Walter Thomas

[Rascal]

DT from NW Mississippi.

Guy is 6'5" and weighs about 350 and can run a 4.8-4.9 with a impressive physique. Some compared him to Eric Swann. He is raw, but he is a freak. Scouts apparently were just astounded by him at the Texas V Nation.

If somebody needs a NT that might be your guy.

[SoCalBronco]

Interesting....thanks Rascal.

Gotta read up on this guy.

[ICON]

The former Oklahoma State defensive tackle had to transfer down to N' West CC last fall due to grades.

Walter was rated as the #23 defensive tackle in the country coming out of high school.

[chaz]

nice find rascal...someone new for me to find something out about

[Elway777]

The Texan vs the Nation game will have a lot of Bad boys in it. Marcus Thomas,Garry Russell and Romance Taylor.

[ludo21]

interesting.

Big boy, that is something we defintiely need

[Dudeskey]

Interesting... any highlights so we can see this kid in pads?

[Broncoman13]

The Texan vs the Nation game will have a lot of Bad boys in it. Marcus Thomas,Garry Russell and Romance Taylor.

What is this Texan Vs the Nation game?

[Broncoman13]

Found it... http://texasvsthenation.cstv.com/

Looks like the all turd bowl (bunch of flunkies, punks, and injury cases). I'll be watching!!! :D

[doonwise]

Stats, bla bla bla. How's his *work ethic*?

[-Slap-]

I saw a picture of him and he carries all that weight pretty well.

[mattob14]

It looks like he weighed in at 370. :strong: I wouldn't expect his 40 time to be anywhere near what is being reported right now, though.

[Rascal]

Here is one snippet from a guy who was at the practice. Sounds like he is doing pretty good.

Walter Thomas, DT, NW Mississippi CC – Unstoppable when he got a good push, showed a good spin move (!) and was astoundingly nimble for a guy his size (think Gabe Watson at his best during Senior Bowl practices last year – dancing bear). Seemed to tire, and then get second wind. Didn’t excel on every play but was dominant when he did. Got lots of individual coaching and encouragement. Talk of the scouts in the stands. Jags practically drooling on him.

In this guys opinion he was better then Marcus Thomas (DT-Florida).

There are also a couple of good o-lineman down there in Nick Smith (C-Fresno State), Scott Stephenson (C-Iowa State), and Jonathan Palmer (OL-Auburn). Another DT getting some praise outside of Walter and Marcus was Brent Curbey of Iowa State.

[Broncoman13]

Any mention of Ramonce Taylor?

[mattob14]

To summarize, he basically said Taylor looked to be in good shape in the weigh-in, was a little over 190 lbs and the athletic ability is still there. Not much beyond that after the first day, though.

[OrangeShadow]

good find rascal, ill have to look up this guy

[footstepsfrom#27]

I posted something about this dude on another thread a few days ago. He was listed on yahoo's draft preview as a sleeper type guy. However they reported his size as 6'3", 335, and said he ran a 5.1, but was trying to get his 40 speed to 4.9, which he ran in high school. I found limited stats...2 games only...consecutive games I guess, and probably his first two games of the season for the CC he played for...he had 16 tackles (12 solo) and 4 sacks in those two games...obviously against inferior competition, but he obviously is making an impression now. I highly doubt we'll take him because he probably dissapears to some team that values D-linemen higher in the draft than we do.

[-Slap-]

The Eric Swann comparisons might bode favorably. Bowlen had a severe man crush on him. I remember a Shannon Sharpe, plus other players and draft picks deal being discussed briefly that seemed to have Bowlen's fingerprints on it. You would have thought the franchise crushing Ricky Hunley fiasco he brokered five years earlier would have taught him a lesson.

[Rascal]

http://www.draftdaddy.com/images/players/walter.jpg

From Sigmund Bloom of Footballguys.com.

