The 2011 Senior Bowl wrapped up today with a 24-10 victory by the South squad in a surprise to most. Throughout the week, the North team looked to have the better offensive and defensive line, as well as the better quarterbacks overall. In the game however, the South offensive line controlled the North and the South's Christian Ponder ate up chunks of yardage and took home the MVP trophy. Ponder ended the day 7/13 for 131 yards and 2 touchdowns, as well as 17 yards on the ground.
During the week, Ponder drew a lot of questions about his shoulder, elbow, and his arm strength. In the game however, everything looked fine. Ponder moved well in the pocket, looked off defenders, and hit his throws. His first pass of the game, a 49 yard completion to Leonard Hankerson, was underthrown but to where the receiver could make the catch. On the next drive Ponder threw a perfect backside throw to Hankerson to lead him into the endzone. If Ponder checks out medically going forward, his draft stock could climb back to where it was prior to the 2010 season.
Colin Kaepernick for the North team showed why a lot of people have fallen in love with him. He's got a strong arm and makes plays on the move. While he's a runner, he showed an ability to look down the field while on the move and to get chunks of yardage on the ground. He did register an interception, but it was a missle thrown on the run after stepping up in the pocket and the tight end simply bobbled it up into the air.
Two players who really made themselves some money were wide receiver Leonard Hankerson of Miami and cornerback Kendrick Burney of North Carolina. Hankerson was a nightmare for corners to cover all week and it showed in the game as he netted 5 catches for 99 yards and a touchdown. Burney was all over the field. He made tackles as a gunner on special teams and broke up plenty of passes. Defensive lineman Christian Ballard from Iowa also raised some eyebrows with his play on the defensive line and it showed up in the game.
One player I still see getting a lot of love that I thought had a poor game was Purdue defensive end Ryan Kerrigan. Early on he misplayed a draw play by over running it and got ate up in the running game. He showed up in the second quarter when he flopped to the left side to match up with DeMarcus Love at right tackle. He began getting in the backfield and making plays, but Love is going to be a guard in the NFL so it wasn't really a telling match up.
Andy Dalton of TCU left me again underwhelmed. He left some air under a deep ball that let Kendrick Burney break up the ball. Dalton ended the day 3 for 7 for 22 yards and got knocked out of the game.
Who stood out to you in the game? Who looked good, who looked bad?