The final practise was toned down in terms of 1v1’s in favour of scrimmage and red zone work as preparations ramped up for the game on Saturday. Here’s my final set of notes…

American team OL/DL 1v1’s

Michigan’s Derrick Moore squared off against Florida’s Austin Barber to start. The Florida tackle was way too passive, dropping in his set but allowing Moore to instigate contact. When you’re moving backwards and you allow someone to put force into your chest from a running start, you will move even further backwards. Poor technique.

Moore also had a win against JC Davis by working his outside shoulder to beat the edge — but he couldn’t disengage and showed a lack of true bend and quickness. Moore is getting a great press in the media but if I’m looking at a 254lbs edge rusher, I want to see some speed and twitch. He isn’t going to run through NFL tackles at that size.

Missouri defensive tackle Chris McClellan had a great bull-rush against Arizona’s Fernando Carmona, pushing him well back into the pocket for a big win. On the next rep, Alabama’s Tim Keenan did exactly the same thing to Florida’s Jake Slaughter. He put his hands inside and just drove through contact, ploughing Slaughter into the QB.

Caleb Banks’ first rep was a little bit ‘meh’ compared to what he showed on Wednesday. He just ran out of steam against Auburn’s Jeremiah Wright and his counter move to spin away from contact was easily mirrored by Wright who did a good job.

Banks faired much better on his second rep, easily beating Florida team mate Jake Slaughter. He engaged, shoved him backwards, then used an arm-over to break free and get to the QB. For his size he is a remarkable athlete.

Banks then had a rematch with Wright and easily beat him. It was a tired rep by Wright. Banks was jawing all the way back to the line after the easiest win of the day. Zion Young, who sadly sat out the 1v1’s, was patting him on the head in celebration. Once again, Banks showed the most animation during the session and gave off an alpha vibe.

Arizona State’s Max Iheanachor showed in a rep against Illinois’ Gabe Jacas that he has the foot speed and agility to kick-slide and dance with most rushers. He needs more power though. Jacas was never going to beat him to the edge so went through him instead. Iheanachor could do with getting stronger.

I’ll tell you who Iheanachor didn’t dance with though — Quintayvious Hutchins of Boston College. He embarrassed the tackle with a fake to the outside before dipping inside. He was too quick and Iheanachor was left grasping at air. Hutchins has had a really good week. He’s undersized (6-2, 229lbs, 32 3/4 inch arms) but he can make things happen as a speed rusher. He only missed one tackle in 2025 to his credit. As an attacking SAM, he has potential.

Iheanachor’s finally rep was a straight forward mirror against Derrick Moore who couldn’t counter and just put his head down on contact. Iheanachor was too athletic for him.

James Brockermeyer’s ‘wow’ week continued with a win against South Carolina’s Nick Barrett. The Miami center was the aggressor off the snap (this is critical for the position) and engaged contact rather than waiting for his opponent to make the first move. Then, having engaged, he worked to get a hand inside his chest and then just anchored down. He showed a classic straight back and tapped his feet to reset three times. He could’ve got his hands inside a little bit quicker but it’s a nitpick. Brockermeyer is one of the winners of the week.

Blog favourite Gracen Halton of Oklahoma demolished Boston College’s Logan Taylor with an arm-over move. He was just too quick and too good. Zion Young tapped him on the head after the rep.

The coaches knew what they were doing and put Halton up against Brockermeyer. It was a win for both sides I’d say. Halton beat the center to his outside shoulder to gain an advantage but Brockermeyer reset and regained position to block the path to the QB. A good initial pressure from the DT and a good recovery from the center.

Alabama’s LT Overton is not an edge threat because of a lack of quick twitch but he worked inside against Miami’s Markus Bell and created a pressure. He’s shown this week he’ll be best as a 5-tech who works inside.

Rayshaun Benny of Michigan whipped Fernando Carmona twice. I am eager to watch more of Benny. He had a good week, looking quick and aggressive. He’s flown under the radar and put some good 1v1 reps on tape. On the second rep Carmona basically tackled him to the ground. The rest of the defenders rushed over to congratulate Benny.

I thought Ethan Onianwa struggled again in this session. It’s obvious why he struggled to secure a starting role at Ohio State.

Logan Taylor also had a difficult week. Cameron Ball easily beat him to the inside on a 1v1 on Thursday. Caleb Banks gave Ball a high-five for the easy win.

National team OL/DL 1v1’s

They did something different today and had a player rush from the edge and the interior at the same time. It was a mess. Players kept running into each other and it’s not really a 1v1 if the guy you’re facing is suddenly backed into by the other duo. I got very little out of the session, which was half as long as the 1v1’s earlier in the week.

Iowa’s Gennings Dunker easily rode Clemson’s TJ Parker out of the play on one rep, just using his footwork to mirror and sealing the edge with his length. I think Parker has had an overhyped week based on one good straight-arm on Tuesday. He’s constantly gone back to that move and shown little variety as a rusher. Where’s the dynamic edge speed?

