• 8:00am CST - Greetings from Mobile, Alabama!

   This is now my eighth year of coming down to the Senior Bowl and I’m looking forward to once again providing the best coverage out there, all 100% free. My goal is to not only relay information but also make you feel as if you’re watching the action and experiencing everything right alongside me all week long. I will once again be joined by Draft Countdown Analyst Shane P. Hallam, who will be helping to cover all of the events and also contributing to this blog.

   Be sure to follow me on Twitter as well!

   I actually arrived in Mobile yesterday after a pretty long day of travel. My flight wasn’t scheduled to leave until 9:05am CST but I live about an hour and a half away from the Minneapolis / St. Paul Airport. That meant I had to get up at 5am, leave the house at 6am and I ultimately arrived at MSP around 7:30am. We got into the air a little late then had to circle Atlanta for about thirty minutes before landing due to rain storms. That is where Shane and I met up for our connecting flight to Mobile, but it was delayed a little more than an hour and a half. Fortunately we were able to kill the time chatting with Michael Schottey from Bleacher Report. Unfortunately "Schottey’s" luggage was no where to be found when we finally arrived in Mobile. Long story short, it is en route from Atlanta, GA via Montgomery, AL. While waiting by the luggage carousel we saw a bunch of players arriving, including North Alabama CB Janoris Jenkins, Missouri TE Michael Egnew, Iowa WR Marvin McNutt, Cal Poly CB Asa Jackson and Georgia P Drew Butler. After we picked up the rental car the three of us hit Baumhower’s Wings for some grub and to catch the tail end of the East / West Shrine Game. Based on Shane and Schottey’s recommendation I tried Yuengling beer for the first time. It was excellent, but I don’t believe they sell it in Minnesota... Afterwards we checked into the hotel and did some prep work for the week. All said and done it was about a thirteen hour trip door to door.

   The weather during the Senior Bowl has been known to get dicey at times, but so far the forecast doesn’t look too bad. Even though there is a chance of rain throughout the week it’s going to be in the high-60’s to low-70’s, which is music to my ears considering it was -18 degrees (Fahrenheit) when I left Minnesota!

   We will be doing a short podcast this morning to test out a new microphone so if you are around tune in live via Blog Talk Radio at 10:00am CST. Either Shane or I will check in with at least one more update before we leave the hotel.

• 10:30am CST - Senior Bowl Week has begun! Despite a few minor trials and obstacles we made it to Mobile and are ready to provide top-notch coverage of the entire week in many, many different forms. Some highlights include:

  • For the most up to date news and analysis, make sure you are following Scott and myself on Twitter. We will be tweeting like mad men throughout the week!

  • Every morning, we will be recording short podcasts to review the practices, experiences, and preview the upcoming day. For those who wake up early (7:00am CST) and want to listen live you can do so at Blog Talk Radio or get the archived shows later via BTR or iTunes. We will also have Preview and Review on gameday (Saturday, 1/28) at 10:00am CST and 10:30pm CST respectively to answer any lingering questions. You may be sick of our voices by weeks end.

  • The weigh-in will be Monday (1/23) morning and we will finally get accurate heights, weights, arm lengths, hand sizes, etc. for every player participating in the Senior Bowl. We'll try and Tweet some results live from the ballroom too!

  • Each day, Scott and I will be attending practices for both the North and South teams and combining our notes to write practice reports highlighting the players that stood out positively and negatively. Not only that, but we will be observing which teams are talking to which players after each practice to gauge their potential interests and attending all the press conferences with coaches and players. All of this information can be found at our Senior Bowl Headquarters.

  • Finally, on Friday (1/27) Scott and I will hold a live chat to answer all of your questions from the week! Be sure to join us at 3:00pm CST!

   As always we will be working hard to bring you the best Senior Bowl coverage on the internet and trying to cover every possible angle. Feel free to tweet us or join the discussion at the "DC" Forums and let us know what you want to see!

   Right now Scott and I are headed over to the Riverview Hotel to observe the player arrivals and meet with fellow draftniks from all over the country while watching the NFL's conference championship games. We will check in a little later with an update on the latest buzz from the Senior Bowl's main hub, roster changes, news from the first press conference of the week and much more.

• 1:30pm CST - Arrived at Riverview late morning and picked up our credentials for the week. Afterwards we hung out in the lobby for a couple of hours, observing the players as they checked in, went back and forth between physicals, meetings with scouts, etc. In that short period of time we saw 56 differents prospects! Surprisingly Cal WR Marvin Jones was the only guy who wasn't previously confirmed as an invite, although that could be a good thing as maybe it means there won't be as many prospects dropping out at the last minute. North Carolina DE Quinton Coples is one player who I was concerned might opt out but he is indeed in Mobile to compete. Unfortunately one big name who won't be here is Baylor WR Kendall Wright, who has an ankle injury.

   It's always fun to get a first look at these players up close and personnel. Some of the guys who impressed and passed the eye-ball test include Ohio St. OT Mike Adams, Iowa WR Marvin McNutt and Georgia WR Brandon Boykin. So far McNutt, who is big and ripped with long arms, may be the most impressive physical specimen that I've seen thus far, although Adams is certainly no slouch either. On the other end of the spectrum I was surprised at how short Nebraska CB Alfonzo Dennard looked, although he is thickly built. In fact, Dennard almost looks like a running back. Also, South Carolina DE Melvin Ingram has a unique body type. Not saying that as a positive or negative, but he appears to be built more like a defensive tackle than a outside linebacker. It should be very interesting to see how Ingram is utilized this week. For what it's worth we saw Ingram speaking with a scout from the Detroit Lions.

   One other note on Montana CB / S Trumaine Johnson, who I was really hoping to see this week. Johnson did not receive an invitation but is highly thought of by the games organizers and could be added later on in the week as a roster replacement. I really hope so because I want to evaluate whether Johnson profiles as more of a corner or safety in the pros. Still borderline shocked that Johnson was not invited...

