Various reports on a couple of Niner prospects (OG Mike Iupati, S Taylor Mays), as well as a pair of lesser-known prospects from P.Willie's alma mater (WR/RB Dexter McCluster, OT/OG John Jerry).

OG Mike Iupati

-- "Iupati has power and excellent balance. He rarely struggled with one-on-one blocks, quickly squaring up the defensive tackle and neutralizing his rush. He is quick to get out of his stance and into the run-blocking game. Iupati showed the ability to torque a defender and put him on the ground. I want to see more when he pulls, but this guy can play."
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-- "Idaho's Mike Iupati is clearly the best offensive lineman on the North roster. He is quick, powerful, balanced and nasty. He struggled when moved to tackle and might fit best at guard in the NFL, but he is good enough to consider late in the first round."
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-- "Iupati was a bull in one-on-one drills and team play, anchoring against the formidable strength of North Carolina's Cam Thomas and Purdue's Mike Neal. When taking on Graham outside, however, Iupati showed his inexperience working in space, failing to extend his arms and move his feet to hold the 6-1 Wolverine at bay. The All-American is also not accustomed to coming out of a three-point stance, and the lack of work showed when coming hard off the snap and blocking down on the tackle, but then losing his balance trying to hit a linebacker at the second level."
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-- "There is not a weakness in Iupati's game when he's lined up at guard. His quick first step, lateral quickness, and long arms make him a dominant force inside, and he is a nasty finisher who is not satisfied until defenders are on their backs. And while he struggled a bit when moved to left tackle during practice, Iupati is stepping up against the higher level of competition and based on what we've seen we have no problem giving him a late-first-round grade as a guard. In fact, he's the best guard prospect we've seen in the last two drafts."
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-- "After looking like a Beast day one, Mike Iupati was brought down to earth today. Alex Carrington in particular humiliated Iupati by planting him right on his butt."
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-- "Mike Iupati is the best guard in the draft, but him working at left tackle was hard to watch. Not very good in his movements while in space, but maybe it was just the problem for his first time trying it."
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-- "Iupati was used on both sides today, at left and right guard, and he looked natural as a tackle in linemen drills. There's a growing sense that he could be a top-15 pick, and the team that drafts him might have him into a tackle, a la Branden Albert. I also should report that rumors in the scouting circles of Iupati not being able to speak very well have proven to be false. He's very comfortable talking with teams and to the media and appears to be a bright young man. Oh, and he can play. Although Alualu got him once and DE Alex Carrington (I am keeping my eye on this guy) beat him another time in drills that favor the D-linemen, Iupati has been a monster. He showed great hand punch and explosion in the individual drills and later pancaked Louisiana Tech DT D'Anthony Smith and stonewalled Purdue's Mike Neal twice in a row. Chiefs GM Scott Pioli, Bears OL coach Mike Tice and a number of other coaches and scouts watched the linemen heavily today."
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-- "Idaho OG Mike Iupati, who was the star of the weigh-in (according to one scout I spoke with) because of his chiseled physique, looked very light on his feet with very good balance....He might be the best North offensive lineman from first glance, stonewalling Penn State DT Jared Odrick on a pass-rushing drill that typically gives the advantage to the defender."
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S Taylor Mays

-- "USC S Taylor Mays had a highlight-reel hit on Citadel WR Andre Roberts on a seam route and dislodged the ball, but on the very next play Oklahoma State QB Zac Robinson overthrew Alabama TE Colin Peek and Mays could have had an easy interception but was looking for the big hit instead and completely missed the ball."
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-- "Drills have not been kind to USC S Taylor Mays, who needs to show this week that he can hold up in coverage. He looks stiff and is having trouble opening his hips out of his backpedal during one-on-ones."
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-- "Measuring in at 6-foot-3, 231 pounds in front of scouts on Monday, Mays looks and plays like a linebacker in the secondary. An intimidating force that looks for the knockout punch on every play, Mays displayed those skills during Monday's South practice and received rave reviews from scouts in attendance. Mays' physical nature was evident during one-on-one drills, as he mauled the opposition at the line during every sequence. In coverage, Mays was surprisingly patient and had a great sense of timing. Nobody questions Mays' ability; it's his consistency and the lack of impact numbers he posts that concern observers. With a strong week in Mobile and a solid showing the rest of the off-season, Mays will compete to be a top 10 pick in the draft."
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-- "Taylor Mays is big. Really, really big. Like if you lined him up next to Leroy Hill, you might say Mays is bigger. He's taller, and while his legs aren't as thick as Hill's, his shoulders are just as square. All through last season, there was talk that Mays' stock may have declined as he returned for his senior season. Consider Monday the first day in correcting that trajectory because he was measured 6 feet 3 while standing barefoot, he's 231 pounds and he showed he's got some range to go with his power when he broke up a pass intended for receiver Andre Roberts of the Citadel in the South team practice."
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-- "Speaking of Mays, it seems people are finally coming around to my long-held position that hes not anywhere close to an elite prospect. He looked incredibly stiff and almost comes to a dead stop coming out of his backpedal and cannot change direction once hes beyond his second step without looping wide. A couple of sage voices in the crowd wondered aloud why he isnt playing linebacker--one of whom has assembled a Super Bowl-winning team. "
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WR/RB/KR Dexter McCluster