Texas Vs. The Nation Day Two Practice Report

El Paso remembered that it was hosting a college all-star game this week and gave us a big dose of the same kind of weather that seemed to follow the draft scene from Houston to Mobile. Both practices were marred by rain, and after getting soaked at field level for about an hour, I tossed in the towel and went up to the dry warmth of the press box. The rain did not dampen the intensity of the practices. Already three players -Keyunta Dawson (LB – Texas Tech), Travis Leitko (DE – Notre Dame), and Brent Pousson (OL-McNeese State) - have gotten hurt, and will be replaced by Bo Greer (OL - New Mexico) Jason Jack (DE- Texas A&M) and Joe Ward (DL – UTEP). One of yesterday’s standouts, Junior Taylor (WR-UCLA) got hurt today and was later seen on crutches back at the hotel.

QB: Josh Swogger (Montana) and Justin Rascati (James Madison) continue to look like the class of the QBs here. Swogger looked particularly smooth throwing on the move, and both displayed great accuracy for the second straight day. I got interviews with both, and talked to them for a while after the tape stopped rolling. Swogger has been working with Rich Gannon, and Rascati is most concerned with proving that he’s got arm strength. They are both very humble kids who have the right attitude, and I walked away very impressed. Dalton Bell (West Texas A&M) still puts more mustard on the short stuff than anyone else here (he zinged one right past a DB’s face for a completion), but the deep ball is a lollipop. The deep ball was at least more accurate today. Jeff Smith (Georgetown KY) continues to look like an interesting practice squad project because of his size, but tended to overthrow his receivers today. Sam Hollenbach (Maryland) has not stood out the way I expected him to, being the only QB here to play against top D-I competition this year. His deep ball is pretty (competing with Swogger for the nicest one here), but the throws over the middle are still sailing. Andy Collins (Occidental) looks smooth out there, but doesn’t seem to be at the level of the other QBs here. Swogger and Rascati are the ones to watch – they both would fit in with the QBs I watched in Shrine Game and Senior Bowl practices.

RB/FB: Ramonce Taylor (Texas) showed his gamebreaking ability yet again on some runs where he made some Reggie Bush moves. I got to interview him yesterday and he seems to have his head on straight. Today, Quentin Smith (Rice) took D.D. Terry’s (Sam Houston State) place as the guy that broke consecutive runs to the 3rd level for the Texas team. I still haven’t seen Paul Mosley (Baylor) get too many chances to run inside, which is where I think he’ll do his damage if he can stick in the NFL. On the other side, Justise Hairston (Central Connecticut State) showed a very nice burst, and Justin Vincent (LSU) showed good vision, but it’s tough to run on that Nation D-Line. Gijon Robinson (Missouri Western) continues to impress me as an all-around weapon at FB.

WR/TE: Much like Paul Williams (Fresno St) at the Shrine Game, when Ryan Moore (Miami) really tries, he makes sensational plays. He exhibited fluid moves and fantastic body control today, and he also naturally got position on the DB when the ball was in the air. Moore was much improved from yesterday. Vincent Marshall (Houston) continues to flash the deep speed to get behind a defense. He dropped a few balls because he started to think about running before he secured the ball, but it’s clear that he’s got great hands. Jesse Wendt (Wisconsin-Stout) was no longer timid and started really showed his top notch athleticism and tools. He had one of the plays of the day getting both feet in bounds on a tough sideline catch. Chandler Williams (Florida International) still pops out as a terrific athlete and did a lot better job finishing plays today. He also threw an unsuccessful pass on a reverse. Maurice Price (Charleston Southern) looks like the most crisp, quick WR here. I got to interview him last night – he wants the Colts to win the Super Bowl (Sorry Bears fans). Daniel Robinson (UTEP) and Mike Jefferson (Montana State) continue to struggle, and Robert Johnson (Texas Tech) and James Finley (Oregon) continue to stand out as the best of the Texas WRs. TE Tyler Ecker (Michigan) has really impressed me for the second straight day with his athleticism and pillow soft hands. Desmond Allison (South Dakota) looks more like a big WR than a TE in routes.

OL: Same story as yesterday, Jonathan Palmer (Auburn) and Scott Stephenson (Iowa State) were the standouts for the Nation squad. I interviewed Scott and came away a believer. He didn’t flinch when I asked him about his surgically repaired shoulders. On the Texas side, the Louisville lineman, Renardo Foster and Kurt Quarterman, still look very polished. I expect them to get drafted or stick as priority free agents. Allen Barbre (Missouri Southern) has some of the best footwork of anyone lineman here. Like the four guys I listed above, he seems like he would have fit in at the Shrine Game.

