Former Tulsa coach Keith Burns and recently dismissed East
Carolina coach Steve Logan were lobbying for employment while often injured
senior Antonio Garray of Boston College was visible.
yes"> Garray, a top defensive end prospect, saw his chances of
playing in this game end after breaking an ankle in October.
yes"> Also conspicuous by his presence was Tennessee Volunteer
receiver Kelly Washington, who just declared for the draft despite having major
neck surgery two months ago.
Besides all the niceties taking place on the sidelines,
several players improved their draft stock with solid performances on Tuesday.
Iowa offensive lineman Eric Steinbach had a brilliant session this
morning, dominating opponents on every snap. A
guard for the Hawkeye’s, Steinbach more than held his own when placed at left
tackle and adequately protected the blind side throughout practice.
Fellow Big Ten blocker Tony Pashos also looked imposing and
destroyed defenders on the right side. A
mammoth wide body, Pashos also played with a good degree of intelligence and
drew favorable responses from coaches on more than one occasion.
Defensive tackle Kevin Williams of Oklahoma State was a
force on the inside and beat double teams during the session while Penn
State’s Michael Haynes also applied pressure off the edge.
Another Nittany Lion that showed well was record setting
running back Larry Johnson who carried the ball and caught it out of the
backfield with equal effectiveness today.
At receiver Arnaz Battle of Notre Dame had one of the
better practices and displayed an array of pass receiving skills, catching balls
all morning long. Speed, or lack
there of, is a concern and Battle needs to pop off a few good forty times at the
combine.
During the South’s practice in the afternoon Carson
Palmer improved on his performance from the previous day as he became more
acclimated to the offense and threw strikes all over the field, displaying the
ability to hit the target while on the move. With Byron Leftwich not here many feel Palmer has grasped hold of the
draft’s top slot.
Chris Simms also had a fine practice and showed himself to
be a solid intermediate range passer. Simms
has neither Palmer’s arm nor sense of timing but all things considered he has
done a fine job the past two days.
TCU linebacker LaMarcus McDonald had an outstanding
practice and may have dispelled the rumors he is only a run defender. McDonald
was outstanding in pass coverage drills as well as competently defending throws
during scrimmage. That’s
important for the former Horned Frog as after Monday’s weigh-in he is now
considered strictly as a weak side linebacker.
Hawaii’s Vince Manuwai and Florida State’s Montrae
Holland both had solid days on the offensive line for the South while cornerback
Kevin Garrett improved his play today and had the only interception in the
afternoon practice.
After yesterday’s fast start, several additional
prospects improved their play today as all are gearing up for tomorrow’s pair
of crucial practices.