Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - SENIOR BOWL, DAY 2: Indianapolis Colts See FIREWORKS On Both Sides of the Ball

Starting point is 00:00:00 Day two of the Senior Bowl arrived with plenty of fireworks. Let's get to it. You are Locked on Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. All right, hello everybody. Welcome to Locked on Colts, part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Now the number one sports podcast network out there. And today's episode is sponsored by Prize Pick.

Starting point is 00:00:36 Download the Price Picks app today and use code locked on NFL to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. Hello, everybody. I am Jake Arthur, Indianapolis Colts beat writer for Roundtable Sports. And I am live on site down in Mobile, Alabama this week for the newly named Panini Senior Bowl. And we've gotten done with day two now. day one kind of established a lot of, I would say, pretty hard defensive standouts. And the defense stood out again on day two, especially on the national side. But I do think the offense finally allowed itself to show some fireworks as well.

Starting point is 00:01:20 So there was a lot of big plays that happened out there, lots of notes to be able to take away from both sides of the ball. and some players that I have now fully allowed myself to fall in love with to be Indianapolis Colts in April that probably won't become Colts. So I am ready to get hurt again, and I think you guys probably are as well. So let's go ahead and talk about the offensive side of the ball here from day one. First, as always, got to get out of the way which Colts personnel I saw. So just this week, I've seen Assistant General Manager Ed Dodds, Director of College Scouting, Matt Turpinning, Southeast Area Scout, Anthony Coughlin, and National Scout Chris Mageha.

Starting point is 00:02:06 I'm sure most, if not all of the scouting department is here, but those are the guys I've just seen so far watching practice. But as for the offensive side of the ball, some wide receivers have really begun to stand out, particularly and separate themselves from the field. One of them who is probably the biggest, you know, heartwarming story is Tyron Montgomery from John Carroll University. I believe that's a Division III school. But no matter what corner he's going up against here in Mobile, he is winning and he's doing it well and he's making it look spectacular.

Starting point is 00:02:45 He's making really tough catches. You know, I'm sure everyone saw the big one-handed highlight catch from Tuesday. He's scoring touchdowns. He's getting wide open on the shorter stuff like slants. He's beating guys down field. He's just catching everything. So he's been an absolute star. So a wide receiver from John Carroll,

Starting point is 00:03:04 I would not be surprised if he's going to go in the top 50, top 75, when the draft gets here because it's not like it's loaded with wide receiver talent this year. So a guy like Tyron Montgomery could certainly kind of crack that crust there. I would say Ted Hurst from Georgia State, too, is another guy from a small school, having another big day. But for my money, the wide receiver who had the biggest day on Wednesday. And it's probably the most affirming when it comes to NFL type guys. Like, this guy looks the type of an NFL receiver.

Starting point is 00:03:43 He comes from an NFL program. And I think he's really made himself some money this week. That's Malachi Fields. out of Notre Dame. So he already measured in at 6-4-218. That's spectacular size for receiver. Every team would want a receiver that size with the athleticism that he has also shown.

Starting point is 00:04:04 So his route running has been really good. He's been getting separation. His quickness and speed is really showing up. But he also made this really good, like 50-yard catch from Thailand Green. Green really laid it out there. and Fields had to kind of turn on the burners and dove for it. And again, it was about 50 yards or so.

Starting point is 00:04:26 Just a spectacular play. And a guy like Malachi Fields, if he has a good showing at the Combine, he's going to be a guy where everyone was like, see, I told you that was my guy all along. Like Malachi Fields, again, I think he's going to start entering first round conversation if he has a big day in Indy at the Combine because he certainly has looked apart down here in Mobile. There's a couple LSU wide receivers down here, but Barry and Brown has been the better one for my money.

Starting point is 00:04:57 He had a really good rep and one-on-ones against Texas quarterback Malik Muhammad. Just hit him with a fake inside cut and then actually broke to the outside and put Muhammad in the grass. And then he caught the ball on the sideline and then had another tough catch, contested catch this time during 11-on-11s along the opposite sideline as well. Decent day for Barry and Brown. A couple other receivers who, they're not looking spectacular doing it, but they're, they're catching everything, not getting a ton of separation, but they look tough, catching everything, doing their job.

Starting point is 00:05:35 That's Josh Cameron out of Baylor, who's a real stocky guy. He's built like Debo Samuel, essentially. And then Vinnie Anthony, the second out of Wisconsin, again, they're just doing, they're doing everything right. they're winning their routes, even though, again, they're not getting into a ton of separation of their catch and everything. Anthony did have like a 30-yard touchdown in one-on-ones from North Dakota State quarterback Cole Anthony. And speaking to Anthony, this hasn't been like a spectacular day or week for quarterback so far. Like they're doing fine.