   The plan now is to head down to the lounge and watch the NFL's conference championship games, although we'll have to take a break for the first press conference at 4:00pm CST. Word is Alabama OLB Courtney Upshaw will be there as well as a couple of Penn St. players to address the Joe Paterno situation. Either Shane or I will check in with another update afterwards.

• 7:00pm CST - After watching the majority of the AFC Championship game, it was time to kick off Senior Bowl week officially with the first press conference. With the passing of legendary Penn State head coach Joe Paterno, Senior Bowl CEO Steven Hale talked about Paterno, his longevity, and how much he supported the Senior Bowl. After that, Penn State CB D’Anton Lynn and DE Jack Crawford came to the podium to answer questions about their experiences with Joe Paterno, the circumstances surrounding the Penn State program this year and what his legacy will be. The players were obviously saddened by the loss and wished they could spend time with their fellow teammates and students back in State College. Both commented that they wanted to represent the school well and their hearts were with the Penn State family. Lynn was well spoken and articulated himself very well. Crawford had a unique accent being from New Jersey via London and seemed extremely sincere. See a full recap here.

   The highlight of the press conference was North Carolina DE Quinton Coples answering questions from the media. Coples was dressed nicely and was very well spoken. I'd venture to say that Coples will answer questions from NFL teams well and be able to articulate what happened at North Carolina. The focus of the conference was moving on from the adversity at UNC and having fun in the Senior Bowl and beyond. Coples said he has been working on dropping into coverage and a possible switch to the 3-4. When asked about playing multiple positions this week Coples said he is going to focus on defensive end but oddly enough the alternative discussed wasn't defensive tackle but outside linebacker.

   We will check in later tonight with at least one more update.

• 11:45pm CST - Just got back to the hotel a little bit ago. Of course on the way we had to stop at Walmart to pick up some delicious Grapico, which is the unofficial beverage of the Senior Bowl. I mean really unofficial. The company says it best: "Achieves a level of grapeness other sodas can only dream of".

   All right, back to business...

   It was a lot of fun watching the games and hanging out with a bunch of fellow draftniks. In addition to Shane and I there was also Matt Bitonti of Draft Daddy, Joe Everett of Rookie Draft, Paul Guillemette of Pigskin Paul’s Place and Doug Lancy of NFLDraft101.com. It doesn't get much better than talking NFL Draft with other die-hard enthusiasts! The quote of the night came courtesy of Bitonti, who during a discussion on the quarterback prospects proclaimed "Ryan Lindley isn't terrible some of the time". Now that is not exactly a ringing endorsement.

   We finally got our hands on a copy of the updated rosters, which can be found online at SeniorBowl.com:

   Unfortunately Penn St. DT Devon Still, Oklahoma St. OT Levy Adcock, Auburn OT Brandon Mosley, Cal ILB Mychal Kendricks and Midwestern St. OG Amini Silatolu have all been dropped for various reasons. The big name of course is Still, who is claiming a toe injury. However, in my opinion that seems a little dubious considering that Still said "Always keep YOUR best interest at heart" on Twitter this evening. Also, it probably doesn’t look good to be bragging about "Chillin on the beach jus thinking" while other prospects are in Mobile working and competing. But I digress… The guys who have been announced as replacements are Illinois OT Jeff Allen, Cal WR Marvin Jones, Cincinnati DT Derek Wolfe and Texas A&M DT Tony Jerod-Eddie. Of that group Allen is the most intriguing, but I also feel like Jerod-Eddie could really open some eyes.

   Finally, be sure to check out this video of Yahoo's Doug Farrar running the 40 Yard Dash. I'm not sure how it flew under my radar until now, but it's hilarious.

• 6:00am CST - It’s the official Day 1 of the 2012 Senior Bowl week, even though DraftCountdown.com has already provided a full day of coverage.

   Here’s the schedule:

      7:00am CST – Podcast

   This morning we'll be taping a one hour podcast in which we look at what's already happened then preview the day. If you are awake it can be heard live on the net. If not you can listen to the archive online or get it off iTunes later.

      10:30am CST – Weigh-In

   One of the highlights of the week. In many cases this is the first chance to get verified measurements on a lot of these prospects. Each player will be brought on stage in front of hundreds of scouts, coaches and personnel men wearing only his shorts to be measured and weighed. As usual we will get over to the Mobile Convention Center, where it takes place, about an hour early to see if there is any buzz emanating from the massive crowd hanging around outside the ballroom. Then as soon as it’s finished we'll find a spot and begin inputting all of the data for the site. You'll be able to check out the results on the Weigh-In page.

   Shane is once again excited for this event and has been trying to think of some words to describe the bodies of players for the report but so far the best he's come up with is "Lovely". TWEET him some more adjective suggestions!

      2:45pm CST – Practice

   The first practices actually take place simultaneously, with the North at Ladd-Peebles Stadium and the South traveling about 30 minutes to Fairhope. Each session will last an hour and a half. Shane and I will be covering the North while Matt Bitonti of Draft Daddy and Joe Everett of Rookie Draft will be handling the South, then we’ll exchange reports to run on each others sites. That way our readers get the low- down on what happened with both of the teams rather than just one or the other. Can't wait to watch some live football!

      6:15pm – Media Night

   This is a dinner / meet and greet where the media is able to talk one-on-one with the players. We hope to conduct at least a half dozen interviews tonight, which will all eventually run on DraftCountdown.com in the coming weeks.

   When all is said and done we will most likely arrive back at the hotel around 9:30pm CST, at which time we’ll put the finishing touches on the day’s practice reports and get them up on the site as soon as possible. We'll also be updating this blog throughout the day as many times as the schedule allows. Make sure you are following me on Twitter as well! Need some incentive? We will try and tweet notable results live from the ballroom shortly after the numbers are announced so my followers get the information long before it's on any site.

   Time to get ready for the day but we will check in again after the weigh-in.

• 11:45am CST - Just finished the weigh-in. We are going right to work on inputting all the results but I wanted to check in with some initial impressions.

