MOBILE, Ala. — The North and South teams wrapped up their Reese's Senior Bowl practice slate on Thursday in full pads for a second straight day.
The next opportunity that the players have to showcase their talents will be at 1:30 p.m. (CT) on Saturday, and it will be the last time for players to strap on their college helmets.
Here are three observations from the third day of practices:
1) Detail orientation
North receivers, coached by the Bears, went through a few entertaining drills, including one in which they jumped over and into a tackling dummy to practice their skills at coming down with jump balls despite distractions. They also went through another drill in which a coach would swing a pad at them after they secured a catch.
The efforts drew praise, but the importance of details was also stressed to players in 1-on-1 drills when coaches repeatedly harped on the getting to the right depth of the route before breaking.
2) Rally to the ball
South defenders, coached by the Browns, spent a good bit of time on communication during a drill with tacklers coming from multiple directions and talking out the angles that each player would take, with one grabbing a blocking pad.
Defenders also spent time rallying to the football to cover receiver screens and to swarm toward running backs.
3) Vocal crews
It's pretty impressive how quickly camaraderie can be built between teammates, considering many hadn't met before Monday.
The North defenders were a little more vocal than the offensive players, especially after Nebraska safety Nate Gerry picked off a tipped pass in the red zone.
The competing sides of the South team seemed to enjoy a good bit of back-and-forth on playmaking and with words.
The offense closed with a one-handed grab by Mississippi State receiver Fred Ross in the end zone. Cleveland Head Coach Hue Jackson was animated and good natured in letting newly hired Browns Defensive Coordinator Gregg Williams about the outcome of the play.