Starting point is 00:06:11 But so far, I think Cole Anthony is the one that's kind of getting the most buzz. And it's probably because he's from, you know, North Dakota State, which there's always that luster of. It's like the king of the small schools. But, you know, Diego Pavia, if he does well, okay, well, he's still under six foot. And is he really that great of a prospect? If a guy like Cole Anthony continues to do well, this isn't a great year for quarterbacks in the draft. And we're just kind of hurting for another guy like that to kind of step up and start to earn some more buzz. So Cole Anthony is having a solid week, has hit on a lot of deep, deep throws.

Starting point is 00:06:50 And then his, his poison accuracy with stuff over the middle of the field has been really good, too. And he's a lefty, so people always get kind of fascinated about that as well. Another couple receivers, Texas Tech's Reggie Virgil and Cincinnati, Cyrus Allen. They both had big wins during one-on-ones, touchdowns of 35 and 40 yards, respectively. I really like what I've seen from Cyrus Allen, actually. He's been real shifty but smooth at the same time all week. I'm kind of enamored by him a little bit. I haven't been able to specifically watch the offensive line yet

Starting point is 00:07:24 because they're off on their own corner. And if you watch the offensive and defensive line one-on-ones, then you can't really watch anything else. But guys who, my understanding, they've been really standing out among the offensive line this week, especially Wednesday, Washington offensive tackle Carver Willis, Iowa offensive lineman getting stunker and Kansas State Center Sam Heck. They all excelled in one-on-ones on Wednesday.

Starting point is 00:07:51 Tight-ins, if you guys heard me mention the other day that last year was a big breakout year for tight-ins down here. Mason Taylor, Harold Fanon, there was several guys who really put their stamp on things down here. Texas A&M tight-in, Nate Bochurcher was a guy that really caught my eye on Wednesday. So if there's any tight ends who I've kind of kept mental notes on, it's been Justin Jolly from NC State and Nate Boe Curcher from Texas A&M. Bo Coucher had a really good play in tight coverage today, right up the scene, probably about 25 or so yards with Kansas State Safety, VJ Payne and coverage.

Starting point is 00:08:35 Again, tough, contested catch. He's catching everything. He had another big one over the middle, kind of a downfield put. post. So Bochurcher's a guy who I think has done really well. I had no opinions on him coming into the Senior Bowl, but now I'm going to be leaving with positive opinions on him. He and VJ. Payne, they had a good back and forth pretty much all day. Payne had a really, really big day on Tuesday, a decent day on Wednesday as well, but it was it was cool to see them go back and forth because they would kind of congratulate each other after their wins. And they were,

Starting point is 00:09:12 kind of matched up with each other all day. So you could tell they were kind of having a fun deal with it, but still like being competitive about it. So, uh, entertaining day for the offense, but as always, as Colts people, we want to hear about the defense because that's kind of all that matters this year. Uh, but the good news is there was plenty for me to tell you about what the defense. Tax season doesn't have to take over your life. This year, TurboTax is making it easier than ever to just hand things off and move on with

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Starting point is 00:13:03 And remember, it's GameTime.co, not.com. All right, everyone. Thank you for making Locked-on Colts your first. listen of the day. And thank you for making locked on the number one sports podcast network. Reminder, if you have not yet joined the Every Day or Club, what are we doing? No, but for real, it's been a really good time that Zach and I are having a fun time interacting with you guys with for those of you who have joined. So if you sign up for the Everydayer Club, you're going to get the audio ad free. And then you get an invite to our members only Discord server,

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Starting point is 00:14:22 done, go ahead and click there and join the everyday air club. All right. So let's get down to the nitty gritty defense. That is what we all care about right now. And the good news is if you guys, I kind of tweeted this the other day too. This is an awesome year for the Colts to need edge help and defensive line help in general, but not have a first round pick. Because if this year's senior bowl is telling me anything, it's that the Colts can screw this up by not picking a lot of these guys on day two. I think day two is going to be shockful of talent in the front setting. So do the right thing.

Starting point is 00:15:00 Pick the right players, Chris. No more projects at Edge Defender, please. And let's get this thing rolling. So some edge defenders who stood out on Wednesday and have really been standing out all week so far. Derek Moore from Michigan, Zion Young from Missouri. I see those guys as like perfect replacements for Quitty Pay and Free Agency. They are just really powerful and stout against the run. Like Quitty Pay, that's always kind of been his calling card, but they're explosive.

