Cover 9@9: Who’s shining early at the Senior Bowl

Welcome to the Cover 9@9 blog — our weekly list of nine things that you need to know about the Atlanta Falcons.

1. The No Spin Zone. Because of COVID-19 restrictions, each NFL team was allowed a maximum of 10 representatives for the 71st Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala.

The Falcons used their full allotment and are scouting the offensive linemen and pass rushers, who went through their first practice Tuesday.

“On the National team, there are some good offensive linemen in that group,” former NFL offensive line coach Paul Alexander said on Sirius XM NFL Radio. “I think on the other team, the American team, the pass rushers are better. I think overall, the pass rushers are better on both teams in fact. There are some guys who can really go.”

Washington defensive tackle Levi Onwuzurike was the star of Day 1.

“He has quick hands,” Alexander said. “He spins. He swims. … He’s got that disruptive quickness.”

The Falcons must improve their pass rush.

Wake Forest’s Carlos Basham and Miami’s Quincy Roche caught Alexander’s attention as pass rushers.

“He has great get-off,” Alexander said of Basham. “He has good hands. I like Quincy Roche from Miami. I like (Florida State defensive tackle) Marvin Wilson as an inside rusher, one-gap guy.”

Credit: Jeff Hanson

Credit: Jeff Hanson

Among the offensive linemen, three players stood out.

“I thought Dillon Radunz had a great day from North Dakota State,” Alexander said. “He’s a balance guy. Shoot, he’s an engineer. He looked pretty good really. Aaron Banks, who I love. I loved watching Aaron Banks at Notre Dame today as much as I loved watching him all year on television. He’s a big, massive guy. He reminds me of Bobbie Williams, a guard that I had years ago. I really like him.”

Williams played at Arkansas and in the NFL from 2000 to 2012 for the Eagles, Bengals and Baltimore.

The Falcons drafted center Matt Hennessy last season in the third round. They still need a left guard.

“(Creed) Humphrey, the center from Oklahoma, had an outstanding first practice,” Alexander said. “He’s a huge center. He’s 6-5, 315, 320, whatever he is. I didn’t get the official weigh-ins, but he’s a big, good looking kid. He has balance and knows how to use his hands. He’s a nice big center.”

2. Senior Bowl update: Florida quarterback Kyle Trask was slated to play, but is still recovering from an ankle injury he suffered in the SEC Championship game.

“Today, getting them on the field,” Jim Nagy, the executive director of the Senior Bowl, said on Sirius XM NFL Radio. “Getting them in their pads. Seeing them compete. Seeing all the NFL guys in the stands. It was a great day. I don’t know how else to say it, it was a great day.”

The operation has moved to University of South Alabama, where they have use of indoor and outdoor facilities.

“On the NFL end, we limited it to 10 people per club this year,” Nagy said. “So, one to keep the COVID-19 costs down and two, to tighten our bubble and make sure it was small. We could kind of protect the number. The NFL teams felt great about that number. They got their main decision makers down here and the majority of the scouting staffs. It looks and it feels differently.”

Interviews will be held nightly from 7-11 p.m. Tuesday through Friday.

“Every player gets 15 minutes with every team,” Nagy said. “There is also an opportunity on Friday for to get extra time with selected players.”

3. Georgia contingent: Georgia has six players at the Senior Bowl this season, including offensive lineman Ben Cleveland. He measured 6-foot-6 3/8 and weighed 354 pounds.

Here’s an item from Mike Griffith of DawgNation on the Bulldogs.

4. Wake Forest contingent: Since quarterback Jamie Newman never actually played for Georgia, so he’s here with the Wake Forest group. He opted out of the season to concentrate on the draft.

Our pal Turron Davenport, the Titans reporter for ESPN’s NFL Nation, watched practiced Tuesday and was impressed by Newman.

5. Five top players to watch: Here’s our story on the five players to watch at the Senior Bowl.

The game is set for 2:30 p.m. Saturday and will be broadcast on NFL Network.

6. Podcast corner: “From the Locker Room” is from Dick Sander and former Falcons coach Mike Smith.

It features Smith, a three-time NFL coach of the year, and Sander, a 40-plus year college athletics leader.

Smith said this was a passion project and an opportunity to pass along information to younger coaches in the game. It’s intended to be educational, inspirational and entertaining while focusing on how to develop leaders, their impact on the people how they touch their lives. Click here to subscribe.

“HD Connection” is a show by former Falcons wide receiver Harry Douglas, a budding broadcast star.

He just published an interview with former NFL wide receiver Eric Decker.

7. Falcons add two more assistant coaches: Falcons coach Arthur Smith added two more assistants to his staff on Tuesday.

John Hoke was named secondary coach and Ted Monachino was named outside linebackers coach.

We’ll have to add them to our running list of the “meet the new assistant coaches.”

Hoke, 64, has coached in the NFL for 16 seasons. He most recently was in college at Maryland. He coached in the NFL with Tampa Bay (2016-18), Chicago (2009-14) and Houston (2002-08).

Monachino, 54, has coached for 14 seasons in the NFL. He has served as a senior defensive assistant and outside linebackers coach for the past two seasons (2019-20) for the Chicago Bears.

8. Position by position: Correspondent Jason Butt completed our position-by-position review of the 2020 Falcons, who finished 4-12, with a peek ahead to what the new coach and general manager may have to work with.

He wrote about the emergence of wide receiver Calvin Ridley. He started with the secondary and the linebackers.

9. Falcons’ 2021 draft position: ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper released his Mock Draft 1.0 and has the Falcons selecting BYU quarterback Zach Wilson over Justin Fields.

If they do that, there will be a march down Peachtree Street, and it will be led by Roddy White and me.

Mel’s Picks

1. Jacksonville Jaguars - Trevor Lawrence, QB, Clemson

2. New York Jets - Devonta Smith, WR, Alabama

3. Miami Dolphins (via Houston) - Ja’Marr Chase, WR, LSU

4. Falcons - Zach Wilson, QB, BYU

5. Cincinnati Bengals - Penei Sewell, OT, Oregon

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