2014 Senior Bowl: South Stock Report

STOCK UP

Arizona State DL Will Sutton

- Sutton flashed his talent all week and showed everyone what a dominant force he could be once he loses the weight. He put on weight at the request of Sun Devils coaches and it affected him in a negative manner. He still had a good 2013 but it just wasn't the same like 2011 and 2012. Sutton features good hand usage, above average quickness and agility. along with good initial moves. What he needs to work on is the counter moves when his first move is beaten. He can sneak into the first round but maintained a second round status.

Auburn DL Dee Ford

- Ford continued his good run of form in Mobile. If Aaron Donald wasn't there, Ford would've been arguably the best defensive lineman out there. Ford has excellent athleticism and a pretty fast get off. He was the lynchpin behind Auburn's vaunted pass rush and put up a great effort in the national title game. Pretty much a first round lock at this point.

BYU DE/OLB Kyle Van Noy

- Ezekiel Ansah who? Yeah KVN is that good of an athlete. He was expected to blow up this week and did not disappoint whatsoever.

Florida CB Jaylen Watkins

- Watkins could be this year's Lavar Edwards. Someone will take a chance on him based off of his performance this week. Sitting behind much more heralded Marcus Roberson and Louchiez Purifoy allowed Watkins to slip under the radar. He is an athlete that has some ball skills along with good recovery speed. What he needs to improve upon is his press coverage ability.

Vanderbilt WR Jordan Matthews

- Matthews was consistent all week long. He's not the fastest guy in the world but knows how to run all the routes with effectiveness. Matthews knows how to work the short to intermediate game with effectiveness. He's also a big body that can go up and get it if need be. Projected as a third round pick with a chance to get into the second at this point. He has an outside chance at the first round.

Coastal Carolina RB Lorenzo Taliaferro

- Talifferro opened many eyes in Mobile this week, showing well in pass blocking and receiving drills. It's nice to see a small school guy make something of himself this week. Taliaferro has underrated agility and vision. He's more of a hammer up the middle, measuring in at 6'2 230.

STOCK DOWN

Florida State LB Telvin Smith

- Smith came in light, measuring in at only 218 pounds. However, he was the coach on the field during team drills, constantly telling the other defenders where to go. At Florida State, he led the team in tackles during the 2013 season and had an outstanding national title game. Smith will likely need to switch positions to safety as he's very undersized for the linebacker position.

All 3 QBs

- Like their North team counterparts, the South team quarterbacks were consistently inconsistent. Unlike the North team, the South team actually had some good days. Derek Carr showed that he has the confidence to make any throw, no matter how misguided that decision may be. Carr was the best QB on either side. He has all the physical tools but needs a lot of help on the mental side of things. What really impressed me was his willingness to stay after practice to work on things. Jimmy Garoppolo had an up and down performance but mostly up. He got called up after impressing at the Shrine Game last week. Garoppolo has a quick release and the ball just explodes out of his hand. Mechanically, he's very sound but the question needs to be asked, is he ready for the bigger competition? I was really impressed by him. David Fales underwhelmed physically but I give him a lot of credit for showing up and trying to compete with the big boys unlike AJ McCarron. Fales struggled on Day 2 when the conditions were windy. The out route was really difficult for him on that day. He has above average intelligence with just enough arm talent to get it there. I like him the most out of the six quarterbacks participating in this week's festivities but that's not saying a lot considering how bad the others looked.

Note: There will be a game thread tomorrow. The final pre game post will be a "Best of the Rest" type where we take a look at the others who also stood out. As always, I appreciate all the comments and those of you who read along during this week.