Shrine Bowl: Kendrick, defensive linemen shine on Day 2

The second day of the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas is in the books, with the best players from North and South Carolina spending another day getting after it on the practice field. Rivals.com regional analysts Adam Friedman and Woody Wommack breakdown the day’s biggest takeaways.

MORE SHRINE BOWL: Quarterback play highlights Day 1

Rivals100 wide receiver and Clemson commit Derion Kendrick is the highest ranked member of the South Carolina squad and he continued to show why on Tuesday. While Kendrick plays quarterback for his high school team he’s now focusing on his future college position of wide receiver. He showed great hands during the morning session, making several tough grabs in traffic. Once he has the ball in his hands he’s a wonder to watch as he can change directions as quickly and effectively as any prospect in the class. Kendrick is currently knocking on the door of five-star status and if he can continue to dominate this week and carry that performance over into the Army All-American Game, he might earn that bump up the list.

Trajan Jeffcoat spend his senior season playing defensive end and even occasionally defensive tackle, but he’s been working primarily at linebacker during the first two days of practice. Listed at 6-foot-5, Jeffcoat could be an ideal candidate to play the hybrid role at the next level. He’s still adjusting to playing in space but with his size and quickness off the edge he will be a nightmare for tackles and running backs to pick up when he’s rushing the passer. Right now Missouri looks to be in the lead for Jeffcoat, with a commitment expected to come this month.

There was a large number of both high school and college coaches in attendance during Tuesday’s sessions, with several FCS and junior college programs represented. NCAA rules allow lower division coaches to attend all-star practices and the Shrine Bowl is often a popular destination for schools hoping to find diamonds in the rough. It’s for that reason that players like to participate in the game and also raises the question, if lower level coaches can attend, why can’t FBS programs? There would surely be plenty of feel-good stories of prospect being discovered at events like the Shrine Bowl and earning a shot to play at the FBS level.

Five-star K.J. Henry is the highest rated prospect in the Shrine Bowl so there were a lot of expectations for him. Monday's practices were mostly about installing the offense and the defense and, for the most part, the offensive players got the best of their defensive counterparts. Henry made sure that didn't happen again on Tuesday. He lived in the backfield during the team session. No linemen could stop him and Henry was even able to bat down a pass at the line of scrimmage. If he keeps up this performance, the South Carolina team is in for a long game on Saturday.

The North Carolina squad has been practicing with much more intensity through the first two days and Tuesday the coaches even let the players get after each other in one-on-one situations. The defensive linemen one-on-one session gave everybody a better look at four-star defensive tackles Rick Sandidge and Jordan Davis. With a top five of South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Michigan and Florida, Sandidge has a great combination of size, strength, and quickness. He had very little trouble beating the offensive lineman lined up against him and he showed of an expanded arsenal of countermoves if his first move didn't work. Davis is a massive interior lineman. The Georgia commit is known for his strength and abilities as a run stuffer but he showed off some of his quickness in one-on-ones.