  The following are my top standouts, in alphabetical order:

  For all of the weigh-in results, CLICK HERE

   Here is a look inside the ballroom where the weigh-in was held:

• 6:00pm CST -   Technically the media night doesn’t start until 6:15pm CST but Shane and I decided to come out to the Battleship Alabama early to write a blog and get a jump start on the reports. We are currently sitting at a banquet table surrounded by a bunch of fighter planes. It is quite the atmosphere!

  The practice reports will be available tonight, probably pretty late, but here is a sneak peak at some guys who stood out as well as a couple who struggled:

  • NC St. WR T.J. Graham was outstanding. Graham is just so fast and explosive that he looks like he is playing on a different level. Kind of reminds me of Mike Wallace when he was down in Mobile a few years ago.

  • Cal WR Marvin Jones really surprised me. Jones was very smooth, flashed better speed than I expected and was technically sound. I’m going to be keeping a very close eye on this guy the rest of the week!

  • Wisconsin OG Kevin Zeitler was dominant and showed everyone why he is so highly-thought of. Zeitler especially stood out in the run blocking drills, where he manhandled some pretty talented defensive tackles such as Alameda Ta’amu.

  • Boise St. RB Doug Martin actually looked surprisingly explosive and showcased his well-rounded skill set. Martin was by far the best running back on the North squad today and it wasn’t even close.

  • Nebraska CB Alfonso Dennard struggled mightily and looked nothing like a potential first round pick today. Dennard was fine when he could be physical with wideouts and keep the action in front of him but when it came time to turn and run things went real bad. The North wide receivers had no trouble blowing right past Dennard, just like Alshon Jeffery did in the Capital One Bowl.

  • Washington RB Chris Polk showed little or no explosiveness or burst and was unable to get outside to turn the corner. As I’ve said all along, Polk is a "meat and potatoes" runner who is going to fall a bit further than most expect.

  Shane and I have a star-studded list of interviews that we are going to try and conduct tonight. I will check in with another new blog entry detailing how things went when I get back to the hotel later this evening so be sure to stop back.

• 10:00pm CST - The media night was a blast and very productive.

  Shane and I wound up conducting eight in-depth interviews. I just can't say enough about how well the Senior Bowl treats us. The one player who I wanted to talk to but didn't get a chance was Alabama OLB Courtney Upshaw, who was obviously in high demand since he is a local Crimson Tide star. After waiting for a while Upshaw had to leave, but a rep from the Senior Bowl promised me five minutes alone with Upshaw tomorrow after practice. Talk about a classy move!

  The following is a list of players that we did have a chance to speak with:

  Here are just a few notes and highlights:

     * I've been accused to being too lenient when it comes to Jenkins, but I was impressed with the kid. Janoris seemed very sincere, didn't duck any questions and kept excellent eye contact. Granted Jenkins has been preparing for interviews, but if he performs as well in front of NFL decision makers as he did tonight I don't think those off-the-field concerns are going to hurt all that much.

     * I asked Coples if there was one younger Tar Heel prospect for draftniks to keep an eye out for in the future. Quinton proceeded to rattle off about ten names (literally) before I finally just asked if it would be easier to just name who is bad. Coples is a real engaging kid with a great personality who was laughing and smiling throughout the entire interview. I was very impressed with Coples.

     * Zeitler doesn't have a bet with fellow Badger Peter Konz about who will be selected earlier in the 2012 NFL Draft, but they are both gunning to be chosen higher than former teammate Gabe Carimi was so they can give him some guff.

     * Brown was personable and outgoing. When asked about the type of schemes he would be a fit for at the next level Brown said he has played rush backer and inside in a 3-4 and all three linebacker positions in a 4-3 during his career.

     * Ingram was very serious and a man of few words but seemed like a leader.

     * Ta'amu is a solid young man. Soft spoken but genuine with a good approach to everything. Ta'amu told me the Houston Texans have shown some interest.

  Look for those interviews on DraftCountdown.com in the coming weeks!

  I'm going right to work on the practice reports now so this is probably the last blog entry of the day. Look for the reports late tonight or very early tomorrow.

• 8:00am CST - Wow, I slept good! Just not nearly long enough (3 Hours)... The Senior Bowl week is always super fun but it's also quite exhausting and yesterday was a perfect example. When all was said and done it was essentially a 21 hour work day with little or no break. In many ways the day's only half over when all of the events end because then it’s time to type up all of the reports, which takes hours and hours. It's not back-breaking work but any stretch of the imagination, but it starts to take a toll throughout the week. It’s tough to complain about a day spent watching, talking and writing about football though!

  Today is the start of what I guess you'd call the "normal" schedule. There will be two practices, with the North team taking the field at 9:30am CST and the South squad starting their session at 2:45pm CST. Then at 5:30pm CST there will be a press conference as well. Of course we will have in-depth coverage of all of it. After dealing with some dicey weather at times yesterday it looks like today will be cloudy with a high in the seventies and little or no precipitation.

  In case you missed it we are taping short, thirty minute podcasts every morning recapping the previous days happenings and previewing the next. All of the archived shows can be found at either Blog Talk Radio or on iTunes.

   We also have some roster news. I spoke with a Senior Bowl official to find out why Notre Dame WR Michael Floyd isn’t participating. I was told that Floyd is not injured and that he simply didn’t want or feel the need to come down here. I would disagree with that assessment, but hopefully it works out for Floyd on Draft Day. At least have the common courtesy of fabricating an injury like most guys… Other players who've been dropped include Clemson DE Andre Branch, Texas A&M RB Cyrus Gray and Arizona St. C Garth Gerhart. It’s still unclear why Branch opted out but Gray failed his physical, which I will try to get some more details on, and Gerhart injured his finger. With those subtractions comes some additions those and today we expect to see Louisiana Tech RB Lennon Creer, Wake Forest OG Joe Looney, and Tennessee DE Malik Jackson join us.

  Finally, allow me to pimp Monday's coverage in case you missed something.

   Right after I upload this entry we’re going to grab some breakfast then head on over to Ladd-Peebles Stadium for the North practice. On the way we are going to stop at Kinkos and get our rosters with all of the weigh-in results laminated. I'll check in with a new blog entry between practices late morning / early afternoon.

