The 2015 Senior Bowl players closed out their practice week in Mobile, Ala. on Thursday, headlined by some versatile defensive linemen and blazing wide receivers, like Miami's Phillip Dorsett, who showcased speed and the strength to accommodate for his 5-foot-9, 183-pound frame.
"What impressed me most about Dorsett is all you keep hearing (about him) is speed, speed, speed, speed, speed," NFL Draft analyst Charles Davis said. "I think he's made a bunch of contested catches this week. That's what I've really liked in watching him, a smaller-framed guy who competes for the football."
Having recorded the fasted 40-yard dash time ever at the University of Miami, 4.21, Dorsett was asked if he's going to break Chris Johnson's NFL Combine record in the 40-yard dash (4.24).
"I'm not really going to say I'm going to break it," Dorsett told NFL Network. "I'm the type of guy that tries to train as hard as I can and just run as fast as I can when it comes time. I just want to run under a 4.30."
Among some of the other wide receivers posting a productive week in Mobile, Duke's Jamison Crowder, Kansas State's Tyler Lockett and Central Florida's Rannell Hall, who made the play of the day Thursday, laying out for a two-handed grab in the back corner of the end zone, beating two defenders.
It wasn't just offense on Thursday in Mobile as plenty of defensive efforts deserved attention as well, including Utah defensive end Nate Orchard. Named the Ted Hendricks Award winner as the nation's top defensive end, Orchard wanted to boost his NFL Draft stock by removing any doubt about his size (6-foot-3, 251 pounds). He did just that, showing unbelievable quickness off the ball, the strength to come off blocks and also good hands, recording an interception.
"I love Nate Orchard and what he did this week," NFL Draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah said. "The question with him, maybe the lack of size, it wasn't an issue at all, you saw his ability to get off blocks. I was impressed by him."
In the secondary, TCU cornerback Kevin White provided blanket coverage on virtually every wide receiver he faced, including Dorsett and Lockett, and he recorded an interception Thursday.
"I saw him throughout the season," Davis said of White. "I had TCU on four different occasions this year in covering games. I knew he was an excellent player coming here, and it got confirmed this week in his play, watching him go 1-on-1 in battle. We've had a number of corners here who are undersized but are terrific battlers."
