3) Draft’s CB1 emerging? Tennessee CB Colton Hood is one of the highest-rated prospects at this year’s Senior Bowl, ranked as NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah’s No. 16 overall prospect. And Hood was asked to prove it at the end of Tuesday’s National Team practice.
The session ended with three one-on-one reps between pass catchers and defenders. Hood was tabbed to cover SMU WR Jordan Hudson, and the Vols corner stuck with Hudson step for step, located the fade pass over his inside shoulder and knocked the ball away — a win for the defense. The offense won the next two reps, but Hood stood tall in his opportunity.
“I already knew I was gonna win beforehand, you know?” Hood told me. “I just knew I had to get my mind right, locked back in, because I know if I didn’t win the first one, I wasn’t gonna get a next one.”
The 5-11 3/4, 188-pound Hood described his first practice here as “some good, some bad,” losing a few one-on-one reps earlier in practice but also getting his hands on two passes during full-team work.
Asked what he thinks he most needs to prove to ensure a first-round landing spot — Jeremiah has him going 12th to the Cowboys in his mock draft 1.0 — Hood said he has to answer questions about his long speed and ability to recover, as well as experience, having shifted from Auburn to Colorado to Tennessee in his three college seasons.
“Not having as much film as a lot of the other guys,” Hood said. “So that’s why I came here, to get to showcase my talents in front of, you know, everybody.”
Hood turns 21 years old on Feb. 23, which overlaps with the start of the NFL Scouting Combine.
“Gonna be a business trip, I guess,” Hood said with a smile.
4) Young backing up the talk. Missouri edge rusher Zion Young said after Day 1 of the American Team practice that he was still knocking off the rust after not putting on pads for a month. His play and his trash talking, it appeared, were in midseason form.
Young had a strong all-around day, especially in one-on-ones, with victories against Arizona State OT Max Iheanachor and Boston College OT Jude Bowry. After beating Iheanachor, Young was more than happy to let the blocker know that he indeed won the rep.
That’s nothing new for Young, who earned a reputation as one of college football’s best talkers.
“I like to apply pressure, you know what I mean?” Young said when asked about his penchant for talking to opponents. “I’m the defensive side of the ball, just having fun, not worried about anything. It makes me free, and (when I talk) it means I’m just out here having fun flying around.”
The 6-foot-5 1/4, 263-pound rusher measured in with 33 1/2-inch arms in Mobile after racking up 22 tackles for loss, nine sacks and two forced fumbles the past two seasons.
