practice with two straight strong reps against TE Daniel Bellinger (San Diego State). Enagbare added his name to others like Jermaine Johnson II (Florida State) and Zachary Carter (Florida) who have really stuck out this week.
- Loved the reading ability from cornerback Leon O'Neal Jr. (Texas A&M), who instantly reacted and flashed across to help stop the run from the nickel. Additionally, he showed his versatility as an outside corner and even dropped back to a single-high look a few times while mostly rotating in at the slot.
