Trio dominates linemen at New Orleans combine

On Saturday some of Mississippi's, Louisiana's, Texas' and Alabama's best gathered for the Under Armour/Scout.com combine. Though many stood out on the day only a handfull can be named to the Under Armour/Scout.com New Orleans Combine All-Combine team. Here are the players that stood out on the day.

OFFENSIVE LINEMEN

TOP OL

Junior- Chad Phillips Madison Central, JR- (6-2, 258, 5.43) Phillips was the best overall offensive lineman. From the ladder drills, to the individual testing to the team blocking, he excelled in all of them. He combines quick feet with excellent instincts. He has solid size and can move his feet on the pass rush.

OTHER OL who stood out

Junior- Danielle Lamelle- Ozen- (6-2, 256, 5.13) he was solid in the rope drills, solid in the testing but he showed some signs of being a solid D1 prospect in the OL/DL drills. Though he got beat a few times what was easy to pick up was how quickly he learned. Lamelle is still learning and has a way to go before he will be ready to start in college, but the potential is there.

Sophomore- Carlton Martin - Madison Central- (6-1, 244, 5.35) though just a sophomore he looked like a senior and played like one. Physically impressive and solid in all the drills and testing, he shined in the ol/dl drills. He still needs to work a bit more on his footwork but what he showed was impressive especially considering he is only a sophomore.

Sophomore- Michael Sam - Warren Easton- (6-1.5, 270, 6.19) Very intense player, solid in the ladder drills, but he needs to get his feet quicker. Sam picked up steam in pass rush drills and then on the one on ones. He got better as the day continued and is another Louisiana player to watch in the next two years.

Junior- Patrick Lewis - East St. John, (6-1.5, 292, 5.22) He did not do great in any category but was consistently in the top 5-6 at all the drills. He looks to need more time to get to the next level but he stood out on the day.

SLEEPER

Sophomore- Carter Lees - FB Kempner- He was easily the largest lineman in New Orleans, coming in at 6-foot-4 and weighing 334 pounds. Though he is a large player he showed some nice movement in the ladder drills. He seemed lost in the other drills especially when going against a physical player like Davenport, still he never backed down and he was putting a lot of effort into learning. He needs to work the weights more and find a good playing weight but he has impressive upside and his footwork was much better than expected.

Sophomore- Ashton Duhe - Destrehan- (6-2.5, 290 5.60). Solid in the ladders and on every drill. He is tenacious and you can tell that he just dislikes to lose any battle. In the OL vs DL drills the OL had a distinct disadvantage and lost nearly every time, still he made a good battle of it and you could tell he was frustrated with the drills which were made for the DL to practice pass rush technique. He has a fire in himself which I also like. To seperate himself from the pack he needs to get quicker and stronger in the upper body but the frame is there and the fire definately seems to be there.

DEFENSIVE LINEMEN

TOP DL

Junior- Chris Davenport , Mansfield Frankly he is just a beast. Though he is big, 6-foot-5, 285-pounds, he can move, running a 5.25 in the 40, even being banged up for the combine. Still what impressed the most from him was his brute strength that went with his quickness. The 5 foot tall practice dummies have rarely been so abused as by Davenport, on his pass rush moves he slapped the dummies to the ground as he accelerated. He is a scary prospect with a very high talent ceiling. If football every fails him, he has a future as an entertainer also.

Other defensive linemen who stood out

Junior- Darrington Sentimore - Destrehan- (6-2.5, 266 4.82)close second place finish for top lineman honors behind Davenport. He is quicker and faster than Davenport but is not quite as physically intimidating as Davenport. His feet are incredible and his ability to hit a high gear fast indicates he can be a real threat in a pass rush. He has a ton of talent and definately did not shy from the tough drills.

Junior- Willis Verdine - Patterson- 6-1.5, 210, 5.09 a raw recruit who was inconsistant on the day. One ladder drill he would excel the next he would be lost. He was one of the top three players in the pass rush drill and shined in the ol vs dl drills. He has a lot of rough edges but he has some nice potential that can be reached with some hard work.

Junior- Steven Stewart - Meridian- (5-11, 218, 5.25) Stewart is one of those players that you wish that they were just a bit bigger, a bit taller. However, the one thing he does have working for him is intensity and hustle. He was the tops player in the various ladder drills and was in fact a bit over enthusiastic on certain drills. What I like about him is that he has one gear, and that is 110%. He is a hustler who is as technically sound as they get.

Junior- Joshua Williams - Blount- (6-1, 202, 5.09) practiced as a defensive end for the combine but is listead as a linebacker. He is explosive as a defensive end but really had problems finding his way on the drills. He was not familiar with most of them and was on the learning curve all day. Still, once he found his comfort zone and understood a drill, he looked to be in the top tier of the defensive linemen each time. As a defensive end he needs to get bigger, but he is a quick DE. He needs reps as an end and will need more time till he is college ready.

SLEEPER

Sophomore- Calvin Ursin - Destrehan- (5-9.5, 246, 5.12) Smallish lineman but he excelled at everything on the day and finished near the top for the linemen in nearly every testing area. He was very solid on the ladders and showed nice explosiveness on the OL/DL part of the combine. Only a sophomore he could still grow some more and if he can hit the magic 6-0 mark he will get some strong D1 looks.