-- "He stood out among his peers due to his outstanding speed and explosiveness. While his tiny frame (5-8,165 pounds) raises serious concerns about his durability, McCluster's playmaking ability is making it tough for evaluators to dismiss his potential as a multi-purpose threat."
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-- "When you are 5-foot-8 and 165 pounds, you better be explosive, and McCluster is surely that. He is never going to be a powerful short-yardage back, but he ran downhill and was fearless between the tackles. McCluster is at his best, though, attacking the perimeter and making plays in space. He showed the quickness to separate from anyone underneath and ran by Alabama CB Javier Arenas at one point today. McCluster also caught the ball well and fielded punts cleanly, which is important because he needs to show scouts even more versatility than we've seen already."
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-- "Dexter McCluster, you're my official 2010 Draft Crush. He looked like he couldn't do no wrong today. Lining up at both WR and RB and shining in both."
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-- "The player I enjoyed watching the most in the South practice was Dexter McCluster. The kid was everywhere doing everything. He is FAST. He beat Arenas deep on a double move, then came back with a quick slant in which he left the defensive back in his dust."
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-- "Dex­ter McClus­ter (Ole Miss) is listed as a wide receiver on the ros­ter sheet, but he spent a lot of time in the back­field. The explo­sion he showed all over the field is going to get a lot of eval­u­a­tors excited. He reaches top speed with just a few steps and his agility and bal­ance in space is some­thing to watch. While he is severely under­sized, he plays tough and has no prob­lem with putting his head down and try­ing to drive a pile forward."
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-- "He started off the prac­tice by shag­ging punts and kicks, and he looked more com­fort­able doing so than any­one other than Are­nas. He then impressed by run­ning crisp routes and show­ing some big time speed down­field. Fol­low­ing that, McClus­ter took the ball out of the back­field and ran well in between the tack­les. What he showed today is that he can do it all, and do it fast."
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-- "The guy who made the biggest impression on me during Tuesday's South practice was Ole Miss RB Dexter McCluster. McCluster found ways to consistently separate during one-on-one drills, making plays both underneath and vertically down the field and was also impressive running the football between the tackles and accelerating into the open field. He may be slight, but if used correctly, this guy can create in a number of ways for an NFL offense."
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-- "The South features the Darren Sproles-sized Dexter McCluster, who zig-zagged his way around the field all day today. No one on the North had that same kind of explosion. And even though the South has a couple of first-round type of talents in the secondary in Taylor Mays and Perrish Cox, even they had trouble tracking him down."
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-- "The catch of the day, however, came from none other than McCluster, who ran a hook and go, looking like a polished wideout in the process, on Alabama CB Javier Arenas and completely laid out every inch of his truncated body to make a superb grab. It's plays such as this that will make teams rethink McCluster and how they might use him. He told me tonight he played about 40 percent of the time last season in the slot, and it shows."
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-- "Ole Miss RB/WR Dexter McCluster is the star of the South team. His short-area quickness is off the charts, and he does a great job of presenting a target and then taking it away from the defender. He became the source of some debate on the fencerow as to whether he will be an NFL RB or WR--very similar to the conversations about Percy Harvin last year. McCluster shows surprising toughness for his size and is an eminently coachable player, and I see that making his versatility even more valuable."
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OT/OG John Jerry

-- "Through the first two days of practice, the South lineman making himself the most money is Mississippi's John Jerry. Jerry impressed scouts on Monday with his weight, measuring in 18 pounds lighter than his listed 350 pounds and actually coming in nearly an inch taller than his listed 6-5. The second-team all-SEC selection showed surprisingly quick feet and great strength while at right tackle Tuesday, easily handling the bull rush. The versatile lineman saw action at right guard Monday, but remained outside almost exclusively yesterday. Considering his size and athletic bloodlines (brother Peria was the Falcons' first-round pick last April and his cousins are former NFL linebackers Eddie Strong and Dwayne Rudd), some scouts see Jerry as a more polished prospect than the North's more hyped Vladimir Ducasse and Mike Iupati, while still possessing significant upside."
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-- "John Jerry (Ole Miss) saw a lot of time inside at right guard, and he was flat out dom­i­nat­ing the Souths defen­sive tack­les. He plays very fast for a 332 pounder but what caught my eye was the knee bend. He gets max­i­mum power with his punches because he bends at the knees and puts his hips in to it."
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-- "With his size and his expe­ri­ence at dif­fer­ent posi­tions along the line, Jerry is going to catch a lot of eyes. The quick­ness and bal­ance he showed today impressed me as he com­pletely sti­fled the likes of Lamarr Hous­ton and Dan Williams."
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-- "Another Ole Miss standout was OL John Jerry, who was absolutely dominant at times during practice. He lined up at both tackle and guard, and his combination of size, length and overall lateral quickness through contact gave opposing linemen fits. He does a great job continuing to move his feet while reworking his hands in order to stay on blocks and handled anyone the South roster threw at him. A pretty impressive day for a guy who also grades out highly as a run blocker."
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