2020 Senior Bowl: Recapping Day 2 of practices

The second day of the 2020 Senior Bowl is officially in the books, and it was another exciting afternoon of action.

With two days of action in the books, some of the top prospects have begun to separate themselves from the rest of the bunch. Let’s take a quick dive into who stood out in Day 2 of practices at Mobile.

More receivers make an impact

Day 1 brought great performances from numerous wide receivers, and Day 2 was no different. While some of the familiar standouts continued to shine, a couple of new faces used Wednesday to break out.

Among them was Baylor’s Denzel Mims, who used the practices to showcase the route-running technique he has worked hard to polish over the past few years. A raw, size-speed prospect for much of his collegiate career, he has made significant strides to improve his ability to create separation, and that was apparent in practice on Day 2. He showed sharper cuts in his routes and the ability to sink his hips, as well as improved hand usage in quick-jam press coverage. He suffers from being in a stacked class of wide receivers but he could be an absolute steal on Day 3.

Another intriguing wide receiver from Day 2 of practices was Antonio Gandy-Golden from Liberty. The productive small-school receiver has shown plenty of physicality and the ability to break free from press in 1-on-1s, dominating the opposition in tight situations at the point of attack. The 6-foot-4, 220-pound receiver had 150 catches, 2,433 yards and 20 touchdowns in his last two collegiate seasons, and with his size and dominance that is now translating to better competition, he could be an intriguing Day 3 option for teams in need of a boundary receiver.

Josh Uche is a beast

A player I’ve mocked to the Bears in Round 4 in the past, there may be a chance Michigan edge rusher Josh Uche won’t be available that late after his Senior Bowl performance.

Uche’s athleticism was apparent on tape, and he put that on full display in drills on Wednesday after also putting up a good showing on Tuesday. He showed impressive acceleration, footwork and overall flexibility in space, even holding his own when asked to drop back in coverage. Where he arguably stood out the most, though, was in 1-on-1 drills, as he showed off active hands and used his athleticism to beat several offensive linemen. Seen mostly as an early Day 3 pick, Uche could rise into late Day 2 category because of his athletic ability and versatility on passing downs.

Keep an eye on Troy Pride Jr.

Though I mentioned multiple cornerbacks in my Day 1 recap, one player who stood out whom I failed to mention was Notre Dame’s Troy Pride Jr., who followed up with another very good practice on Wednesday.

Known as one of the most athletic players in the 2020 class, Pride has more than backed up that status through the first two days of practices. He has showcased his speed and fluidity in 1-on-1 drills, as well as a good sense of patience and route anticipation in man coverage. He has looked very intelligent in workouts, sensing a receiver’s movements impeccably and attacking their stems well. I was higher on him than most heading into the Senior Bowl, placing a late Day 2 grade on him at this point. With a continuation of this level of play the rest of the week, he could realistically end up being drafted that early.

Be sure to follow along with my Twitter account for more updates and thoughts throughout Senior Bowl week, as well as our own EJ Snyder, who is in Mobile attending practices for the week.