North Dakota State offensive lineman Grey ZabelJustin Tafoya/NCAA Photos via Getty Images
This offensive line group currently in Mobile isn’t as talented as last year’s group. However, after day one of practice, some impressive performances emerged, including one that stood above the rest.
A couple of small school prospects also rose to the occasion, with two of the biggest, most physically imposing blockers shining and one late addition who proved he belonged.
A couple of concerning performances must be mentioned from players in need of bounce-back practices on Wednesday.
Zabel played left tackle last year at North Dakota State but started at four of the five offensive line positions during his collegiate career. That proven versatility showed up in a major way during his first Senior Bowl practice, with him having stand-out reps at all three interior spots.
Zabel was lights out in one-on-ones and had several big-time, impact blocks on zone runs during the team and 9-on-7 portions of practice.
With some other linemen on both squads having solid-to-good days, Zabel’s performance stood above the rest due to his consistency.
Slater gets my vote for being the next-best blocker from Day 1, with his lateral quickness and recovery skills on display throughout the day during all periods of practice. Slater was able to widen the corner and cut off inside moves across his face in pass protection while having multiple excellent blocks at the second level in the run game.
Slater’s below-average arm length shrinks his margin for error with his hand placement and allows quick access to his edges a couple of times today. With very good lateral quickness and redirect skills, his ability to beat defenders to the spot and recover was still on display.
Slater will look to improve his strike-timing on Day 2, but his athletic ability, range and zone-run blocking skills translated well on day one.
IOL Willie Lampkin, North Carolina
Lampkin became a late roster addition but quickly proved that he belonged, with his natural leverage at 5’10” reducing the surface area for taller defensive tackles to strike and legit play-strength creating displacement in the run game.
Lampkin was very good at overtaking his target on double-teams and brought a tone-setting presence to the field. He did lose cleanly once during one-on-ones on his first rep of the day against Florida’s Cam’Ron Jackson, where he was edged outside but quickly rebounded and had a crisp rest of practice.
If the undersized pivot can follow up with another strong day and continue to minimize clean losses in pass protection, it will become increasingly difficult to use his outlier size against him.
IOL Clay Webb, Jacksonville State
Webb was one of few linemen that I had minimal exposure to on film entering the week, but it was clear why he got the invite as a small-school prospect due to his play-strength being on display throughout the day. Webb was excellent during run-blocking drills where he was closing the door, lifting and driving defenders back on double-teams and he shut down Kentucky’s massive nose tackle Deone Walker numerous times during one-on-ones with superior leverage, tight hands and a strong anchor.
Rivers came into the Senior Bowl as one of my favorite under-the-radar prospects and didn’t disappoint. He lost one rep clean around the corner at right tackle during one-on-ones. Otherwise, the Miami product was dominant, repping inside at guard and center, where he weaponized his length, girth, and anchor to clench up rushers and end reps quickly. He had some nice moments during team using his size to blot out targets on double-teams while getting slipped too quickly a couple times by linebackers on his climbs.
At 6’5″ 345 pounds with long arms and big hands, Belton used his size and play-strength to dictate terms to rushers during one-on-ones at left tackle and left guard by establishing first meaningful contact and forcing them to work down the middle of his frame where his anchor quickly took over.
Belton was more up and down during the team portion as a run-blocker where he overextended, whiffed and fell off of multiple blocks that also showed his inconsistent, shaky body control and sustain skills.
Overall, Belton’s initial practice showed both his strengths and weaknesses from his college tape.
Brown had one of the shakiest days among the linemen on Day 1 due to inconsistent set-points in pass protection with late hands and high pad level that saw him get run over multiple times by the bull rush during one-on-ones while being okay in the remaining portions of practice.
Brown’s feet and hands never really looked in sync, putting him in need of a bounce-back performance.
While Travis was one of the most impressive-looking body types on the field, his performance left something to be desired due to a poor overall showing, sluggish footwork and late strike-timing that left him punching air on numerous reps.
Travis did have a nice finish during the team that showed off his grip strength and power once latched, but his footwork must improve over the rest of the week so that his size and strength can be put on display more often.
This content was brought to you by: Bleacher Report – Front Page