DL: Louis Leonard (Fresno St) disrupted play after play, and Keenan Carter (Virginia) played a much better pad level today and generally pushed his opponent around. Joe Cohen and Marcus Thomas (Florida) combined with Carter and Leonard to make the interior of the Nation line almost unstoppable. I interviewed Thomas and he said the right things about his problems, without sounding rehearsed. Missing the SEC and National Championship games seems to have really woken him up. On the Texas side, Justin Rogers (SMU) really improved his play and beat Barbre a few times. Xsavie Jackson (Missouri) continues to hurtle himself at the QB like a bat out of hell. Jackson’s spin move is NFL quality. Walter Thomas (NW Mississippi JC) still stood out when he did everything right. I interviewed Walter - he’s a very shy kid who probably has no idea how much buzz he is creating.

LB: Taurean Charles (Bethune-Cookman) stood out the way I expected him to today. He had an unbelievable interception and generally moved around the field faster than just about any other LB. I say just about any other because Jay Staggs (UNLV) always seems to come out of nowhere with his relentless high energy play. Cameron Siskowic (Illinois St) made some smart, instinctive reads of run plays as an MLB. Troy Collavo (UTEP) plays with a ton of heart. Antwan Barnes (Florida International) closes as fast as an LB edge rusher as just about anyone I’ve seen the last three weeks.

DB: Watch out for the Nation CBs! Larry Anam (Boston College), John Bowie (Cincinnati), Calvin Bannister (Hampton), and Marcus Hamilton (Virginia) were all very impressive. They played with toughness and smarts, and “trusted what they saw”, which would make Mike Mayock happy. Bowie is showing explosive reactions to WR breaks, Anam is playing some real hardnosed football, Bannister is showing terrific aggression, and Hamilton might have the best instincts of all of them. I talked to Anam for a while after practice, and he really impressed me. He was very concerned about Junior Taylor's injury. He also said he’s just learning to play press coverage. You wouldn’t know it from watching him. On the Texas side, Stephen McCoy (Texas A&M-Kingsville) and Dathon Brown (Texas College) just increased the positive momentum they created with their great play on Monday. Courtney Bryan (New Mexico State) and T.J. Wright (Ohio) looked much better than they did on Monday. All in all, the CBs on both squads are making more plays in practice than the CBs at the Shrine Game/Senior Bowl. Joe Sturdivant (SMU) was among the best safeties of the day, but I honestly did not watch them much because I was captivated by the play of the CBs on both sides.

[Rascal]

Day One Texas Practice Report
By Sigmund Bloom

While the Nation was finishing up their practice, the Texas squad was warming up in the south end zone. A practice more intense than just about any I saw in the last three weeks of college all-star games was brewing. The Texas boys have come to play and the coaches are just as fired up as the players. The enthusiasm is contagious and the hitting is hard. The volume was turned up to 11 as the Sun Bowl lived up to its name - The left side of my face is sunburned to prove it. Here are my observations from the practice:

Josh Swogger, QB, Montana – Nice consistent zip on short/intermediate passes, pretty trajectory on deep ball, doesn’t force the ball when nothing is there, nice play and pump fakes

Dalton Bell, QB, West Texas A&M – Visibly throws hard, like a baseball closer. Throws a big lollipop of a deep ball that had little to no accuracy

Andy Collins, QB, Occidental – Smooth motion, little accuracy on deep ball, lowest performing of the three QBs, so-so arm strength

Quentin Smith, RB, Rice – Naturally gets low when running

Paul Mosley, RB, Baylor – Runs with forward lean, miscast as outside runner

D.D. Terry, RB, Sam Houston State – Outstanding vision and burst through traffic on two runs that would have been long TDs

Ramonce Taylor, RB, Texas College – Burst, quickness, moves, vision, home run ability still apparent

Marcus Mason, RB, Youngstown St – Made the sickest cut of the whole practice leaving a defender grasping at air, very compactly built, allows him to easily get lower than defender

