Three-Point Stance: Thoughts from the UA All-America Game Day 1

Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell’s thought-provoking Three-Point Stance is here with a look at some of the more impressive physical specimens at the first practice for the UA All-America Game, grading the quarterbacks and some odds and ends.

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Between registration day and the first day of practice, there were many players that stood out, just eyeing them up on the hoof. Here are a few that stood out to me …

Devon Williams – A long, lean and athletic looking wideout prospect, Williams looks like a great target to have for some quarterback in college.

Jack Lamb – He’s big, he has length, he’s very aggressive and looks the part of either an aggressive SAM linebacker or even a tall middle. Notre Dame fans will be happy when they see him arrive on campus.

Teradja Mitchell – Mitchell looks like he’s slimmed down a bit and fits the mold of that inside linebacker who will fill the gap and can take on bigger blockers, as well.

Tyreke Smith – He’s added some good weight since I saw him in the summer and he’s much thicker and stronger than he was before. He’s just starting to scratch the surface of his potential.

Joey Gatewood – Gatewood looks like a defensive end, a great looking defensive end, playing quarterback out there. He’s going to be very hard to tackle and Auburn fans will see why the Cam Newton comparisons are being made.

Daniel Faalele – The Minnesota program is getting a mountain of a man. Every once in a while I looked at Faalele and said to myself “He’s not that big,” and then the next time I saw him I realized how enormous he truly is.

Keondre Coburn – He has a great build for a defensive tackle, not too squat at all but with a natural leverage about him and not much bad weight.

Justyn Ross – Everyone loves wide receivers that look like small forwards in basketball, and that’s what Ross looks like. His athleticism is obvious when watching him go through drills.

Justin Shorter – Shorter is taller and thicker than the last time I saw him and is a great looking receiver. Penn State fans are excited, and they should be.

Nicholas Petit-Frere – I like offensive tackles with length and a frame that can be filled out in college, and Petit-Frere fits the bill.

Stephon Wynn – There were a lot of good-looking defensive ends out there, but Wynn brings the mass to the position you like and could end up inside eventually with his pass-rushing skills.

It’s always a bit unfair to judge quarterbacks at an all-star week on Day One, but quarterbacks are used to scrutiny and if they are off the entire offense doesn’t work. So here are the Under Armour quarterbacks in order of performance on the first day.

1. Adrian Martinez – Martinez was the most accurate on the day - at least from what I was able to see - and also showed the ability to extend the play and run. It wasn’t a great day for any of the signals callers, and that’s to be expected, but Martinez looked very solid and comfortable compared to the rest.

2. Joey Gatewood – Gatewood has a big arm and was able to flash it quite a few times. He’s still raw in some aspects, but continues to improve his mechanics and release each time I see him.

3. Emory Jones – There’s a pretty big drop down to No. 3 here, as Jones struggled for the most part on the day. He showed some ability to run, but when he was throwing the rock around he was either inaccurate or his ball sailed or wobbled off and on. He, like the other two quarterbacks on his team (Sirmon and Thompson-Robinson below), threw too many picks or had too many balls easily batted down.

4. Jack West – West has a bit of a three-quarter release and he struggled at times on his accuracy with shorter passes. His arm strength is average and he had an average day at best.

5. Jacob Sirmon – Sirmon’s arm strength is there and he has good size, but his ball sailed on him a lot and he struggled on touch. There were too many wide open receivers that he missed and he threw too many picks.

6. Dorian Thompson-Robinson – It was a rough day one for the talented quarterback from Bishop Gorman as his arm didn’t have a ton of zip and he was inaccurate and threw a few bad balls. Like the others on his team, he was victimized by the secondary on bad passes.

- Two guys who can tend to fight the football, Justin Watkins and Xavier Williams, had good first days catching the ball. Each has the speed to gain separation and their hands were reliable for the most part all day.

- Penn State running back commitment Ricky Slade can scoot, and he flashed that speed numerous times. He’s also not that big, and that was evidenced by a shot he took from linebacker Merlin Robertson in the team play when he was leveled and his feet left the ground. There’s no tackling to the ground in practice but Robertson didn’t seem to care, so maybe Slade was taken by surprise.

- Kwatrivous Johnson could be the surprise of the first couple of days. He was the second biggest offensive lineman I saw, and in practice he played very well at guard (not his position at the next level) with great arm extension and footwork. Mississippi State could have a steal here.

- Five-star KJ Henry came to play on Sunday. The Clemson signee was dominant in run, had a very good one-on-one session in pass rush and held the edge and batted down a pass in team work. He’s still filling out his frame slowly, but his instincts and motor are at a high level.

- The defensive backs had a good day overall on both sides, as many made big plays. Steve Stephens, DeMarvion Overshown, D’Shawn Jamison and Olajiah Griffin led the way for Team Highlight and I liked what I saw from Myles Sims and Asante Samuel, among others on Team Spotlight. Rough quarterback play can be attributed in some ways, but that can’t be the only reason, as these guys came to play.

- The linebackers were very physical. In addition to Robertson’s big hit on Slade, I saw Lamb and Mitchell also make big hits on fills during run plays. Quay Walker is also very aggressive and if this holds up, the game itself should be a physical battle.

- PJ Mustipher had himself a very good day. The Penn State signee showed the ability to rush the passer from inside not only in one-on-ones but also in team play.

- I thought Ole Miss signee Elijah Moore had a good day and he was utilized properly. He’s a catch-and-run talent with great speed and he got the ball in position to run quite a few times.

- Delone Scaife continues to show how good he is. Playing inside, he again showed patience, footwork and good extension to simply ride opponents outside the danger zone.

- West Virginia defensive lineman Dante Stills had a solid one-on-one session showing quickness off the snap, a nice arm-over move and some power. He’s going to be a good one for the Mountaineers.