Senior Bowl Practice #1

I want to take a look around the web at what others are saying about the prospects at the Senior Bowl practices, as well as the Vikings coaches who are in charge of the North squad.  Because Vikings Territory doesn’t actually have anybody at the, you know… Senior Bowl, I will be sure to link each note to its proper source.

• Okay, we’ll start off by playing a little catch up.  Cornerback Josh Norman (Coastal Carolina) is 6’ 1” and 203 pounds, and managed to make a name for himself at the East-West Shrine Game played last week.  Here is an interesting interview with the small school prospect, and as I am writing this I am listening to Mike Mayock talk about how Norman could sneak into the second round and will likely be in the top 100 on every team’s draft board.
• Here is a video, courtesy of Tom Pelissero at 1500 ESPN, of Leslie Frazier and Rick Spielman addressing their team on the night prior to their first practice.
• Speak of Pelissero, he is under the impression that the Vikings are paying special attention to the wide receivers and the cornerbacks on their squad.  No real shocker there.  Why is he under that impression?  Because Frazier told him so.  “Corners, wide receivers — we’re going to take a hard look at those positions,” Frazier said. “We really need to get some help in that area, but we’re going to also look at the offensive line. There are some offensive linemen here we need to look at that may be able to help us, and even the linebacker position as well.”
• Leslie Frazier says he is taking advantage of the Senior Bowl to treat it as a minicamp for his coaching staff.  He wants to work out the “kinks” which may, or may not, consist of having Mike Singletary and Fred Pagac return to the team in different roles than what they held last season.
• Karl Dunbar was at the practice despite being unemployed after being fired by the Vikings.  New defensive line coach Brendan Daly is contrasting the laid back style of Dunbar by providing some fire.  “Lot of energy,” Frazier said of Daly. “Lot of enthusiasm.”
• Offensive line coach Jeff Davidson is the only member of the Vikings coaching staff that is not present in Mobile this week.  He had hip replacement surgery on Friday.
• When it comes to who looked the best wearing no clothes and being measured and weighed, look no further than Appalachian State wide receiver Brian Quick.  He measured in at 6’ 3.5” and 222 pounds, with 33.5” arms (which is long, by the way).  Quick is thought to be a mid-round prospect, but he could be a fast riser this offseason if his production matches his physical attributes.
• Here are some more specifics on the results of the weigh-in process.
• Normally I would be scouring the internet for information on which players the Vikings are meeting with in Mobile.  With the Vikings coaching this year, however, that list simply includes all the prospects playing for the North team and none of the players playing for the South.  For what prospects other teams are interested in, go ahead and click here.
• There were mixed reviews of the defensive backs and offensive linemen playing for Frazier’s team in their first practice.  The wide receivers, however, all seemed to be impressive according to Walterfootball.com.
• Sporting News gives you five guys that helped themselves on Monday and five more that hurt themselves.  Check out their report by clicking here.