• 12:30pm CST - Just wrapped up this mornings North practice and am at a nearby Starbucks getting some work done along with Shane and Joe Everett. It was a fun session and the weather was fantastic! Among the standouts were North Carolina St. Audie Cole, Iowa WR Marvin McNutt, Connecticut DT Kendall Reyes and Washington DT Alameda Ta’amu. It’s still early but regardless of what happens later on the highlight of my day was watching Hall of Famer Mike Singletary coach the linebackers. For a football fan it just does not get any better. Here is a nice photo that I snapped of "Samurai" in action:

   While watching the offensive lineman today I had a revelation. Ohio St. OT Mike Adams is Nate Solder. Both are too inconsistent, looking outstanding at times and leaving you scratching your head others. However Adams, like Solder, is simply too talented to fall out of the first round and could ultimately be selected in the Top 20 overall as well. For what it’s worth Eric Dellerata from Pewter Report told me he overheard scouts from the Philadelphia Eagles eying up Adams. Considering Philly’s penchant for taking lineman in the first round it would make some sense. I am also convinced that this year’s Senior Bowl fight is going to be between Ohio St. C Mike Brewster and Michigan DT Mike Martin. The two were already natural enemies and they were getting awfully chippy with each other in the one-on-one drills. My guess is they throw down on Wednesday and it should be glorious. On the injury front Michigan St. TE Brian Linthicum was in shorts and didn't practice while Wake Forest OG Joe Looney unfortunately tore a ligament in his first practice since being added to the roster and will have to undergo surgery. Looney saw action at center before the injury.

   I am definitely looking forward to seeing the South team for the first time this afternoon. That afternoon practice on Tuesday is always the most well-attended, star-studded of the week so check back later for another new blog entry, probably in the early evening. I'm sure there will be some good tidbits to share.

• 5:00pm CST - No disrespect to the North squad, but my goodness does the South team have a lot of talent. I also love the way the Redskins coaching staff is running their practices, doing a lot of one-on-one’s and putting the players in good situations to be evaluated. The lineman in particular are an extremely impressive group. I will have a lot of details in the practice report later tonight, but let’s just say that I'm an even bigger fan of Florida St. OT Zebrie Sanders than I was before. Sanders was matched up against the likes of Quinton Coples, Courtney Upshaw and Melvin Ingram today and played extremely physical with a real nasty streak. Now that’s not to say Sanders didn’t lose some of those battles, but it’s important to remember that those are three first round talents he was going up against. Check out this photo of Sanders engaged with Upshaw:

   You’d be hard pressed to find three more impressive physical specimens than Sanders, Cordy Glenn of Georgia and Matt McCants of U.A.B. However, after today I am now officially convinced that Glenn won’t be able to play left tackle at the next level. Don’t rule out right tackle though. I was also stunned by how good the South linebacking corp was. Talk about a bunch of speedy and athletic ‘backers. Good luck to any running back who is trying to get outside and turn the corner on guys like Zach Brown of North Carolina, Sean Spence of Miami (FL), Keenan Robinson of Texas and Nigel Bradham of Florida St. There was a funny moment during this session too when at one point new Redskins Defensive Backs Coach Raheem Morris asked Casey Hayward "Where’s your skirt" when he wanted the Vanderbilt cornerback to be more physical in the 7-on-7's.

   As far as notes, I was able to confirm that a groin injury is the reason why Clemson DE Andre Branch is not participating. After practice I had a chance to speak with Florida RB / WR Chris Rainey, who plans to run at the Scouting Combine next month and thinks he will clock a "4.1". I asked who would win a race between Rainey and his former teammate Jeff Demps, who is setting his football career aside for the time being to compete for a spot in the 2012 Olympics. Rainey said that he would win the 40 but Demps would win the 100.

   It is time for the press conference, the first with the head coaches, but I will definitely check in at least once more this evening after we get back to the hotel and before I start the long process of typing up all of today’s in-depth reports.

• 8:30pm CST - Back at the hotel and getting ready to type up today’s practice reports. After less than twelve hours of sleep in the past three days combined I needed some fuel before tackling today’s practice reports, which is how a little something that I like to call "5-Hour Energy Grapico" was born. Delicious!

   The speakers at tonight’s press conference were Washington Redskins Head Coach Mike Shanahan, Minnesota Vikings Head Coach Leslie Frazier, Michigan St. QB Kirk Cousins and Florida RB Chris Rainey. I asked Frazier what the priority would be if the Vikings could only address one position this season but basically got an answer full of coach speak. Frazier did say he wished they had just one need but that there are a lot of areas where they could use help. Cousins was very impressive, but we already knew that. Shane is going to type up a full recap of the presser, which will be up later this evening. As I mentioned earlier today Wake Forest OG Joe Looney suffered a pretty serious injury and he is being replaced by Rishaw Johnson of Cal (PA). I am pretty excited to see what Johnson can do because he is a transfer from Ole Miss who is arguably an early round talent but character concerns have left his draft stock in flux. One person that I know is very happy to see Johnson get added is good friend of Draft Countdown Bobby Deren, an author who is following Rishaw and a number of others prospects as they attempt to navigate through the draft process at TheDraftSeason.com.

   I am going to get working on those reports now, which I hope to have up either late tonight or very early tomorrow. We'll be back at it again tomorrow though. Be sure to check out all of our latest content at the Senior Bowl Headquarters.

• 8:15am CST - As expected Tuesday was a long day. I opted to hit the sack, grab three hours of sleep then got up at 4:30am to finish up the South practice report. At a certain point it’s better to just get some rest because the quality was starting to suffer and the efficiency level was going down as well. Everything is done now though so be sure to check out all of yesterday’s coverage:

  Just a reminder that Shane and I are taping new thirty minute long podcasts every morning in which we recap what happened the day before and preview what’s on tap. The archived shows can be found on Blog Talk Radio and iTunes.

