Senior Bowl Preview: South skill position snapshots

January 23rd, 2009 by Vince Mullins

Earlier I broke down the North, I storm the South squad’s offensive skill position players for the Under Armour Senior Bowl that kicks off Saturday Night at 7pm ET.

Link to North Team

1 Mohamed Massaquoi WR 6-2 200 Georgia
Never put up the huge numbers expected with Matthew Stafford under center, but that Knowshon guy had a lot to do with that the last couple years. My guess is he is another Andre Hastings with little upside.

2 Mike Thomas WR 5-8 195 Arizona
Pac Ten’s career leader in catches (259) had four productive years in Tuscon, but his size will be a concern at the top level. Thomas did return punts for the first time as a starter in 2008 and brought two back to the house, that is a skill the NFL always has its eye on. Numbers were better as a junior than a senior, and as a senior most of his big games were against weak competitione. He will look particularly small in this group, I think of him like Az-hazir Hakim but not as fast.

5 Pat White QB 6-2 195 West Virginia
Hometown hero commits to playing QB but his skill set seems more like Brad Smith than Kordell Stewart. His passing improved in his senior year but an NFL team would need to commit themselves to a spread-type offense to best take advantage of his running skills. I really thought he would commit to WR like Brad Smith did. Easily the most compelling figure of the week as he tests his wares in the NFL systems.

the rest of the squad…

6 Quan Cosby WR 5-11 2050 Texas
The star of the Fiesta Bowl and also a former minor league baseball player. Intriguing since he is already 26 years old which is rare for a draftee, but I vaguely remember Houston RB Antoine Smith some years ago become a first-round pick at the same age. Cosby likely is not a first-day pick but does provide immediate maturity and a great work ethic.

7 Patrick Turner WR 6-5 220 USC
Now here is an athlete that will get scout’s attention. Should be a top ten WR taken in April, but Turner had difficulty standing out from the pack in SoCal – that is the risk when you go play for Pete Carroll.

9 Mike Wallace WR 6-0 185 Ole Miss
I am going out on a limb here to say he may be the sleeper of this event at WR. He has decent size, returns kicks and repeatedly got deep in the SEC even if QB like Seth Adams and Brent Schaeffer couldn’t deliver the ball.

10 Cullen Harper QB 6-4 220 Clemson
As I like to say he wins the swimsuit competition but did not follow through on his breakout junior campaign. There may be bigger issues at Clemson (coaching changes, administration)but at the end of each day the QB takes the bulk of the praise and the criticism and Clemson underperformed for his two years at the helm.

11 Kenny McKinley WR 6-0 185 South Carolina
Pass catchers schooled in the art by Steve Spurrier do not have a great NFL track record – Ike Hilliard is the only one I recall that put together a productive multi-year career. McKinley is lightning quick if a bit thinner than the NFL template.

14 John Parker Wilson QB 6-2 215 Alabama
Quite likely the next Jay Barker – remember JPW throwing it all over the place in the 2008 spring game? A smoke screen for the defense and run the ball attack. Wilson will likely get the usual “great footwork” and “understanding of the game” accolades but no references to his physical tools.

22 James Davis RB 5-11 210 Clemson

Davis declared for the Draft last year then rethought his decision to return to Clemson for his senior year. His backstory is one of poverty and I am glad to see him get this opportunity, but he never did dazzle us as much as he did in his freshman season. I suppose CJ Spiller had something to do with that.

23 Rashad Jennings RB 6-1 235 Liberty
Bonus points for working his own Twitter feed ! Great size and speed combo, between him and Ramses Barden WR on the North team they get a great chance to prove themselves against elite competition.

24 Andre Brown RB 6-0 230 NC State
My favorite quote about him was from Chuck Amato called him the next Herschel Walker. We never got to see that in an injury-marred Wolfpack career.

27 Arian Foster RB 6-1 215 Tennessee
Not Drew Smith’s favorite fantasy college football running back of all time, let alone the school. And Foster also likes to talk in prehistoric languages. Put it all together he is a player yet to reach his potential in the eyes of many.

40 Patrick McAfee K West Virginia
If you can kick in the Appalachian winters, you can likely kick anywhere.

45 Quinn Johnson RB 6-2 240 LSU
Third guard blocking specialist.

81 Shawn Nelson TE 6-5 240 Southern Miss
One of the top 5 pass catching TE in college for the last three years, Nelson can block but really stands out as a matchup on linebackers. I wonder if he will lose a few pounds to play wideout, or bulk up and stay next to the tackle? My guess is he will keep a hand down in the pros.

83 Travis McCall TE 6-2 260 Alabama
In 14 games McCall grabbed 7 passes for 52 yards and no touchdowns. That was an improvement over his junior year. Likely no fantasy relevance.

85 Anthony Hill TE 6-6 265 NC State
Elite athlete whose produstion didn’t fully show in his offensive numbers. Hill missed his junior 2007 season with an ACL injury but returned to catch four TDs.

More from Drew, Daniel and John from the Senior Bowl as the week continues.

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