Chad Schroeder, WR, Texas A&M – Natural hands catcher

Robert Johnson, WR, Texas Tech – Very natural receiver at full extension, natural hands – surprising for a QB convert

Vincent Marshall, WR, Houston – Changes direction with ease, soft hands, but sometimes uses them to stop the ball in the air and then grabs it, instead of just catching naturally

Mike Jefferson, WR, Montana St – Surprising burst on deep route to separate, gathered to change direction

James Finley, WR, Oregon – Decent ball tracking over the shoulder, gathers to change direction, doesn’t burst off the line, unnecessarily jumped when catching once, terrific hands and instincts to pluck ball out of the air, especially on a bullet from Swogger

Kendrick Dozier, WR, Langston – Struggled with hands at first, but came on as practice went on, athletic potential is there

Daniel Robinson, WR, UTEP – One great catch when he was about to get creamed

Justin Carter, TE, Texas College – Fights the ball, didn’t look natural receiving

Allen Barbre, OT, Missouri Southern – Played LT, redirects defender well,

Renardo Foster, OT, Louisville – Good footwork, worthy of LT

Kurt Quarterman, OL, Louisville – Good killer instinct as blocker

Nick Smith, C, San Diego State – Generally neutralized his guy, even handled Walter Thomas

Stephen McDonald, FB, Syracuse – Sealed corner well as a lead blocker

Darius Sanders, DE, Oregon – Rushed with great determination, good first step, defeated double team with motor

Travis Leitko, DE, Notre Dame – Good push for a lanky DE, but displays few pass rush moves

Justin Rogers, DE, SMU – Seemed out of his league against Barbre

Walter Thomas, DT, NW Mississippi CC – Unstoppable when he got a good push, showed a good spin move (!) and was astoundingly nimble for a guy his size (think Gabe Watson at his best during Senior Bowl practices last year – dancing bear). Seemed to tire, and then get second wind. Didn’t excel on every play but was dominant when he did. Got lots of individual coaching and encouragement. Talk of the scouts in the stands. Jags practically drooling on him

Brent Curvey, DT, Iowa State – Great push, played with 100% effort throughout

Marcus Bacon, LB, Missouri – Stuck with RB in coverage

Courtney Bryan, CB, New Mexico State – Struggled at first, but came on

Bryant Tisdale, CB, UTEP – didn’t bite on the fake, made a terrific INT by wrestling 50/50 ball away from WR

Stephen McCoy, CB, Texas A&M-Kingsville – Had scintillating pass breakup that got coaches fired up, good coverage but didn’t react to “BALL” call by teammates

Dathon Brown, CB, Texas College – Had scintillating pass breakup that got coaches fired up

T.J. Wright, CB, Ohio – Didn’t plant and burst well on ball, committed two blatant penalties

Joe Sturdivant, S, SMU – Quality, smart work in coverage

Top 5 Players

1) Walter Thomas, DT, NW Mississippi JC
2) Josh Swogger, QB, Montana
3) Nick Smith, C, Fresno State
4) Brent Curvey, DT, Iowa State
5) Stephen McCoy, CB, Texas A&M-Kingsville



For more information, go to http://texasvsthenation.cstv.com/ . The game will be telecast Friday February 2 on CSTV at 10 pm EST/7 pm PST.

[Rascal]

Day One Nation Practice Report
By Sigmund Bloom

It was a gorgeous day for football in El Paso. We trekked up from the Texas weigh-in at the Hilton Garden Inn to the Sun Bowl, one of the most striking stadiums anywhere in the world – basically carved into a hillside overlooking the city, like a cross between a Greek amphitheatre and an Anasazi cliff dwelling. The Nation players had already warmed up and were ready to go by the time we arrived. They were in shoulder pads and shorts, but there was no lack of intensity. Unlike the Shrine Game or Senior Bowl, there is little media on location and the scouts wait until they get back to the hotel to go after the kids, so there’s little to report in the way of team interest (although the Browns did make a beeline for Scott Stephenson and Maurice Price) Here are my observations:

Justin Rascati, QB, James Madison – Raspy, forceful cadence. Great zip and excellent accuracy on short and intermediate throws. Big windup on deep ball, which is more of touch throw than a rope

