In-depth analysis: East-West Shrine Game 2018 - Offense
Here's part one of our position-by-position review of this weekend's East-West Shrine Game, a game that ended up as a 14-10 win for the West team. Today we're looking at the offenses from both teams.
Quarterbacks
With most of the top quarterback prospects in this year's draft either underclassmen or playing in this week's Senior Bowl, the crop of passers at the Shrine Game were trying to rise up and establish themselves as mid-round picks. None really did as defense dominated again.
The biggest name was Ohio State's JT Barrett, but he completed just five of 13 passes and had a fumble returned for a touchdown. Four of the passes were dropped though. Barrett did run for a 14-yard gain and also threw a go-ahead touchdown pass late, but his comeback bid came up short.
Memphis quarterback Riley Ferguson made a few nice downfield throws, but ultimately only completed four of 11 passes.
USF dual-threat quarterback Quinton Flowers skipped the game following a death in the family, but he'd already suffered a blow to his draft chances when he measured up at barely 5'10" so he may end up changing positions.
Running Backs
Colorado's Phillip Lindsay led all runners with 51 yards, but Old Dominion's Ray Lawry and USF's D'Ernest Johnson also produced well, averaging over five yards per carry.
Troy's Jordan Chunn averaged less than two yards per carry but looked good on this short pass:
Offensive Line
The biggest prospect on the offensive line was Cody O'Connell ... literally. The Washington State guard is nicknamed "The Continent" and measured in at 6'8" and 365 pounds. O'Connell looked good and showed that he moves well for such a big player, both in pass protection and the running game. Here was a solid second level block:
Some of the other players who looked good included versatile Michigan State interior lineman Brian Allen, who looked good in the running game, NC State guard Tony Adams and Wagner tackle Greg Senat, whose arms measured at almost 36 inches. However, easily the biggest wingspan belonged to Pitt tackle Jaryd Jones-Smith. Jones-Smith struggled at the start of the season, but showed progress as the season went on and looked good on Saturday.
Pass Catchers
Houston's Stephen Dunbar had three catches and won the game with this fourth quarter touchdown catch:
However, the most impressive performance came from MVP Daurice Fountain from Northern Iowa, who had three catches for 61 yards and a long punt return. He almost extended the game with a fourth down catch in the closing moments, but the pass was off his fingertips:
Penn State's Daesean Hamilton was another of the bigger names and he bounced back with a couple of nice catches after this bad early drop:
Oklahoma's Jeff Badet showed some good abilities as a slot/possession option with three catches. However, his hands measured small, which could hurt his stock.
Perhaps the most entertaining completion of the day was this one to South Dakota State's 6'4" wideout Jake Wieneke:
At the tight end position, Tennessee's Ethan Wolf stood out with a nice first down snag. Wolf measured up at just under 6'6".
Tomorrow, we'll wrap up our review with a look at the most notable defensive performances...