Michigan running back De'Veon Smith was the talk of Senior Bowl practices, many predicting he'd improved his draft stock dramatically.
Smith, who gained 846 yards on 181 carries and scored 10 rushing touchdowns in 2016, looked "more elusive" according to Sports Illustrated.
“This process is still going until the day I get that Hall of Fame jacket,” Smith said. “Nothing is finished. You feel me?”
According to Yahoo.com, however, he failed to improve his stock by the end of the week.
"Early in the week, Smith caught our eyes with a few soft-handed catches, despite measuring with small hands," they wrote. "He arrived in town right at the start of the event, having been at the East-West Shrine Game the week prior, where he was viewed as a standout.
"But there might not be much special in Smith’s game, and he did look to fatigue a bit as this week wore on. We view him as a No. 2 power back with limited value in the passing game. Amid an extremely deep draft group of backs, that doesn’t bode well. And it didn’t help that Smith was teammates this week with Toledo’s Kareem Hunt, who was the clear star at the position in Mobile."
NFL Network Analyst Bucky Brooks told the Detroit Free Press Smith had "shown some flashes" nonetheless.
“I think everyone knew that he could run the ball really well,” said Brooks, a former scout with the Carolina Panthers and Seattle Seahawks. “You didn’t question his toughness because you know if you play tailback in a Jim Harbaugh system you can run between the tackles. You have enough toughness to kind of handle workload.
“The thing that everyone wants to see from all running backs here, can they catch the ball out of the backfield? Are they dynamic enough to be every down backs? So he shows flashes of being able to catch the ball, but what you want to do is can he not only catch, but can he run routes where he can get open? Because that’s what takes the guys from good to great in our league. If they can do different things and add a dimension to the offense beyond being just a regular running back.”
Smith said he came in with something to prove.
“No matter what ranking you come in, it doesn’t even matter,” Smith said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re a five-star or one-star. The only thing that matters is when you get there and you do the job. That’s the most important thing, nothing else. Forget all that ranking stuff. That don’t mean anything.”
Smith carried five times for six yards in the game, a 16-15 loss for his North team. Receiver Amara Darboh caught one pass for 11 yards, and defensive lineman Chris Wormley notched one assisted tackle.
Offensive guard Kyle Kalis played at right guard for the North squad, and linebacker Ben Gedeon led the North squad with nine tackles, six assisted, and added a forced fumble, while cornerback Jourdan Lewis notched three solo tackles and an assist.
“He’s intelligent. He’s a tough kid. He works his butt off every day. He constantly works,” Michigan defensive end Chris Wormley told Ohio.com of Gedeon. “This was his first year starting and he played phenomenal for us. He’s one of the best linebackers in the country. Now he’s at the Senior Bowl starting.”
Defensive tackle Ryan Glasgow assisted on one tackle.
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