Jeff Smith, QB, Georgetown (KY) – Failed to stand out. Greatly overthrew a deep ball

Sam Hollenbach, QB, Maryland – Most forceful snap count of the six QBs, but otherwise failed to stand out. Deep ball over the middle floated

Gary Russell, RB, Minnesota – Looked smooth as a receiver out of the backfield. Like the rest of the RBs, he did not get much in the way of room to run from the offensive line

Justin Vincent, RB, LSU – Showed good vision, but was stifled by a lack of holes to run through

Clifton Dawson, RB, Harvard – Great punch when picking up blitz

Justise Hairston, RB, Central Connecticut State – Showed good vision

Gijon Robinson, FB, Missouri Western – Very athletic and good receiver

Tyrone Timmons, WR, Mississippi Valley State – Presents a good big target to the QB, but doesn’t seem like a natural WR

Maurice Price, WR, Charleston Southern – Very quick in his breaks, often leaving DBs far in his wake. Natural hands catcher. Seemed a little tentative when a safety had a bead on him while the ball was in the air. Good YAC instincts

Jesse Wendt, WR, Wisconsin-Stout – Got behind the defense but looked unnatural catching the ball. One scout called him “timid”. Stiff for such an athletic player

Ryan Moore, WR, Miami – Got pushed around a bit, sometimes seemed lethargic. Good burst for a long legged guy and a fluid athlete. Sometimes body caught the ball instead of using his hands. Flinched but caught a Rascati fireball

Junior Taylor, WR, UCLA – Made some breathtaking adjustments on deep catches, consistently got behind his man. Quick burst of the line. Crisp breaks in routes. Good adjustment to ball in air and YAC instincts

Chandler Williams, WR, Florida International – Clearly athletic enough to get open with ease (validating his combine invite), but seemed to lack the skills to close the deal by catching the ball. Can hang in the air to make a catch

Marcus Freeman, TE, Notre Dame – Showed good hands when given the chance

Desmond Allison, TE, South Dakota – Dropped an easy pass

Tyler Ecker, TE, Michigan – Very soft natural hands, moves well in routes, walls off defender when ball is in the air.

Scott Stephenson, C, Iowa State – One of the two most impressive OL in the practice (with Jonathan Palmer being the other). Sprung out of his stance into good blocking position. Got under Keenan Carter, who came with a reputation as a run stuffer. Stays with play even when he is initially beat and often recovers to stop defender.

Elliot Seifert, OT, Temple – Used Xsavie Jackson’s speed and momentum against him by redirecting him past QB. Played LT.

Erik Robertson, OL, California – Had footwork to sustain block once he got his hands on the defender.

Jonathan Palmer, OL, Auburn – Almost always neutralized his guy and handled Marcus Thomas very well. Absorbed strong punch and stayed with defender. Handled a very nice spin move from Louis Leonard. Gets out of his stance quickly and into pass blocking position. Got to the 2nd level and connected with a defender on running play.

Thed Watson, OT, South Florida – Generally played LT well.

Nation D-Line – Generally dominated the OLine, giving the Nation RBs little chance to show their skills.

Keenan Carter, DT, Virginia – Played too high at times, but bowled over Eric Graham on one particularly impressive rush

Marcus Thomas, DT, Florida – Excellent quickness and power coming out of the three point stance. Made some of the lesser OL look like they were playing with their feet in wet cement. Changed direction and reacted to a play while being blocked. Looked swift for a DT in backside pursuit, keeping up with Justin Vincent as he stretched a run play wide

Louis Leonard, DT, Fresno St – Consistently got a good push. Showed a good swim
move. Threw Derrick Markray down like a rag doll. Uses handfighting well to get free of OL

Joe Cohen, DT, Florida – Plagued by offsides (at least 3 or 4 of them – heard him muttering about a “silent count” on the sidelines), but got a great jump and penetration when he wasn’t committing penalties.

Xsavie Jackson, DE, Missouri – Hurtles himself at QB – made a spin move at full speed while still pushing forward. Very fast rushing off of edge

LeMarcus Rowell, LB, Jacksonville State – Closed with the speed of a safety

Antwan Barnes, LB, Florida International – Great speed on blitz

Cameron Siskowic, LB, Illinois St – Didn’t bite on fake reverse and ate up the ball-carrier.