Starting point is 00:15:30 They convert speed to power. I've also noticed for both of them, their first step off the snap is, really good. It's just it's all kind of little advantages there that quidipay has not quite had. So if you get a guy like Derek Moore or Zion Young to compete with JT to him a low-ow for that strong side defensive end spot opposite of lay out to Latu, Latu. I think they will give you kind of that that stout run defender prowess that Quity pay has done. I think they give you more upside as as pass rushers as well. Some other defensive ends that have really stood out Romello height, Vincent Anthony Jr., Logan Fano, Nadame Tucker, K. Ron Crawford.

Starting point is 00:16:13 Those guys, you know, they're maybe, you could probably put Romalo height into the group above that I mentioned, but he's more slender. He's like, I imagine he will probably be more of a designated pass rusher type, but it looks good doing it. But those are all guys who, you know, if it's getting like third, fourth round and those guys are available, I certainly think the Colts could do worse than picking up some of those guys as edge help. It's been a really strong performance from the interior as well. Penn State's Zane Durant is a really well-balanced guy. I've been able to note that he's performed well, kind of slicing through and impacting the run game,

Starting point is 00:16:56 influencing running lanes, but also just straight up stuffing guys at the line of scrimmage as well. But maybe my favorite interior guy of the week has been Texas Tech, nose tackle Lee Hunter. Just a massive guy takes up a lot of room, but he keeps finding himself in the backfield right in the quarterback space. So he's, I don't know how he's doing it other than just sheer power. It's not like he's got like a bevy of moves to make him get there. He's just kind of powerful and slippery. He's giving you some pass rush help, but he's also really influencing run lanes as well. So Lee Hunter has done really, really, really,

Starting point is 00:17:36 well down here. Grayson Halton as well. I've noticed his range and ability to take the correct angle on outside runs has been really good as well. And then Caleb Banks out of Florida, a guy who dealt with injuries, but he's massive.

Starting point is 00:17:52 I would kind of drop him into the Lee Hunter bucket as well. Just a huge dude at nose tackle who moves really, really well for his size. Caleb Banks had a really big day on Wednesday out of Florida. So let's move on to linebacker.

Starting point is 00:18:08 I'm now declaring myself a certified stand of Pittsburgh's Kyle Lewis. But here's the problem. There have been a few linebackers who have really, really caught my attention, and I've really gotten kind of smitten with down here. But I don't know that they're going to check all of Lou Anerumos boxes. So I'm finding that Lou is like height, weight speed all over the field for the most part. Loves the athleticism, loves the speed of guys. but I don't think he super loves the undersized guy.

Starting point is 00:18:41 So play him if he absolutely has to. But unless they're like elite, like Justin Wally is a good example. Wally is like an elite player in their eyes essentially. Er is going to be a really good player, but he's undersized. So I don't think they're going to be able to or they're going to be willing to kind of toss that size card aside for just everybody. But there are some guys who, here at linebacker, who I really hope that they reconsider. So Kyle Lewis from Pitt, he's only 511, 224, we're 32-inch arms.

Starting point is 00:19:14 So like, that's like Chris Ballard's nightmare when it comes to a linebacker and their size measurements. But he has been awesome all week. We've seen it against the run in the passing game as a past rusher. There's nothing that Kyle Lewis has not accomplished down here this week. He's got the range you're looking for. again, he's undersized, but his run fits, especially on Wednesday, were awesome. He went and attacked some stuff on some outside runs as well.

Starting point is 00:19:44 He has been, he's had just a phenomenal week for me. He had an interception on Tuesday. Jacob Rodriguez is another guy. I'm the Texas Tech linebacker. I know a lot of you guys like, he's kind of in the same boat. He is 6-1, so he's a little taller, 233, a little heavier, but 31-inch arms. he is just the type of linebacker who he's seemingly involved in each and every play. He created two turnovers on Wednesday, had a punch out of Clemson running back, Adam Randall, early in practice that the defense recovered.

Starting point is 00:20:17 And then he closed the book on practice on Wednesday with an interception, practice over. So he created two turnovers. He's obviously, he's kind of like a throwback linebacker that wants to get his nose dirty and just gets involved in the run. game very rangy as well. And then Bryce Betcher from Oregon, 6 foot 227. Again, 31 inch arms. So these guys are all very similarly sized, you know, within 511 to 6.1, about the 230 mark, 22 to 230 with 31 or 32 inch arms.