  Oh, I need a little help too. My goal was to have 6,000 followers on Twitter by the end of the Senior Bowl week and I am already just 138 short as of this writing. If for some strange reason you aren’t already following me, please just go to http://www.Twitter.com/ DraftCountdown and click the "Follow" button.

  We are also holding a contest again this year to give away an autographed 8x10 photo of a prospect. The voting to determine which prospect is currently underway on the "DC" Forums so if you are interested stop by for all the details.

  Time to finish getting ready and head out for the North practice but will check in afterward with a new blog entry before the South session this afternoon.

• 12:45pm CST - At our old stoming grounds (Starbucks) again getting a little work done before this afternoon's South practice.

  After this morning’s session I spoke with Nebraska LB Lavonte David and asked if he thinks there is a possibility he will be anything other than a 4-3 weakside linebacker at the next level. David said that he played the middle at times for the Huskers and that the possibility of being a 3-4 MIKE has been raised. David thinks he will indeed be a WILL in an even front, but it was kind of interesting that there might be at least one other option.

  It seems as though Kansas City Chiefs Quarterbacks Coach Jim Zorn may be a fan of Michigan St. QB Kirk Cousins, pointing out that the Spartan puts nice touch on his passes.

  Of course we’ll have a full, in-depth review of the North practice later tonight but some of the standouts included Notre Dame S Harrison Smith, Virginia DE Cam Johnson, Cal WR Marvin Jones, Utah State LB Bobby Wagner and Cal OT Mitchell Schwartz. A couple of guys who continued to struggle were Boise St. QB Kellen Moore and Nevada ILB James Michael-Johnson. Arkansas St. OLB Demario Davis has also been impressive and just gets better every day. I also liked the fact that before practice Davis was running through some drills so he could perform better today. Davis was getting teammates involved as well. Love to see that type of leadership and drive to improve. Keep an eye on Davis, who is undersized but should test pretty well at the Scouting Combine next month. Finally, every year people make fun of me for using the term "bubble-butt" but it is in fact a legit scouting term. In fact, it’s a term of endearment! Today I mentioned to Shane that Cal (PA) OG Rishaw Johnson is a perfect example of a bubble-butt, which he put on Twitter. Well, Rishaw retweeted it so apparently it didn’t bother him!

  I am going to start working the this mornings report before it’s time to head back to Ladd-Peebles Stadium for the South session. The guys I'm most looking forward to seeing are North Alabama CB Janoris Jenkins, Oklahoma St. QB Brandon Weeden and, my boy, Louisiana-Lafayette CB "Big Bad Bill" Bentley.

  Will check in with another entry after practice before the press conference.

• 5:00pm CST - Back at Riverview for the press conference.

  Picked up a few interesting tidbits from the South practice this afternoon. I am a big guy so it isn’t often that I meet someone and think "Wow, that guy is huge". The gold standard for that phenomenon in the eight years that I’ve been coming down to the Senior Bowl has been Carl Nicks, but after meeting Georgia OL Cordy Glenn today there might now be competition. Glenn’s hand just engulfed mine when we shook. I was also eavesdropping on an interview that Oklahoma St. QB Brandon Weeden was doing with a newspaper reporter and he said that there is nothing to do about his age. Weeden said he wishes he could change that date on the birth certificate to "1989" and if it was possible he’d have his agent do it, with a big smile on his face of course. Weeden is a real engaging, personable guy and I hope to get him on the podcast in the coming weeks. I also spoke with Jake Bequette of Arkansas about the transition from defensive end to linebacker this week. Bequette said that it was something he was asked to do when he got here and wasn’t prepared for it but is glad that he did it because he’s shown some teams that he can stand up. The most difficult part has been coverage because he didn’t do it in college. Bequette said that he is still being considered at both positions depending on the team he is talking to at the time and that he is going to try and get "as big as he can at a weight that he still feels fast" for pre-draft workouts, which is about 270 pounds. Heard a great quote from Boise St. RB Doug Martin courtesy of Andrew Garda too: "If you don’t have a chip on your shoulder, you better find one". Gotta love that attitude and mindset! DC's own Shane P. Hallam got a little scoop today as well after talking with former Ohio St. Head Coach John Cooper, who now works as a consultant for the Cincinnati Bengals. Cooper said that he likes Doug Martin but the Bengals probably won’t pull the trigger in the second round. Finally, there have been a lot of questions about why West Virginia DE / OLB Bruce Irvin isn’t at the Senior Bowl. As it turns out there is actually a pretty simple explanation as Irvin was not invited.

  Unfortunately I am coming down with a scratchy throat and a minor cough. Running myself down a little this week I guess… Going to stop at CVS on the way back to the hotel and load up on some stuff to hopefully head it off a bit. Can't be sick at the Senior Bowl! Will check in with one more blog entry later tonight.

• 8:15pm CST - It was an interesting press conference, here are the highlights:

  I asked Washington Redskins Head Coach Mike Shanahan what qualities he looks for in a quarterback and this was his answer:

  "I’m asked that all the time and it is really hard to pinpoint it. Cause there is so many things you look for. A guy’s gotta be competitive, very competitive. A guy’s gotta be bright, extremely bright. You’d like a guy that is an athlete that can make plays on his own sometimes. Usually if he doesn’t have that athletic ability he’s got to be a little bit taller because he can see and be able to dump the ball off instead of using his feet. But at the end of the day there is so many things you look for and it’s always hard to find the prototype guy and a lot of times you have to adjust your offense to the type of quarterback you do have."

  Competitive. Bright. Athletic. Tall. Doesn’t that basically describe Texas A&M QB Ryan Tannehill perfectly? You could make the argument that Oklahoma St. QB Brandon Weeden fits the profile too. I guess technically it could fit Baylor QB Robert Griffin III since he hedged at the end. It's obviously just an educated guess on my part, but if I were a betting man I’d say either Tannehill or Weeden will be playing for the Washington Redskins when next season rolls around.