Jay Staggs, LB/S, UNLV – Flew into play but bounced off of Justise Hairston

Brendan Hill, S/LB, Virginia Tech –Jumped a route on a Justin Rascati pass and intercepted it, getting the D fired up

Marcus Paschal, S, Iowa – Closed well while the ball was in the air

Calvin Bannister, DB, Hampton – Closed extremely fast once he broke on the ball

Marcus Hamilton, CB, Virginia – Made good reads and reactions, trusting what he saw

John Bowie, CB, Cincinnati – Physical for a track guy, made great breaks on the ball while it was in the air. Generally provided great coverage and got coaches fired up.

Top 5 Players

1) Junior Taylor, WR, UCLA
2) Jonathan Palmer, OL, Auburn
3) John Bowie, CB, Cincinnati
4) Scott Stephenson, C, Iowa State
5) Marcus Thomas, DT, Florida

For more information, go to http://texasvsthenation.cstv.com/ . The game will be telecast Friday February 2 on CSTV at 10 pm EST/7 pm PST.

[Billy Clyde Puckett]

Thanks Rascal

[Elway777]

I couple of players the Broncos could look at on second day picks on are john Bowie who runs a 4.2 plus won the big east 100 meter title. Look like he is making a impact in practice and could be more then a track man.Marcus Price ,who lead his division in catches with 103 plus has 4.4 speed with 42 inch vertical and can return kicks.Xzzvie Jackson,who is a good pass rusher who 8 stacks plus 62 tackles for Missouri.Justice Hairsten,over 2000 yards this year. Marcus Mason,1800 yards plus over 6 yards a carry D.D. Lewis ,1300 yards and over 6 yards a carry.

[chaz]

Here is one snippet from a guy who was at the practice. Sounds like he is doing pretty good.

Walter Thomas, DT, NW Mississippi CC – Unstoppable when he got a good push, showed a good spin move (!) and was astoundingly nimble for a guy his size (think Gabe Watson at his best during Senior Bowl practices last year – dancing bear). Seemed to tire, and then get second wind. Didn’t excel on every play but was dominant when he did. Got lots of individual coaching and encouragement. Talk of the scouts in the stands. Jags practically drooling on him.

In this guys opinion he was better then Marcus Thomas (DT-Florida).

There are also a couple of good o-lineman down there in Nick Smith (C-Fresno State), Scott Stephenson (C-Iowa State), and Jonathan Palmer (OL-Auburn). Another DT getting some praise outside of Walter and Marcus was Brent Curbey of Iowa State.


nice info rascal...if this is true it sounds like he might be a good project, but like others said i wouldnt be surprised if some team fell in love with him earlier than he should go.

[Elway777]

A breakdown of player performance:

Josh Swogger (Montana) and Justin Rascati (James Madison) continued to stand out among the QBs. Swogger always seems calm going through progressions, and patient while still playing with a sense of urgency. His arm again showed equal ability to zip in short passes and throw a beautiful arc of a deep ball. Rascati’s cadence was noticeable all week and it drew multiple offsides in the 11 on 11 scrimmage. He also looked great on timing throws. Jeff Smith (Georgetown KY) still looked like a practice squad type QB. He threaded the needle on a ball into double coverage and a small window, but his accuracy seemed erratic. I have to give Dalton Bell (West Texas A&M) props for throwing as hard as any QB I watched this month, but he joins Andy Collins (Occidental) and Sam Hollenbach (Maryland) in the bottom half of the QBs at this game.

The RBs were not highlighted much running the ball. Paul Mosley (Baylor) did deliver some punishing blows and truly used his size as a weapon. Gary Russell seemed have his best day so far, displaying crisp cuts. Marcus Mason (Youngstown St) again displayed the short area quickness that gave him “move of the day” honors on Monday with great breaks running routes in the passing drill. Quentin Smith (Rice) again impressed me with his patience and burst, complimented by a good pad level. Justise Hairston (Central Connecticut State) continued to show some of the best vision of any of the RBs. He also seemed like a real mature, high character guy when I talked to him. Justin Vincent (LSU) did not stand out running the ball, but he looked very natural running a wheel route. No disrespect to the other RBs, but Ramonce Taylor (Texas College) is on another level with the ball in his hands. He has exceptional quickness and moves on the fly and just plays at a different speed, both mentally and physically. He even put his shoulder down and pushed a tackler backwards.