Starting point is 00:20:51 But they have all shown me a lot this week. Becher, he's kind of like Lewis, where I've seen him succeed in pretty much every facet. run, pass, pass rush. To me, on Wednesday, his range and instincts and the angles that he took on outside runs really stuck out. Like when Zyger Franklin, when we've seen Zyer Franklin at his best, like a couple years ago, yes, like he misses a lot of tackles and everything. But think about like Zyre Franklin sniffing out outside runs and penetrating into the backfield a lot. That's what I've seen Betcher do all week.

Starting point is 00:21:29 So again, I'm ready to get hurt again. Those are three linebackers I really, really like. We know the Colts need a new linebacker group or an overhaul of it. And oh, yeah, Cato June is coaching the national team linebacker. So he's coaching those guys as well. So they also have special intel on all three of those linebackers. So fingers crossed, the Colts can actually land at least one of them or that they don't overthink it and say they're not big enough or what have.

Starting point is 00:21:59 The Colts just need good players at this point. I don't care about their size. If they're good players, they're good players. So moving on to the secondary, San Diego State Corner, Chris Johnson. Probably not going to make it to the Colts there in the top 50. He's probably going to be more of a top 40 pick. But I've seen why he's considered such a good player. Like 6 foot 190, so pretty good size for corner.

Starting point is 00:22:28 But he is just sticky in coverage. He just seems long and kind of overwhelming for a lot of receivers to deal with. He's willing to get physical, but like his short area of quickness and his speed, he doesn't really get left in the dust much. Now, he did get beat by Tyron Montgomery, like I mentioned, in that one-on-one, but Montgomery is having a special week. But outside of that, I think Chris Johnson is doing very, very well. and if he did find himself falling out, you know, down into the top 50 and the Colts did feel like corner was something they wanted to address, I would be okay with that.

Starting point is 00:23:09 Again, I know we all want trenches in front seven, but like just address the defense in general for my money. And then Malik Mohamed, it's been like an okay week for him. So he got beat on that devastating move by the LSU receiver early in practice, but he came back strong. in 11 on 11s a little bit later. He kind of broke on a comeback route really well and broke it up. So I thought he rebounded. And then there's been a few safeties that I've really liked this week as well. Bud Clark out of TCU, Jalen Stroman out of Notre Dame and VJ Payne out of Kansas State.

Starting point is 00:23:48 They've all stepped up with, you know, Emmanuel McNeill Warren backing out, for example, from Toledo. he was probably going to be the top safety here. But those guys have really stepped up. And I mean, they caught my attention. I'm going to be paying a lot more attention when it comes to watching film and seeing what they do at the combine with those guys. Bud Clark had an awesome day on Wednesday. And one-on-ones, he wouldn't let anything through.

Starting point is 00:24:18 He went up and got physical in the run game as well when it came to 11-on-11s. And then Jalen Stroman, very, very. good in the one-on-ones. With all the short area stuff, he's not giving an inch. Like I see him and I'm like, oh, you plop him on a tight end. Like all the tight ends that go out and line up in the slot in the NFL, you put him on there and you've got someone who might take a lot of those guys away. So Stroman has kind of turned some heads. And then Vijay Payne, I mentioned, had a really strong day.

Starting point is 00:24:49 Him and Bud Clark, I kind of dropped them into the same buck a little bit. They showed me a lot of the same stuff. So I'm happy with what I've seen so far this week. Still one more day of practice on Thursday, and then the game will be on Saturday. So I'll continue to bring you guys everything I know about what's going on down here. Thanks for tuning in today, making locked on Colts your first listen. We'll be back throughout the week to bring you all the updates again from the Senior Bowl.

Starting point is 00:25:15 What's going on with the Colts? You know, Jim Bob Cooter had a second interview with Eagles. So we'll talk more about that. There's going to be a squad show with the guys later tonight on Thursday. I'll be in the air traveling after practice. But make sure to catch up with those guys. Derek, Allen, and Zach. Make sure you subscribe and follow Locked-on Colts on social media. So you get all the latest episodes. If you don't already, follow at Locked on Colts at Jake Arthur NFL and at Zach X2. Again, if you never missed an episode, the Every Day or

Starting point is 00:25:45 Club is built just for you. So you get Locked on Colts, add free audio, plus the members-only discord access and more. So head to Locked on holds.supercast.com to join. And with that, thank you guys for joining and you have an awesome day.

Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - SENIOR BOWL, DAY 2: Indianapolis Colts See FIREWORKS On Both Sides of the Ball

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