Four-star OL signee Eugene Brooks has a case as the player of the week in the trenches, as he's been nothing short of dominant no matter who he's lined up against. He hasn't lost a 1v1 rep over the last two days, and he's gone up against some pretty impressive competition (including four-star Texas A&M signee Dealyn Evans). Brooks is one of the shorter offensive linemen at the event, as he's legitimately no taller than 6-foot-3. But he's virtually immovable once he anchors, and his sheer strength enables him to stop an opponent dead in his tracks. In speaking to a well-placed source on the Oklahoma side, I'm told the staff expects Brooks to contend for early playing time. And after his performance the last couple of days, I'm fully sold on the Las Vegas native cracking the two-deep in year one. If there's an offensive line signee that makes an impact from the jump, I think it's Brooks or Eddy Pierre-Louis.
Not to be overshadowed by his future compatriot in crimson, Daniel Akinkunmi continued to impress on Day 2 of full-speed practice sessions. He hasn't won every rep thus far, but he's won the majority, and he hasn't been beaten badly when he has lost one. Several other very good linemen, such as four-star Texas Tech signee Ellis Davis and four-star Texas signee Daniel Cruz, have been repeatedly exposed by a strong crop of defensive ends and tackles. One might well have figured Akinkunmi would experience a few learning moments, but he's consistently proven that he's up to snuff against the nation's best
There are only three five-star defensive linemen in Orlando for the week in Stone, Missouri signee Williams Nwaneri and South Carolina signee Dylan Stewart. The only one of the three who has truly and unambiguously lived up to the five-star billing is Stone, who's absolutely thrashed his man on numerous occasions in 1v1's. He's heavy-handed, quick and all-out nasty. Stewart has had his moments and Nwaneri is very evidently having a tough time adjusting to the level of competition so far, but Stone's two years at IMG seem to have prepared him well for the challenge of matching up with the country's best trench warriors. Oregon signee JacQawn McRoy won a rep against him, as did Clemson signee Elyjah Thurmon, but neither player successfully stood Stone up. They simply held off his pursuit long enough to fairly claim a victory. We have yet to see an offensive lineman keep Stone from driving his way into the backfield in 1v1's (he torched Cruz on multiple occasions and bull-rushed Thurmon halfway to Tampa on one rep), and he's been a menace in team sessions as well. It's not a novel observation, but this week's showing has driven the reality home: Stone is ready-made for the SEC and should have an instant impact next year. I don't think it's out of the question that he could push to start alongside Da'Jon Terry with an impressive fall camp.
Hardy has had his ups and downs, as he picked off a pass in the team session on Sunday but lost several 1v1 coverage reps on Monday. All in all, it hasn't necessarily been a standout effort for the four-star safety, but he's also the type of player whom I would expect to shine more in the actual game than the practice sessions. It's tough for any defensive back to consistently win reps against the receivers when there's no clock on the quarterback, so Hardy wasn't any worse off today than his peers in that department. But I do get the sense his kamikaze nature will enable him to make a memorable play or two come the game on Thursday. He's highly instinctual, and that quality manifests most conspicuously in 11-on-11 action.
It's been kind of a frustrating week to watch Mitchell, as he hasn't really been given consistent opportunities to shine as a pass-catcher. The majority of his reps in team sessions have come as a blocker, and he didn't get the chance to run 1v1's with the skill guys earlier today. Moreover, the quarterback group here in Orlando has collectively been mediocre, so even when Mitchell has run routes, he hasn't always been rewarded with on-target passes. This is an event that generally showcases receivers more so than running backs and tight ends, so I frankly wouldn't expect Mitchell to make any hot lists as one of the week's top performers. I don't imagine he'll get enough targets to justify that distinction. But for what it's worth, he did send Twitter into a tizzy yesterday when he rag-dolled Texas signee Jordon Johnson-Rubell before hauling in a long pass. So that's something. Mitchell has also thrown the horns down at pretty much every camera pointed his way this week, man of the people that he is.
