Patton, Silberman open eyes at Under Armour

ORLANDO — Team Nitro took to the practice field Wednesday morning for its first workout for Saturday’s Under Armour All-American Game. Many of the players haven’t played in a few weeks, so the rust was evident.

Quarterback: There were no Florida targets at this position, but there was plenty of talent. Michigan commitment Devin Gardner and Alabama commitment Phillip Sims were the top two of the group as Nick Montana struggled. Gardner and Sims would look deserving of their ranking on one play and then follow it up with a terrible throw.

It’s easy to see why the Florida staff made a run at Gardner. He’s a great athlete, which he showed by using his moves to get past multiple defenders for a 20-yard rushing touchdown. He threw the best pass of the day, a 40-yard touchdown to Justin Hunter. The throw had plenty of air under it and fell right over the shoulder of Hunter. It was easily the best throw of the day, and he should contribute to Rich Rodriguez’s offense for Michigan very early into his career.

Sims was more inconsistent, but the tools are there. He has a big arm but struggled with accuracy on day one. From what it looked like, most of them were because they didn’t have their timing down with the wide receivers. He also moves well in the pocket.

Running back: There are only two running backs on Team Nitro – Miami commitment Storm Johnson and Florida commitment Mack Brown. Brown isn’t 100 percent right now because of a hamstring injury that remains from his senior football season, so he was limited for most of the practice. Team Nitro used Ohio State commitment Corey Brown in the backfield instead of his normal wide receiver spot.

Brown spent an extra 10 minutes stretching at the beginning of practice, but it didn’t respond like he wanted. He ran some drills as a receiver out of the backfield against linebackers and looked good, but he stayed out of the contact drills. Unfortunately, we couldn’t judge much on his performance.

Johnson looked very good. He runs hard and isn’t scared to lower his helmet, even during drills that are supposed to be non-contact. He creates and encourages contact. His speed isn’t great, so you won’t see him getting the corner very often.

Wide receiver: Louisiana State commitment Justin Hunter was the best player for Team Nitro Wednesday. He’s a tremendous athlete, and his 6-4 frame makes it unfair. He made one catch in traffic where he reached behind his body to make the catch look much easier than it should have. He does things with ease. With some added weight and extra polish on his route running, he should be a premier wide receiver in the SEC.

Ohio State commitment James Louis was hit-or-miss. In the beginning, he looked like he was struggling. He struggled to catch the ball, even having one go through his hands and hit him square in the face. The individual drills were tough for him, but once they lined it up and did 7-on-7, he seemed to turn it up a notch. He was taller than I thought he looked on film, and I really like what he does with the ball in his hands. He did tell me after practice that his decision on Ohio State is 100 percent and he will not take any more visits.

Florida commitment Solomon Patton had some ups and downs, but he had a good practice in the end. The first thing I noticed about him is that he catches the ball with his hands and rarely depends on his chest to make the catch. Because of that, he has very consistent hands. He is listed at 5-10, but that’s generous. He is already short, and he stays even lower with the ball in his hands. That allows him to change directions easier and be even more elusive. On the first one-on-one of the day, Patton ran right past cornerback John Fulton and would have had an easy touchdown if Nick Montana didn’t under throw the pass. He took a hard hit from Demar Dorsey on a shorter pattern but held onto the ball.

During the full scrimmage, he got behind LSU commitment Luke Muncie and was open for a touchdown. The ball was underthrown and went through Muncie’s hands, but Patton still made the catch. His concentration with the ball in the air is good as well. By the way, it’s no coincidence that quarterbacks continue to underthrow Patton. He is that fast.

Offensive line: The offensive line was tough to judge the first day because there wasn’t much contact, but I loved what Florida commitment Ian Silberman did. He was facing Alabama commitment Alfy Hill for most of the day, and I can’t remember a single time when Hill beat him. An Alabama writer told me Hill was struggling because he won’t be a defensive end in college, and I can see why he won’t play there. Silberman pushed Hill off the ball on most of the plays and would then pancake him to let a running back fly by. The Gators got a great one in Silberman.

I didn’t watch most of the offensive line practice because they weren’t doing contact drills, but South Carolina commitment A.J. Cann got rave reviews from the people I talked to. South Carolina commitment Eric Mack also looks the part.

Defensive line: Texas commitment Taylor Bible was one of the guys I was most excited to see, and he didn’t disappoint. His burst off the ball is tremendous and he is powerful enough to push the offensive lineman back almost every time.

Florida commitment Leon Orr didn’t work out because of an ankle injury, but he was at practice all morning on crutches. He has the kind of personality that attracts people, and today was no different as he was always talking to someone or coaxing an Under Armour official to drive him somewhere on the golf cart because of his injury. Orr and Silberman will be rooming together when they enroll early next week.

Linebacker: Jordan Hicks is Team Nitro’s main attraction at linebacker, and you see why after watching him play for a few minutes. He has everything you want in a linebacker. He changes directions with ease and almost looks like a running back when he does it. He is fluid in everything he does and has good ball skills to play in coverage. I got some very positive vibes from talking to him after practice, and that will be in a story coming shortly. He still has a very genuine interest in Florida.

Auburn commitment Jake Holland was the star at linebacker on Wednesday, coming down with three interceptions. Texas commitment Aaron Benson is a guy that I didn’t know much about coming into the day, but he was everywhere. He’ll be a good one for the Longhorns.

Cornerback: I hate to label anyone a disappointment after one day, but John Fulton didn’t impress me. He got burnt time after time and his press coverage wasn’t the least bit effective. He should be able to jam a smaller receiver like Patton, but Fulton couldn’t do it once. He will be announcing his decision Saturday at the game, and it sounds like Alabama or South Carolina will be the choice.

Safety: Florida has commitments from ESPN’s top two ranked safeties, Demar Dorsey and Jonathan Dowling. I was very impressed with the way Dorsey played today. He had an interception of Sims and then had the biggest hit of the day on the next play. Storm Johnson split through the line with the ball when Dorsey lowered his head and knocked Johnson flat on his back. The whole defense went crazy around Dorsey, and for good reason. He also worked out some at wide receiver and used his speed to run right by the defender and score.

Dowling looked good playing in center field, but he struggled in man-to-man coverage, which is to be somewhat expected. He had a good day for the most part but was late in coverage a few times that allowed Alabama tight end commitment Brian Vogler to make some plays in the middle of the field. Dowling also lined up at wide receiver but didn’t do much there either. It certainly wasn’t a bad day for him, but I did expect a little more from him.

There was a cool moment with these two safeties regarding their commitments to Florida. A Team Nitro assistant coach was yelling from wide side of the field to the other at Alabama cornerback commitment DeMarcus Milliner. The coach was clapping and telling him good job, but the clap did look awfully similar to a Gator chomp. Milliner yelled back that he didn’t clap like that, and showed the same clap back to the coach. The coach started laughing and doing the Gator chomp, and some fans in the stands started clapping and cheering. Dorsey and Dowling were both in at safety on this play, and they both saw what was happening, and each of the two broke into a Gator chomp of their own. It was funny to watch them play back and forth with the coach and an Alabama commitment, but even more encouraging to see a Florida commitment in Dorsey do the chomp as emphatically as he was.