Shrine Bowl Day 2: Plenty of players you should know as draft season approaches

LAS VEGAS — As far as prospects go, Minnesota CB Terell Smith is so nice, he did it twice. He followed up his strong work Saturday with an even better day Sunday, leaping to the head of this year’s East-West Shrine Bowl class.

Day 2 @shrinebowl practice.

In our @DenverSportsCom West practice report, @CecilLammey and I have got a @GopherFootball cornerback and and a @Pitt_FB edge rusher who you’re going to want to keep your eyes on in the pre-draft process: pic.twitter.com/Nhb9MWa4sE

— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) January 29, 2023

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CECIL: I like writing up different players each day, but there’s no denying the natural talent of Minnesota CB Terell Smith. He was the best player yesterday on either team or on either side of the ball. On Sunday, he repeated the performance of the best player in Vegas. You didn’t even really have to see what the jersey number was when a player in the secondary stopped the ball – it was almost always Smith. It’s like he teleports to the football, and he will sometimes just appear out of nowhere to make a play. I think he was doing a good job of baiting opposing quarterbacks into bad throws as well.

I began the day on the hunt for Boston College WR Zay Flowers. He might have been the most explosive player on this roster, but I didn’t see much from him on Saturday. I know he’s good, scouts are excited about him, and I heard plenty of buzz about Flowers before, during, and after practice. Flowers made it into my notebook quite a few times on Sunday. He showed that explosiveness and makes some of the routes look easy. Flowers is a reliable target who can easily find the soft spots in the zone. I would imagine Flowers makes a big impression in the game.

I turned to Mase during the East practice and called No. 11 (Liberty WR Demario Douglas) “7-11” because he’s always open. I wrote him up after Saturday’s practice, and once again Douglas was just too good to keep him out of my top-5 players on Sunday. Douglas gets open in a number of ways. He uses guile and route-running ability to trick defenders on tight coverage. He clearly understands leverage and will set up his feet to make the right cut at the right time. Add in speed and burst off the line of scrimmage, and it’s easy to see why Douglas is always open.

In addition to Flowers, another Boston College player stood out on the West. Linebacker Jaiden Woodbey never gives up. Time after time, he made my notebook for hustle plays. Most of the plays he made against the run, and it seems like his body positioning when incoming puts him in the best spot to make a devastating collision. Even though there’s no live tackling, you can tell Woodbey is not a drag tackler. I also like the way he closes quickly to the quarterback. There’s no sacks in these practices, but you can tell when a quarterback would have been taken to the ground by a defender. I’ve got Woodbey with at least two such plays on Sunday.

Pitt edge rusher Habakkuk Baldamado was feeling it towards the end of practice on Sunday. One play showed how scary he can be coming to the quarterback. He’s got length, strength, and intelligence to his game. There was one play where the offense was faking a handoff to go with a play-action pass. Baldamado did not hesitate and bite on the run, but instead he closed quickly to eclipse the quarterback. He can engulf smaller players (quarterbacks, running backs), and he uses his length to his advantage to dip and rip when creating outside pressure.

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MASE: Watching Terell Smith work is a treat, and one play in particular stood out.

During a passing period, Smith gave Florida wide receiver Justin Shorter a 7-yard cushion. Smith dropped back as UCLA QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson climbed the pocket to escape edge pressure. Smith stood 4 yards from Shorter, but read the passer’s eyes, which locked onto the receiver. Thompson-Robinson took the bait and fired.

Shorter never had a chance. Smith lunged in front of Shorter and made a postcard-perfect deflection of the football. This play encapsulated Smith’s day; once again, he always seemed one step ahead of what was happening.

The Patriots coaching staff had an old-school 9-on-7 period, which can be illuminating. Some of the standouts included:

Toledo interior defensive lineman Desjuan Johnson: His first step to the inside on one play allowed him to blow past the inside shoulder of Arkansas-Pine Bluff offensive lineman Mark Evans. The only reason Johnson didn’t get the stop was because Evans held him, wrapping his arm around Johnson’s waist.

Mississippi State edge rusher Tyrus Wheat: He blew up two run plays in the period. One came at the expense of Evans, who held up. The other came when he worked inside of Baylor tackle Connor Galvin. Working on the right edge, Wheat does well at quickly flashing across the left tackle and attacking the inside shoulder. He also generated consistent pressure during the team periods.

Arkansas offensive lineman Ricky Stromberg: He looked stout in his one-on-one work, helping create holes for the runners behind him, although he did get beaten by …

Ohio State defensive lineman Jerron Cage: He took advantage of Stromberg looking to the second level and surged through the gap, chasing UCLA running back Kazmeir Allen outside and away from the intended path.

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TOP-FIVE WEST PLAYERS FOR SUNDAY

CECIL

1. CB Terrell Smith, Minnesota
2. WR Zay Flowers, Boston College
3. WR Demario Douglas, Liberty
4. LB Jaiden Woodbey, Boston College
5. EDGE Habakkuk Baldonado, Pitt

MASE

1. CB Terrell Smith, Minnesota
2. EDGE Habakkuk Baldonado, Pitt
3. EDGE Tyrus Wheat, Mississippi State
4. WR Zay Flowers, Boston College
5. OT/G Mason Brooks, Mississippi

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