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MOBILE, Ala. -- Here's the buzz from Monday's Senior Bowl practices:


Weights and measures
Senior Bowl 2006 kicked off Monday at 9:30 a.m. ET with the annual weigh-in session. It was announced that Louisville DE Elvis Dumervil, N.C. State DB Marcus Hudson, Auburn WR Ben Obomanu, Stanford LB Jon Alston, Oklahoma LB Clint Ingram, Northwestern State DB David Pittman and Oregon RB Terrence Whitehead were all late additions to the Senior Bowl rosters. Arizona State WR Derek Hagan was moved from the South to the North roster in order to even out the numbers, giving each team 50 players.

Of those 100 players, Boston College OT Jeremy Trueblood was the tallest (6-foot-7 7/8), and Miami WR Sinorice Moss was the shortest (5-7 7/8). Georgia OG Max Jean-Gilles was the heaviest (358 pounds), while Miami CB Kelly Jennings was the lightest (171 pounds). Oklahoma OG Davin Joseph had the biggest hand-span (11 1/4) and Virginia OT D'Brickashaw Ferguson had the longest arms (36 1/4).

Players' heights and weights always have a tendency to be either exaggerated in one direction or the other, which is what makes the weigh-in process a necessary evil.

Ferguson looks in great shape and his long arms are important for the offensive tackle position, but his lack of bulk at 297 pounds really stood out. Maryland ILB D'Qwell Jackson, who weighed in at 228 pounds, will also be hurt on draft day by his lack of size. Finally, there are several tall prospects in this year's group of Senior Bowl wide receivers, including Notre Dame's Maurice Stovall (6-4 1/8), Miami of Ohio's Martin Nance (6-3 7/8), New Mexico's Hank Baskett (6-2 1/2) and the Auburn duo of Anthony Mix (6-4) and Devin Aromashodu (6-2 1/8).


Around the North practice
Of the three quarterbacks on this roster (Clemson's Charlie Whitehurst, Vanderbilt's Jay Cutler and Penn State's Michael Robinson), Cutler has the strongest arm and Whitehurst has the quickest delivery. Cutler was a bit erratic, but he showed the ability to fit the ball into tight spots and has impressive mobility. Whitehurst is not nearly as mobile and had trouble with his consistency on the deep ball, but he does have very good touch and timing as a passer. It is only one week, but the experience of working with quarterback guru Norm Chow (Titans' offensive coordinator) certainly can't hurt either of these future NFL quarterbacks.

Two separate NFL scouts said they would draft Cutler ahead of USC's Matt Leinart and Texas' Vince Young.

Robinson is clearly the most mobile of the three, but his overall passing skills are nowhere near on par with the other two North quarterbacks in this game. Robinson did do some prepractice work catching balls as a return specialist, but he did not get any reps at running back or wide receiver. Game officials obviously want Robinson to spend most of his time at quarterback for repetition purposes in practice, but he would be much better served spending the rest of the week trying to showcase his talents as an offensive skill player in front of NFL scouts.

• Oregon RB Charlie Whitehead seemed to be pushing too hard today as a late addition to the roster. His fumble during unit drills will not help his cause.

• Washington State RB Jerome Harrison checked in even smaller than expected (5-9 1/8, 196), which will hurt his chances of sneaking into the latter stages of the draft's first day. However, he did show impressive quickness and receiving skills. On a couple of occasions, Harrison has showed he is capable of catching the ball over his shoulder on vertical routes.

• Colorado's Lawrence Vickers is a tweener running back/fullback type who will need to improve his size, strength and blocking technique in order to make it in the NFL. He did, however, run very good routes and caught everything in site during today's pass-filled unit drills.

• Ferguson stood out as clearly the most agile offensive lineman the North roster today. However, Ohio State OC Nick Mangold turned in the most impressive overall performance. Mangold has adequate size and feet to go along with his outstanding technique and explosive power. He is polished and should be ready to start as a rookie in the NFL.

• Michigan NT Gabe Watson was the most dominating of the North defensive linemen this afternoon. He shows outstanding initial quickness and power for such a massive player (6-3 1/4, 341). Watson is giving a great effort so far in front of the NFL scouts, but his erratic motor on film will not be forgotten.

• Perhaps the most impressive individual play of either practice was turned in by Indiana DE Victor Adeyanju during one-on-one sessions versus offensive linemen. Instead of tyring to beat mammoth OT Ryan O'Callaghan around the edge with speed, Adeyanju absolutely blew O'Callaghan up with a bull-rush move that displayed his explosive power.

• Virginia Tech DE Darryl Tapp twisted his ankle relatively early in practice and wound up sitting out most of the remaining drills. He was taped up but continued to walk with a limp.

• Boston College WR/DC/RS Will Blackmon played exclusively at the cornerback position this afternoon. He has added some bulk and looks to be in excellent shape. Blackmon also stood out as one of the most fluid athletes on the field. He did not play much cornerback for the Eagles this season, though, so his coverage skills were understandably rusty. More than anything, it seemed he was playing conservatively and was getting late jumps so to protect himself from giving up the deep pass. Blackmon did not have a jersey number on today and there has been no word as to whether or when he will get some reps at the wide receiver position this week.

• It was only one day of practice, but Nebraska's Daniel Bullocks already stands out as an underrated prospect. He showed good versatility in drills, displaying the ability to hold up in deep-zone coverage as well as matching up as an in-the-box fourth-linebacker type. With his good size and impressive fluidity, Bullocks could become a versatile starter at the safety position in the NFL. If he continues to play as well as he did today, Bullocks stands to increase his draft stock significantly during Senior Bowl week.


Around the South practice
Alabama QB Brodie Croyle is an obvious fan favorite here in Mobile, but he did not have his best performance today. The quarterback position is the toughest to play in these all-star games because there is so much being thrown at these young men while they all are still trying to get a grasp of the system, adjust to a different center exchange and develop timing with receivers. With that in mind, Croyle's timing seemed off as a passer. He missed a few open receivers and was tentative with several of his throws. He does show good arm strength and a quick release as a passer, though.

• The player that arguably struggled the most was Georgia QB D.J. Shockley. The dual-threat quarterback shows outstanding mobility, but his mechanics as a passer are poor and he was entirely too erratic in Monday's drills.

• Memphis RB DeAngelo Williams is one of the top prospects playing in this year's Senior Bowl, but it was Mississippi State RB Jerious Norwood who had scouts buzzing during practice today. Norwood checked in at just under 6-0 and at 205 pounds. He appears to be in excellent shape and has the frame to pack on another 10 pounds in the future, which will likely be needed in order to hold up physically in the NFL. What stood out most, however, was Norwood's explosive burst and top-end speed during drills today. He hit the hole faster than any of the other South running backs today, including Williams, and he also showed impressive hands as a receiver in passing drills.

• Ben Obomanu is the smallest of the three Auburn receivers playing in this game, but he impressed scouts with a couple of acrobatic, leaping catches during practice. Obomanu's teammate, OT Marcus McNeill, was absent from the weigh-in session, but he shined as the most physically dominating offensive lineman on the field at the South practice this afternoon.

• Georgia DS Greg Blue has great size and is a powerful hitter in run support, but his lack of ideal coverage skills stood out during defensive back drills today. At 6-1 7/8, 220, Blue might be better off as a weak-side linebacker in the NFL, especially for teams like the Colts and Buccaneers that emphasize speed over size on their defensive units.

Scouts Inc. provided today's Senior Bowl buzz