  Alabama OLB Courtney Upshaw also spoke and said the best offensive lineman he faced this week was Georgia’s Cordy Glenn. I asked Upshaw if there was extra competitiveness with Melvin Ingram of South Carolina in practice since they are battling for the same slot on Draft Day and this was Courtney’s response:

  I mean, we teammates man. Of course we all think about it, you know. We all read, go on Google and read this and that. But I’m here to win also. I’m a competitor. I don’t wanna come here and lose because I’m trying to compete with Melvin. Like I said that guy is a tremendous player and when I watch him rush and do his thing it’s like wow. It is what it is and hopefully I get drafted beforehand and if not right behind him."

  Starting work on today’s practice reports now, look for those in the morning.

• 8:00am CST - As I mentioned last night I am coming down with a bit of a cold, although being sleep deprived is probably half the problem. I was going to knock out Wednesday’s practice reports last evening but I was really dragging and instead opted to hit the sack at 10:00pm. I then got up at 2:00am ("Rise & Grind") and went right back to work. That four hours is actually the most sleep I've had since last week! Both reports are now finished and live on the site:

  A lot of the NFL personnel have already begun to leave town so things are going to start winding down. It will be interesting to see how today goes because even though there are two practices scheduled there is rain and thunderstorms in the forecast. At this point it looks like more a question of "when" it will rain then "if". There is a decent chance we'll get the North session in this morning, but with a better than 90% chance of precipiation this afternoon it's hard to imagine the South practice not getting interrupted. It's still unclear what will happen if the weather gets real bad, although the idea of holding practice in a ballroom at the convention center was broached. If that happens the media may or may not be allowed in. We shall see... A practice has never been moved or canceled due to weather in the eight years that I've been coming to the Senior Bowl so there is really no telling how this will play out. Personally, as much as I want to watch a couple more practices I don't want to stand out in the pouring rain and get drenched either. Especially since I am already a little under the weather.

  Stay tuned throughout the day because as long as there is something to be covered, we are going to cover it. Assuming there are no changes to the schedule I will check back in either late morning or early afternoon with another entry.

  Be sure to follow me on Twitter for updates throughout the day as well.

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Posted By: Scott Wright    

• 12:30pm CST - Well, as we feared today’s practices were moved indoors due to rainstorms and a tornado watch. Inclimate weather is nothing new during Senior Bowl week, but this is the first time a practice has been moved inside in the eight years that I’ve been coming down to Mobile. We actually went to Ladd-Peebles Stadium this morning for the North session but after five minutes the rain began to fall and everyone retreated to the Mobile Convention Center, which is attached to the Renaissance Mobile Riverview by skywalk. The session took place inside a large concrete hall and it was basically a walk-through. Oh joy, TWO walk-throughs this year! The North spent the time running through plays and while I’d like to tell you that there was something significant that we took away from the practice, I’d be lying. The highlight was actually standing around chatting with fellow draftniks who are still in town. However, it was worthwhile if for no other reason than I got to speak with Hall of Famer Mike Singletary, who is now on the Minnesota Vikings coaching staff. I asked Samurai a couple of questions about the North linebackers and we will play a clip on tomorrow morning’s podcast. On the way back across the skywalk to the media room the tornado siren was blaring. Unfortunately it’s going to be more of the same this afternoon for the South, but we'll be there. I'll also type up practice reports tonight, although be warned there might be more photos than words!

  Finally, for those of you who would like to put faces to some of the names that I’ve been talking about in this blog all week long, here is a picture of a group that I like to call "The Draft Dorks" (Disclaimer: They Preferred "The Draftniks"):

  I'll check in with another entry after we get back to our hotel late afternoon.

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Posted By: Scott Wright    

• 4:30pm CST - Unfortunately the South practice this afternoon was once again in the convention center and while it was somewhat better than the North’s session there was still little or nothing to glean from it. Unless you are a fan of Alabama TE Brad Smelley, who inexplicably caught about a dozen passes. We were trying to come up with headlines for the report and the best candidates were It’s Smelley in Mobile and Do You Smelley What the South is Cooking. Drop me a tweet if you can top those.

  Of course it was a disappointment to get two fewer full practices this year, but as always when given lemons DraftCountdown.com will make lemondade. After practice I finally got a chance to interview Alabama DE / OLB Courtney Upshaw, who was a nice guy and gave some insightful answers. We will run a clip on the podcast tomorrow morning then put the entire thing up on the site after I get home.

  As anyone who has followed this site over the years knows, I always get one of the players to sign an 8x10 photo and give it away in a contest. We ran a poll over on the DC Forums and gave everyone ten different options, basically all of the best prospects down here. The big winner by a significant margin was Mr. Upshaw, who just might be a Top 10 overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft. If you want it, listen closely because here are the rules:

     1. Must be following both @Draftcountdown & @ShanePHallam on Twitter.

     2. You must tweet us a prediction of how many yards you think Boise St. QB Kellen Moore’s will throw for the 2012 Senior Bowl game on Saturday with the hashtag #Draftcountdown by 2:45pm CST on Friday January 28th. This tweet must be sent as a normal Twitter "@" message, not a direct message or otherwise. Also, notice how the hastag part is italicized and bold? If you don’t do that we will not be able to find your guess and the entry will be invalidated.

     3. Whoever is closest to Moore’s actual passing yardage in the game will win!. If needed the tiebreaker will be whoever got their prognostication in the soonest. As with everything at DraftCountdown.com it's free of charge, shipping and all!

Good Luck!!!

• 8:00am CST - It’s hard to believe the week is already winding down.

  Today should be pretty laid back. The North will hold their walk-through from 9:30am - 10:30am CST, followed by the South from 10:30am - 11:30am CST. As far as our coverage goes, we will post a report afterwards. There usually isn't much to take away from these things, but we will hopefully be able to get a look at the starting lineups, get a chance to ask the players some questions, etc. Then be sure to stop by at 3:00pm CST for the annual Senior Bowl Q&A, where Shane and I will answer your questions about the week for at least a couple of hours.