There was not a clear standout of the WR group, but Maurice Price seems like the one of with the best chance of hitting at the next level. He showed the ability to break down DBs and separate deep, and the hands to finish the play. Chandler Williams (Florida International) was probably the second most impressive WR athletically. Two other WRs that seemed like NFL athletes, Junior Taylor (UCLA) and Ryan Moore (Miami) were out with injuries. Taylor went home with a knee injury, but Moore is expected to play Friday. James Finley (Oregon) had the best hands this week, and made a few nice grabs again today. Tyrone Timmons (Mississippi Valley State) really came on today and used his big frame well. Dereck Faulkner (Hampton) also naturally used his big frame to his advantage, but couldn’t separate on a deep route. Jesse Wendt (Wisconsin-Stout) was frustrating, flashing terrific tools, but seeming unnatural when it was time to make a play on the ball. Vincent Marshall showed some grit when he locked up with Larry Anam (CB – Boston College) while run blocking the scrimmage.

Tyler Ecker (Michigan) was the class of the TEs again today. His soft hands and smooth athleticism have been apparent all week. Desmond Allison (South Dakota) continued to look more like a WR, especially on a terrific hands catch in traffic. I didn’t watch the pit as much as I did the last few days, but Louis Leonard (DT -Fresno St), Keenan Carter (DT -Virginia), Scott Stephenson (C-Iowa State) were among the players who made plays that caused great reaction from the players watching and surrounding the pit.. Xsavie Jackson (DE-Missouri) is clearly best pass rusher here and got an easy sack in the scrimmage. Walter Thomas (DT – NW Mississippi CC) also had his daily share of astounding plays, absolutely destroying Jonathan Palmer (OL-Auburn) on one confrontation – Palmer has been one of the most outstanding OL all week.

A few linebackers popped out. Antawn Barnes (Florida International) impressively stuck to Ramonce Taylor in coverage (Taylor still signaled like a ref throwing a flag after the play), and he also hung in to make an ankle tackle on Paul Mosley after bouncing off of him in the initial collision. Jay Staggs (UNLV) made some plays with speed and leaping ability. He seems like a good candidate to shift to safety. Taurean Charles (Bethune-Cookman) seemed to have no problem keeping up with RBs in coverage.

Two Nation corners have really caught my eye – Calvin Bannister (Hampton) and John Bowie (Cincinnati). If there was a good pass breakup today, chances are one of the two of them was in on it. Both seemed to combine top notch recovery speed with good instincts and aggression. Epsilon Williams (Texas State) popped out in a way that he hadn’t until today with great coverage and hitting. Brendan Hill (Virginia Tech) had possibly the interception of the week with a terrific leaping catch of a Dalton Bell fast ball directly over his head.

The scrimmage was probably the most enjoyable part of the entire three weeks I’ve spent watching all-star game practices. There were many outstanding plays, including DB Eric Buchanan jumping a route for an interception taken back the other way for six, LB Marcus Bacon (Missouri) body slamming FB Brian Stokes (Appalachian State), but Ramonce Taylor stole the show with a play that left a lasting image. Taylor initially took a run right, but nothing was there. He effortlessly reversed field and acclerated past the entire Nation defense like they were in slow motion. The Texas team mobbed him in the end zone at the end of the long TD. The lightning rod turned into the lightning bolt at the crescendo of a profound three days of practices in El Paso.

For more information, go to http://texasvsthenation.cstv.com/ . The game will be telecast Friday February 2 on CSTV at 10 pm EST/7 pm PST.

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Paranoidmoonduck
Veteran


Joined: 06 Mar 2006
Posts: 1927

Posted: Thu Feb 01, 2007 4:05 pm Post subject:

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[chickennob2]

just did a google search for ["Walter Thomas" DT] and this page is the 3rd result. Not bad for a bunch of message board junkies on the Mane.