2011 Senior Bowl; South Beats North, 24-10

The 2011 Under Armour Senior Bowl has come to a conclusion and the college all-stars on the South squad have found themselves on the winning end. The South defeated the North by a score of 24-10. Florida State quarterback Christian Ponder was named the games Most Valuable Player.

It was surprising to see the North get beat up in the trenches, which was their strong point coming into the game. Offensive tackles Nate Solder and Anthony Costanzo, who are considered first-rounders by some, really struggled. Solder continued to show that he can not handle an inside move and had one of the worst performances in the game. DeMarcus Love on the South team was equally as bad. He was beat on a regular basis and looked like he was on a mission to get his quarterback killed.

Kendric Burney of the North had a fantastic game, as did defensive end Ryan Kerrigan. Both players got better as the week went on and they peaked in today’s game. Leonard Hankerson also had a spectacular performance after a great week of practice. Linebacker Von Miller was all the rave from the talking heads on TV this week, and he didn’t disappoint.

Ponder was the best looking quarterback in today’s game as outside of Greg McElroy, the other quarterbacks really struggled. I’ve never seen a group with worse accuracy, which is just slightly important to playing the quarterback position in the NFL. Jake Locker continued to show that he should not be taken in the first round. His inaccuracy is the only thing consistent about his performances.

Brooks Reed of Arizona really shined today. It is scary how much he plays like Clay Matthews out there. Reed will be best fit as an outside linebacker in a 3-4 defensive scheme and he showed his ability to rush the passer today. Reed recorded a sack and would have had another easy one, if it weren’t for the blatant holding call by Solder. Reed is one of the guys who has made himself the most money this week.

Almost everyone who was at practice all week would have predicted a North victory. The South had a much more unorganized practice and constantly focused on special teams. Luckily for them, it all came together in the end and earned their squad the victory.