At this week's Senior Bowl practices Marvin Jones has caught the attention of scouts. After Jones has consistently turned in some of the best performances among receivers, some wonder if he'll move up to secure a spot as a second-day pick.
Marvin Jones, California: Jones had arguably the best day of the North squad receivers. Primarily used as a short and intermediate perimeter receiver during his senior year, Jones got to work vertical routes in practice and he shined. He consistently flashed a strong burst to separate from off-man coverage and then exhibited another gear to pull away as the ball arrived.
Jones blew past Iowa State cornerback Leonard Johnson on a deep post in one-on-one drills. Later in shells, he caught a deep post for a touchdown where he made an excellent move late in the route by reducing the shoulder – dipping it away from contact of the DB – and slipping ahead of his opponent to make an over-the-shoulder catch. He kept both feet inside the end line and maintained possession of the ball as he was dragged down from behind. He later caught a seam route in tight coverage on a strong throw from Russell Wilson, snaring the ball over his shoulder after getting on top of the defender early.
Jones’s vertical skills might serve as a revelation to some evaluators who have only watched him in recent years as Cal’s bailout option. That recent role in Jeff Tedford’s West Coast offense has served him well because he has become a physical receiver for his size. He plays big for his 6-2 frame and he also showed that today when he ran a hook route and collided at the top of his break with the defensive back, but managed to make a diving rebound of a pass he tipped after the initial collision.
Jones’s routes are smooth and he isn’t shy about eating a defender’s cushion by driving close until the top of his break. Many receivers in this practice made the mistake of breaking a little sooner on routes than they should have and didn’t get the depth on routes that Jones has obviously learned in Tedford’s pro style offense. If he had attacked the ball from his break just a little more aggressively on hook routes, he would have had a flawless day.
After the jump ESPN checks in on the latest Pac-12 recruiting news and Mitchell Schwartz manages to impress scouts while playing center at the Senior Bowl.
Football
- ESPN breaks down the Pac-12 recruiting classes. The Bears still have the top class in the conference despite the uncertainty surrounding the program since Lupoi's departure.
- Ted Miller looks at the Pac-12's recruiting needs. The Bears need to bring in a solid QB, more WRs, and someone to fill the void at safety.
- Marvin Jones has been impressive during practices for the Senior Bowl.
- Video interview with Marv.
- Bear Insider has plenty of stories on Marvin's performances at practice.
- Mitchell Schwartz also performed well at Senior Bowl practices, despite having to play center.
- Shaq Thompson may wait until after signing day to commit to a school.
- Monty, Crabbe, and the Thurmanator spoke at the weekly press conference.
- Crumpacker has a profile on Robert Thurman.
- Monty assures us that Richard Solomon will return next season. He told the media "He’s not in prison, he’s just ineligible."
- Pac-12 coaches picked the Bears to finish second in the conference. Two of the nine first-place votes went to the Bears. ASU received six while Utah received one.