Yes, not only did I record and take notes on the Senior Bowl, I also spent a large portion of my week watching the live practices on the NFL Network.
The bad news? I'm officially a football nerd.
The good news? There's almost no coverage on the three Badgers who were in Mobile, Ala. for the Senior Bowl and I have all the dirt.
All three were part of the North squad, which fell to the South 24-10 Saturday.
Here's what you missed:
Gabe Carimi
Wisconsin's stud left tackle entered the week behind Colorado's Nate Solder and Boston College's Anthony Castonzo on most draft boards. Carimi had a good week of practice, especially the first few days, but he suffered an ankle injury Thursday and was forced to miss Saturday's game.
Depending on how you look at it, not playing may have been the best move for Carimi. Both Solder and Castonzo struggled Saturday (sometimes at the same time with Solder at left tackle and Castonzo at left guard) and considering Carimi's ankle injury is a minor issue, he may have left Mobile, Ala. as the most impressive tackle. On the other hand, he didn't have a chance show what he could do in a game situation and a solid performance Saturday would have solidified a great week. Most scouts value the practices more anyway, so it's not a big deal that Carimi did not play.
The verdict: Carimi didn't help or hurt his draft stock. He proved he can play on the left side, but some scouts will still tag him as a right tackle or left guard. He projects as a late-first round draft pick.
John Moffitt
The casual fan most likely did not notice John Moffitt in Saturday's Senior Bowl, but I promise you the scouts did. On a day where the North's highly regarded offensive line was mostly disappointing, I didn't count a single blown assignment for Moffitt.
The former UW left guard started at center and stayed there while Washington's Jake Locker was quarterback. When Iowa's Ricky Stanzi and Nevada's Colin Kaepernick came in the game, Moffitt shifted to left guard. It didn't really matter where he played. Moffitt didn't overwhelm anyone, but he was solid throughout and finished all of his blocks, including the key block on Maryland running back Da'Rel Scott's 1-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
Moffitt did fall victim of a discrepancy in penalities, however. There was a holding call in the second quarter that came during an NFL Network interview, so we never heard the referee's call, although there was an iso shot of Moffitt seconds later. The official stat book did not give the penalty to a specific player and after rewinding the play several times, I couldn't spot a hold anywhere on the screen. Moffitt was playing left guard at the time and on the next play the center was called for a snap infraction. Unfortunately for Moffitt, the stat book gave the snap infraction to him instead. Luckily, most scouts keep their own stats and notes and after they watch the film, I don't think anyone will pinpoint Moffitt for making a mistake.
The verdict: I believe Moffitt greatly improved his draft stock in Mobile. He had a great week of practice and finished it off with a flawless performance in the game. He showed teams he can play both center and guard and could very well get drafted in the second round.
Lance Kendricks
Kendricks is widely considered to be the second best tight end prospect behind Notre Dame's Kyle Rudolph who was not in Mobile. That means Kendricks had a lot of eyes on him this week and I definitely don't think he turned any of them away.
Compared to the other tight ends in Mobile, Kendricks immediately stands out as the one with the best NFL body. He had some issues catching the football in the middle of the week, but when the game came around, he didn't have any problems.
Kendricks finished the game with two catches for 39 yards and was targeted three times. Locker's first pass of the game was intended for Kendricks, but it was off the mark and uncatchable. Stanzi completed both of his attempts to Kendricks, the first a 27-yard catch and the second 12-yard toss. The second connection was both a great throw and a great catch as Stanzi was being pressured, forcing Kendricks to go to the ground as he caught the ball.
As for blocking, Kendricks didn't have a clean game, but he also didn't have any glaring missed assignments. Teams weren't allowed to blitz so his opportunities in pass protection were limited.
The verdict: The jury is still out on Kendricks who still has an opportunity to be drafted in the first round. He certainly didn't have a bad week in Mobile, but his chances to impress were somewhat limited and undocumented. Scouts will love his size and speed and he will have a chance to boost his stock at the NFL Combine.