  We were able to pick up our gameday credentials a little earlier than usual this year, which are pictured on the right. For the first time all week we are actually going to have some free time tonight. A bunch of us draftniks are going to get together and have a little party in the lounge of our hotel. It's always a treat to be able to talk and debate with other die-hard fans of the NFL Draft. I'll post more details later, but if by some chance you are in the area please feel free to drop by the Ashbury Hotel and Suites. There will be plenty of ice cold Grapico for everyone!

  In case you missed it we are having a contest to give away an autographed 8x10 photo of Alabama OLB / DE Courtney Upshaw, who could be a Top 10 overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft. What draftnik wouldn't want that!?! All you have to do is follow both @DraftCountdown and @ShanePHallam on Twitter then send us a tweet with how many yards you think Boise St. QB Kellen Moore will throw for in the game Saturday. Don't forget to include the hashtag "#draftcountdown" or it will not count. The person who guesses the closest will win, with the tie-breaker being whoever sent in their submission first. It's as simple as that!

  After the walk-through we are going to grab some lunch at Mellow Mushroom, which is one of my favorite restraunts in Mobile. I will check in with another new blog entry before the chat this afternoon though so be sure to stop back.

• 5:30pm CST - The walk-through was just about as uneventful as expected. I will post a full report later (Breaking News: Kyle Wojta Scratched His Nose!).

  Perhaps the most notable piece of information I gathered is that Arkansas WR Joe Adams plans to run a 4.25 forty yard dash. However, Adams will likely wait for his Pro Day rather than run at the Scouting Combine in Indy next month. I also spoke with Coastal Carolina CB Josh Norman, who after being added to the roster mid-week as an injury replacement will play in the game despite not practicing. Norman, who was one of the standouts last week at the East / West Shrine Game, told me the most difficult part is that he hasn't seen the wide receivers run. "We'll just have to see what happens" said Norman. I actually think Norman is in a pretty good situation. If he struggles Norman has the excuse that he didn't get a chance to practice. If he plays well Norman can tell everyone he excelled even though he didn't practice. It's a win-win! Norman was also wearing sunglasses at the walk-through, which is probably innocent enough but may not be the message a guy wants to send when there are some who are concerned about his character. Or perhaps I am just getting old and reading too much into it... Also saw a funny sight after the North session when Washington's Alameda Ta'amu and UConn's Kendall Reyes were having some fun by throwing the football around. Oh when those defensive tackles think they can be receivers, especially a 341 pounder like Ta'amu. Overall there was not much to take away from the walk-throughs, as usual, but at least the weather was terrific.

  Afterwards Shane and I were joined by Joe Everett of RookieDraft.com and Doug Lancy of NFLDraft101.com for calzones and a couple beers at Mellow Mushroom, which everyone thoroughly enjoyed. On the way back to the hotel I made my annual trip to Best Buy, where I treated myself to some DVD's to add to my extensive movie collection. It's kind of a little reward for busting tail all week. While there I tried out those Beats by Dr. Dre headphones and was extremely impressed by not only how good they sounded but how comfortable they were. Unfortunately $350 is a little much. Maybe the good people at Monster Cable will read this and hook me up! Ha, not likely. Perhaps I'll ask the TV Star Mr. Everett to put in a word. Then in the afternoon Shane and I held the Senior Bowl Q&A, where we answered a bunch of questions about the week for an hour and a half.

  This evening a bunch of fellow draftniks are coming over to our hotel at 7:00pm CST to enjoy some sweet, sweet Grapico and, of course, talk about the NFL Draft. If you happen to be in the area be sure to stop by! I'll post a review of the evening tomorrow, assuming everything stays PG. I'm talking to you "Pigskin" Paul!   :o)

  This is the last blog entry for today but we will be back at it again tomorrow.

• 11:00am CST - Hung out with Shane P. Hallam, Joe Everett, Doug Lancy, "Pigskin" Paul Guillemette last night. The Grapico was flowing and it was great being able to talk NFL Draft with a bunch of like-minded gentlemen. That was the start of what will hopefully become a yearly tradition at the Senior Bowl.

  Shane and I are just getting ready to head out the door for the game. The plan is to arrive at Ladd-Peebles Stadium around 12:00pm CST. The game doesn’t start until 3:00pm CST but I have an on-site radio interview with WNSP at 12:30pm CST. It will take place on one of those mobile studio buses, with a big window out front so everybody outside can watch. It’s outfitted with hardwood floors, leather couches, multiple flat-screen televisions, etc. I did the show last year as well and one of the guests who was on the air and sitting next to me on the bus was an at the time largely unknown Alabama quarterback by the name of A.J. McCarron. As we all know now, McCarron would go on the win the Crimson Tide starting job and help lead the program to a National Championship. I like to think that I was at least partially responsible! Perhaps Auburn should send their quarterback my way… Afterwards we will probably roam the parking lot a bit to check out the tailgating action and soak up the atmosphere, which is insane. When the gates open we will head in, watch warm-ups, etc. The weather is supposed to be absolutely gorgeous today, with a high of 68 degrees. If that holds true this will be one of the nicest gamedays since I started coming to Mobile in 2005. Shane and I have seats reserved in the press box and that is where I plan to watch the first half before heading down to the sidelines to get an up close and personal view of the action in the second half. You can never truly appreciate just how big, fast and talented these players are until you see them from that perspective.

  There will be a full report with all of our notes and thoughts from the game posted on the site either late tonight or early tomorrow morning. Shane and I also recorded a podcast previewing the game this morning and will tape a review episode this evening at 10:30pm CST. If you haven't been following our coverage this week or missed the game these shows will be a fantastic way to catch up.

  There is also still time to enter the contest to win that Autographed 8x10 Photo of Alabama's Courtney Upshaw too so be sure to get your entries submitted!

  Finally, a few predictions:

  I am going to pick the South to win the game. I love their talent in the trenches and think they have some exciting playmakers at the skill positions. As for the MVP’s, I’ll go with Florida RB / WR Chris Rainey on offense and North Alabama CB Janoris Jenkins on defense. You might as well take those to the bank. Not!

  There won’t be another blog entry until tonight when I get back to the hotel. However, I will be posting plenty of thoughts and observations on Twitter throughout the day, so if you aren't following me already this is the time to start.

