While the Ohio State football team and its fans will be raging in the Horseshoe on Saturday to celebrate Ohio State's eighth national title, Doran Grant, Devin Smith, and Curtis Grant will be playing an exhibition game in front of NFL scouts and personnel-types down in Mobile, Alabama.
Here's how Doran Grant described his decision to SB Nation's Dan Kadar:
"It's just one of those things you had to do. It's not really 'man I need to do this,' it's 'go ahead and do this' because it's for your life. I knew it was coming in the back of my head, so it wasn't really hard."
And rightfully so. As I mentioned in this morning's Skull Session, the Senior Bowl #brand is on the rise; every participant of the 2014 Senior Bowl was drafted.
So, what sort of impressions did our former Buckeyes make in the bowl's final practice?
DEVIN SMITH
There isn't a Buckeye, and there might not be a 2015 NFL prospect, whose stock is rising faster than Devin Smith's. NFL.com's Daniel Jeremiah, a former NFL scout himself, listed Smith as the No. 23 prospect available in the upcoming draft.
Smith is drawing comparison's to the Philadelphia Eagles' Jeremy Maclin in some quarters of the internet. In others, he's considered a "beautiful fit" for Andy Reid's offense in Kansas City. (Also: Some friends apparently call him "Hot Sauce"?)
For Smith, he's made an impact this week, but today seems to have been up-and-down:
I know I bagged on Devin Smith earlier but my my he has wheels in and out of his breaks to go w his straight line speed
— Luke Inman (@Luke_Spinman) January 22, 2015
Devin Smith getting strong coaching on not disrupting the timing of the red zone route. He needed the advice
— Jeff Risdon (@JeffRisdon) January 22, 2015
Devin Smith couldn't get off the jam vs S Campbell in red zone routes
— Josh Norris (@JoshNorris) January 22, 2015
Devin Smith then follows it with an EZ fade vs Steven Nelson. Goes up and gets it for TD
— Josh Norris (@JoshNorris) January 22, 2015
Love his body control in the air @JoshNorris: Devin Smith then follows it with an EZ fade vs Steven Nelson. Goes up and gets it for TD
— Christopher Jason (@cjason112) January 22, 2015
Ibraheim Campbell knocked around Crowder and Devin Smith on two straight goal line throws
— Dan Kadar (@MockingTheDraft) January 22, 2015
Devin Smith getting chewed out by the #Titans staff for not blocking in the run game
— RosterWatch (@RosterWatch) January 22, 2015
SAF Ibraheim Campbell has had a great day so far. Won reps vs Crowder and Devin Smith easily in press, then picked off Carden in team
— Alex Brown (@OS_AlexBrown) January 22, 2015
Devin Smith had a lot of trouble working off the press during drill work and 1 on 1s. Made a few nice adjust grabs but not a well rounded WR
— Alex Brown (@OS_AlexBrown) January 22, 2015
Ball off Devin Smith's hands, picked by Pullard.
— Ethan Hammerman (@Ethanhamm) January 22, 2015
Ty Sambrailo has lacked lower body strength and shown poor balance so far. Other prospects that haven't show up & Carden, Devin Smith.
— The Anonymous Scout (@AnonyousNFLS) January 22, 2015
Devin Smith struggling with press coverage at times isn't exactly breaking news. The good news for Smith, however, is he's at the point where it's going to take more than one sluggish practice to ding his stock.
DORAN GRANT
An NFL team is going to look wise for picking Doran Grant. Ohio State's former CB didn't light Twitter up today, which isn't always a bad thing for a defensive back prospect. The one mention of Grant, however, was positive:
Doran Grant just absolutely blanketed Jamison Crowder in end-zone 1-on-1 drills. #SeniorBowl
— Knox Bardeen (@knoxbardeen) January 22, 2015
Sounds like Doran Grant is doing Doran Grant things.
CURTIS GRAnT
Ohio State's maligned former Mike linebacker was added to the roster yesterday as an injury replacement for former PSU linebacker Mike Hull. Curtis, much like Doran, did not light up Twitter with his performance. Unlike Doran, Curtis' singular mention wasn't positive:
Not so much for Curtis Grant and especially Haou'li Kikaha. Kikaha should be with the edge guys
— Ian Wharton (@NFLFilmStudy) January 22, 2015
Curtis will never be asked to cover a slot receiver at the next level, and even if he's not the most nimble prospect, I still expect him to be on an NFL roster next fall.
