5 takeaways from National team’s first Senior Bowl practice

MOBILE, Ala. – The New York Jets coaching staff had the National team looking pretty crisp during their first Senior Bowl practice at Hancock Whitney Stadium on the campus of the University of South Alabama on Tuesday.

Here are five quick takeaways from the practice:

Falcons’ deep: Falcons general Terry Fontenot, vice president of player personnel Kyle Smith, head coach Arthur Smith and offensive coordinator Dave Ragone were on hand.

Edge rushers: After finishing last in the league with 18 sacks, it’s no secret the Falcons are looking at the edge rushers in the upcoming draft. Penn State’s Arnold Ebiketie did a great job rushing, Cincinnati’s Myjai Sanders (Camden County High) and Miami of Ohio’s Dominique Robinson were also impressive coming off the edge.

Quarterbacks: Pittsburgh’s Kenny Pickett, Cincinnati’s Desmond Ridder and Nevada’s Carson Strong are the quarterbacks for the National team. Pickett and Ridder looked good on the move and threw some nice balls over the middle.

Strong has a big arm and heaved one ball about 50 yards on a go-route. He wildly missed a check-down route out in the flat.

Bearcat strong: Running back Jerome Ford thanked Nick Saban for his time at Alabama, but made it clear that he’s now a Cincinnati Bearcat. Ford said that he believes all of his game translates to the NFL and that he’s a balanced running back.

One-on-one drills: UT-Chattanooga’ center Cole Strange had a strong showing against the Power 5 players. He stoned one tackle and then had a good repetition against Ohio State’s Haskell Garrett.

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