  Enjoy the game, I know I will!

• 10:00pm CST - As usual the actual game was one of the highlights of the week for me. The weather was BEAUTIFUL. Anyone who has followed this Senior Bowl Blog over the years knows it’s often cold, windy and rainy in Mobile, especially on game day. This year it was the opposite, with temperatures in the high-60’s, blue skies and plenty of sun. Needless to say it made for an enthusiastic, sell-out crowd. This also seemed like one of the more fun Senior Bowl games to watch in recent years. As I mentioned this morning, I was asked to do an on-site interview with local radio station WNSP on their mobile bus. The show went great and I was on for about 30 minutes. Shane was even able to join in! Afterwards we got access to their V.I.P. tent for free grub and beverages.

  As planned I spent the first half up in the press box and the second half down on the sidelines in order to view the game from a couple of different perspectives. It's much more difficult to evaluate from field level, but I can always watch the tape at home. I wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to see all of these guys up close because it does provide some insights that you just can't always see on film. Here is a picture of the view from my press box seat:

  I will post a full game review article early tomorrow morning with a bunch of thoughts and initial reactions, but the guys who really stood out to me were Utah St. LB Bobby Wagner, Washington DT Alameda Ta’amu, Ohio St. OT Mike Adams and Arkansas WR Joe Adams. Of course I could easily list a couple dozen more names, but those three in particular performed extremely well. On a personal note it was great to see Wagner shine amongst the best of the best as I’ve been hyping him as one of the most underrated prospects in this class for a while. In fact, Wagner has been the "Player Spotlight" on the main page of DraftCountdown.com for about a month and Bobby was even a guest on our podcast back on January 3rd. I kind of felt like a proud poppa when Wagner was named the North's Most Outstanding Player of the game! I have no doubt that others will soon be singing Wagner’s praises after his standout week in Mobile, but loyal follows of "DC" have already known all about BWagz9_TS for a while.

  On the way home we knocked off one last Senior Bowl tradition by stopping at Steak 'n Shake to eat. I know that doesn't sound very glamorous, but we don't have them in Minnesota so it's a special treat that I only get to enjoy once a year.

  Love those strawberry and banana side-by-side shakes!

  I am going to hit the sack so I can get an early start tomorrow. Plus this stupid cold is still kicking my butt. I'll check in with another blog entry in the morning.

• 6:00am CST - Last day of getting up this early for a little while I hope…

  Even though it seems like we just arrived, it's actually time to hop on a plane and head back Minnesota. We were in Mobile, AL for over a week the time just flew by, partly because we were having fun and partly because we were working twenty hour days. As much as I love coming down to the Senior Bowl I am ready to go home. Gotta catch up on some sleep and finally kick this cold / cough.

  Right now I am going to work on a new article with our initial impressions from yesterday's game. I will obviously watch the tape more thoroughly later this week, but this report will just highlight the guys who made a positive or negative impression in person. Then it will be time to pack. Both Shane and I bought a quart of barbeque sauce from the Brick Pit, which is a Mobile institution. However, getting that sauce home on the plane presents some challenges as it just came in a big Styrofoam cup. Since that much liquid can't be carried on anymore and must be checked, we channeled our inner-MacGyver and bought Rubbermaid containers, duct tape and bubble wrap so hopefully that will work. Otherwise our clothes might be extra tangy for a while. I might finally use the pool that I’ve been staring at longingly out the window while typing up reports at all hours all week long too.

  Will do one more blog entry before we check out of the hotel.

• 10:30am CST - Time to begin the long journey back to Minnesota.

  I want to take a quick second to thank the Senior Bowl, specifically their Public Relations Director Kevin McDermond, for not only putting on a first-class event but also giving us such amazing access to it. This experience just gets better and better every year! Sometimes people who run websites don’t get the same respect as other media outlets but that has never been the case at the Senior Bowl. By approving Draft Countdown's credential request and treating us as a full-fledged member of the media, the Senior Bowl enables us to provide in-depth coverage of the week to tens of thousands of draftniks. I can't say enough about how well they treat us and we'll be back for the 2013 Senior Bowl!

  Also, congratulations to Jeremy Wiebold (@J_Wiebs) for winning yesterday's contest and the sweet autographed 8x10 photo of Alabama's Courtney Upshaw!

  The trip is usually pretty eventful, especially the first leg. As I’ve mentioned in the past, the Mobile Regional Airport is very small and with all of the players also catching flights out of town today the place is always packed with prospects. In fact, last year I probably had ten players waiting for their flights at my gate. I will be sure to do one more blog entry after I get home with all of the details.

  We're checking out of our hotel around Noon and if everything goes as planned I'll be walking through my front door around midnight. Yup, that's about twelve hours of travel! The drive from the Minneapolis / St. Paul Airport to my little hometown adds an additional two hours alone. It's like a trip after the trip. It's supposed to be 20 Degrees Fahrenheit and snowing when I land in Minnesota, but that is actually quite a bit better than when I left if you can believe it. I am definitely going to miss the beautiful Southern weather we have had this week.

  With that I'm going to officially sign off from Mobile, AL.

• 11:30pm CST - I am back in Minnesota and the day of travel, while very long, actually went pretty smoothly. Unfortunately the Mobile airport wasn't jam-packed with prospects catching their flights like in previous years so there isn't anything to report on that front. Perhaps they left town earlier in the day...

  The 2012 Senior Bowl is in the books so this will be my final blog entry. Be sure to check the Senior Bowl Headquarters page here at DraftCountdown.com later in the week for a Stock Watch feature that takes a look at who is moving up and down draft boards as well as a mega Review Podcast on Thursday (2/2) with a number of guests including Oklahoma St. QB Brandon Weeden. Gotta give a big shout out to Shane P. Hallam for all his hard work this week too, I am sure you will agree he did a fantastic job. Thank you all for your continued support, I hope you enjoyed this year’s Senior Bowl coverage as much as we enjoyed providing it. Just think, in less than a year it will be time to do it all over again!