Texas vs. The Nation has gone from a game full of small school and unknown prospects, to a game with good talent from big and small schools alike.  Several players that played in this game in recent years like Pierre Garcon and Johnny Knox have gone on to be star players in the NFL, and the scouting world has taken notice.  Today’s practice had a little slower pace for the Texas squad, with a lot of emphasis on coaching instead of reps, but it still was a thorough workout for the players.  Let’s take a look at who stood out in the Texas practice today.

QB
Ryan Perrilloux(Jacksonville State - LSU transfer) had another good day of practice.  The depth on his five-step drop was better today, and he was effectively running playfakes throughout practice.  He was even running the Wildcat offense, and using the zone read to rack up big yardage.  Perrilloux moves around well behind the line of scrimmage, and he will keep his eyes down field instead of always looking to scramble.  I like the way he will rollout, and when throwing on the run he can put the ball on the right spot.  He can drive and throw into tight spots, but needs to put a little more air under his passes when throwing deep.  During 11-on-11’s he was throwing with good touch when he had to drop passes over linebackers, but in front of safeties.   

Levi Brown(Troy) had a rough day at practice today.  He was throwing with better velocity, but was not decisive when he would drop back and scan the field.  He seemed nervous when under pressure, and had trouble with the center exchange today.  Brown was late with most of his reads today, and receivers that found themselves open had to wait for passes to come in.  This meant that easy catches turned into contested catches, and often incompletions.  Not everything was bad for Brown today.  He did run playfakes effectively, and would turn quickly on his bootlegs.   

Thaddeus Lewis(Duke) made a few nice throws, but still looks like a player that will struggle to make a practice squad.  He was hitting his receivers in stride in one-on-one drills, but that didn’t carry over when the practice went to 11-on-11’s.  He was still arching his passes, but was off target when he felt even the slightest bit of pressure.       

RB
Trindon Holliday(LSU) kept flashing his explosive playmaking ability on Tuesday.  He looked better as a receiver, and was plucking the ball out of the air with his arms extended.  He was able to dot both feet in bounds on a sideline route, and he also hauled in a low pass in stride that he quickly turned upfield.  He broke off a great stutter step move that got him to the second level on a draw play.  Holliday then lept over some trash, but when he landed he promptly fumbled the ball.  Holliday is dangerous with the ball in his hands— for both sides!  He gets a little careless with the football from time to time, but wows opposition and teammates alike with his athleticism.     

A.J. Cooley(Shorter College) showed good swiftness when running the ball today.  Cooley also flashed some ability as a receiver, and had good quickness on an out route where he left the linebacker covering him in the dust.  He is a disciplined runner, but not a creative one.  Cooley will take a pitch to exactly where the hole is supposed to be, but will ignore the bigger cutback lane. 

Keithon Flemming(West Texas A&M) was lined up next to QB Ryan Perrilloux when the Texas team practiced running the spread option.  He was decisive when given the football, and had a good start/stop move to get past the line of scrimmage.  He doesn’t lose much speed when changing direction and showed a willingness to lower his shoulder and initiate contact.  I liked his leg drive after contact to maximize the amount of yardage on each carry.

Deji Kareem(Southern Illinois) loves to hit guys, and is always looking for contact. He is always mixing it up between the tackles, and because of that defenders like to give him an extra shot from time to time.  He runs with good balance, but on one off tackle carry the defense got a good push and a defender actually pushed Kareem’s linemen back into him which knocked the big back to the ground.  Kareem has good vision, and will patiently wait for just the right time to burst forward and attack the crease.  I love his lower body strength and his leg drive when grinding out tough yards.   

Jamie McCoy(FB - Texas A&M) got to carry the ball as an upback, and the results were mixed.  Every time the football was put in his hands the first move he would make would be laterally, and then he would charge forward.  The first time he did this it enabled him to elude the push and gain around five yards.  However, the next time he tried that he was tackled for a loss.

Dennis Morris(FB - Louisiana Tech) did what he was supposed to do as a receiver, but didn’t wow me on any plays today.

WR/TE

David Gettis(Baylor) actually caught a pass with his hands!  The guy doesn’t drop many passes, but 99% of them are body catches.  When going over the middle the pass came in a little high, and Gettis climbed the ladder to go get it with arms extended at it’s highest point.  It was a beautiful catch, and Gettis would be a much higher pick if he would catch with his hands and not his body.  The coaches were working with him to get more space on the sideline for his quarterback to throw to.  Gettis would run a “9” (streak or go) route, but leave little space for his quarterback to drop the pass in.  Later in practice he showed improvement in this area.  He did not sell out to get a low catch, which I think could have easily been caught.  When working in the red zone, Gettis would use his frame to shield defenders away from the ball.       

Juamorris Stewart(Southern U.) has decent hands and is a fluid athlete, but he’s not the best route runner on the field.     

Kevin Jurovich(San Jose State) is not here because of injury issues.

Jared Perry(Missouri) used his quickness to get inside position on cornerbacks during red zone drills.  He did a good job of catching passes with arms extended away from his body today.  He can work a sideline route, and get two feet inbounds consistently, but he did jump to catch a ball when he didn’t need to jump to gather in the pass.   

Zuriel “Jeff” Moturi(UTEP) had a great day of practice today, with one critical drop during 11-on-11 drills.  He was breaking on the ball, and getting clean releases off the line of scrimmage.  He would get separation from a defensive back, and then help his quarterback by coming back to the ball.  He went low for a pass in traffic with no hesitation.  Moturi runs a perfect jerk route, and pivots quickly to get his head and hands up.  However, near the end of practice in team drills he dropped a routine slant pattern, and it clearly frustrated him.  It was one blemish on an otherwise fantastic day.   

Stephen Williams(Toledo) had a nice snare over the middle of the field where he plucked the ball out of the air.  In red zone drills he did a good job of selling the cornerback he was going to the back of the end zone only turn turn it back to the front pylon.

David Nelson(Florida) can adjust to poorly thrown passes, and showed the ability to high point passes.  He had a nice catch in the corner of the end zone today, where he turned the defensive back around and skied in the air for six points.  He beat Lucien Antoine (S - Oklahoma State) on a slant route in the end zone, but when he came down the ball was stripped away.     

Kelton Tindal(Newberry) did not make it into my notebook.     
Clay Harbor(TE - Missouri State) scooped in a low pass on the run and didn’t even break stride.  He has exceptional body control, and can twist his body to adjust to poorly thrown passes.   

Gerald Harris(TE - Mississippi) cannot adjust to passes that are off the mark, but he knows how to sit down in a zone and float away from coverage.