Florida’ State’s Darrell Jackson bullied Delby Lemieux into the backfield with one arm. Lemieux didn’t put up a fight and it was a disappointing effort. In a rematch the exact same thing happened. Mismatch.

Iowa’s Beau Stephens stalled out a rush by Lee Hunter, then the tackle next to him being blocked into Stephens allowed Hunter to escape only for Stephens to wrestle him to the ground. We’ll come back to this duo later.

Dani Dennis-Sutton stunted inside on his 1v1 rep which I’m not sure he’s supposed to do, given this is still a match-up against the man in front of you. He basically just used the guard/DT battle next to him as a shield. He celebrated a win but you’re not supposed to be running away from your opponent.

Tennessee’s Bryson Eason had a day, winning all of his reps while looking incredibly dynamic. He is definitely someone I need to study more closely.

Other scrimmage/practise notes for the American team

Will Kacmarek the Ohio State tight end continued to make plays. He’s very capable of getting open and showed soft hands. It’ll be interesting to see how he tests. He did drop an easy pass from Garrett Nussmeier during red zone drills but overall I think he was a winner this week.

Arkansas quarterback Taylen Green is absolutely dynamic as a runner and just looked like a different level of athlete out there. There are legit Kaepernick vibes when he runs. He also flashed a live arm. There was some hesitation at times getting the ball out and he threw dangerously into the red zone on one occasion. However, the physical tools are through the roof. If I needed a quarterback and wanted to take a chance on developing someone, I would be prepared to select Green in round two. The physical upside is too high.

LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier didn’t connect with his passes in scrimmage early on. Eventually he found a nice touchdown pass to Josh Cuevas. He also showed natural ability and good anticipation on some throws. His physical measurables are a question mark given his lack of size and small hands but he has talent. He will need a system though.

Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer’s processing and accuracy were the most impressive in the red zone section of practise. The coaches gave him a polite round of applause after one well thrown red zone TD that was somewhat layered over the top of a lurking linebacker. He doesn’t have much of an arm though.

Other scrimmage/practise notes for the National team

I haven’t been that impressed with Baylor’s Sawyer Robertson this week. His passes have floated, he hasn’t flashed any real upside. He lofted a pass way too high and with no velocity here and it allowed Bud Clark to sprint over and pick it off. He improved later on but overall, not a performance to push his stock upwards.

Gennings Dunker just looked so comfortable at right tackle. They were chipping to help the left tackle during scrimmage but no such support was needed at right tackle. He won straight up and handled stunts well, passing off blockers. He will be a very solid pick and fill a position at right guard or tackle for years.

Blog favourite Kyle Louis of Pittsburgh consistently played the ball in coverage and was outstanding. Take a look for yourself:

I feel like we’ve been ahead of the curve on a number of players during this cycle who excelled in Mobile — Louis, Dunker, Green, Mike Washington Jr, Gracen Halton.

Max Llewelyn, who loves a spin move, beat Keylan Rutledge with his preferred counter. Rutledge had a good pull later on, sprinting to the second level to block Jacob Rodriguez. He also had an easy win against Lee Hunter too.

Speaking of Hunter, who’s been overhyped for me this week, he had a big win during scrimmages with a great side-step before bursting into the backfield — flashing great quickness for his size.

However — watch this 1v1 to close practise. He’s easily handled by Beau Stephens. This is the guy everyone’s hyping up? I think there’s been some serious attempted prior confirming this week and I don’t see the first rounder many are suggesting:

 

He’s too often upright and presents his chest as a big old target. Look how easily Stephens rips him to the ground. By the way, Stephens is a day three pick.

They kept forcing Stephens to snap at center too and he struggled with the timings during red zone scrimmages. I’m not sure why they kept on with this, it isn’t his position.

Gennings Dunker finished the practise by beating TJ Parker, who just tried to straight arm him as he’s attempted all week. Dunker handled it.

Top five performers of the week (based on what I saw)

Caleb Banks (DT, Florida)
Kyle Louis (LB, Pittsburgh)
James Brockermeyer (C, Miami)
Bud Clark (S, TCU)
Gennings Dunker (T/G, Iowa)

Top-10 fastest players at the Senior Bowl

1. Davison Igbinosun (CB, Ohio State) — 21.12mph
2. Mike Washington (RB, Arkansas) — 21.02mph
3. Barion Brown (WR, LSU) — 20.87mph
4. Reggie Virgil (WR, Texas Tech) — 20.83mph
5. Chris Hilton (WR, LSU) — 20.72
6. Taylen Green (QB, Arkansas) — 20.48mph
7. TJ Hall (CB, Iowa) — 20.46mph
8. Jaydn Ott (RB, Oklahoma) — 20.35mph
9. Ted Hurst (WR, Georgia State) — 20.33mph
10. Kyle Louis (LB, Pittsburgh) — 20.31mph