Wednesday: North practice report

The  Reese'sSenior Bowl moved practice indoors Wednesday, to avoid the rain and possible thunder, and the quarterbacks were considerably sharper than they had been in Tuesday’s first practice. That was, until Duke’s Daniel Jones threw interceptions on back-to-back plays at the University of South Alabama field house.  

North coach Jon Gruden was still happy with what he saw from Jones, as well as Missouri’s Drew Lock, North Carolina State’s Ryan Finley and Penn State’s Trace McSorley. 

“Jones threw a couple of interceptions but he will clean that up,” Gruden said “I am impressed with all four quarterbacks honestly. They have some ability, they have some football aptitude and they got some charisma, so guys really like playing for them.”

Jones’ two interceptions were both to the left sideline, with Delaware’s Nasir Adderly and South Dakota’s Jordan Brown taking turns jumping the route and picking off the passes. 

There was one injury, with Stetson tight end Donald Parham having to leave practice after tweaking his ankle. He had a couple of nice catches early in practice. 

“We lost a tight end so we had to modify our practice,” Gruden said. 

While Louisville’s Jaylen Smith had trouble holding on to the ball for the second straight practice — at one point, people mistook the thud off his chest for thunder — other receivers stood out. 

Georgia State’s Penny Hart was too much fast for defensive backs to handle, and UC Davis receiver Keelan Doss showed his hands with nice catches on low sideline passes. Gruden also praised Massachusetts’ Andy Isabella. 

“Guys from small schools like Doss and Hart are really helping themselves,” Gruden said. “And Isabella has got something, He is quick. And this Cominsky kid is also making people check the rosters to see who he is.”

Cominsky’s first name is John and he is a 6-foot-5, 275 defensive linemen out of Charleston. He was very active, as for the second straight day, Boston College’s Zach Allen — a projected first-round pick — was overshadowed by a player in his own position group. On Tuesday, Texas’ Charles Omenihu was able to get off blocks and make his presence felt more than Allen. 

The defensive linemen with the biggest highlight of the day was Oregon’s Jalen Jelks. The 6-6, 245-pound Jelks showed his quickness when he came around the end and flew in to block Finley’s pass like he was Dikembe Mutombo. The rejection was loud and sailed into the area where the coaches and other players watch, 10 yards behind the line of scrimmage. 

Finley and Lock were solid, while McSorely struggled at times with his footwork at times and had several throws miss low and away. Jones looked the best of the four until his interceptions. 

Notre Dame running back Dexter Williams continued to impress the scouts in attendance with his quickness and ability to get to the second level. 

Arkansas linebacker Dre Greenlaw also looked good, flying to the ball.