Putting the 2011 Senior Bowl to bed with some key notes

The conflicting nature of reports this week made following the Senior Bowl this year extremely frustrating.

Todd McShay of ESPN said Jake Locker helped himself. Russ Lande of Sporting News said Locker hurt himself. Everyone else in Mobile was somewhere in between. Since I'm not in Mobile, that's why there was very little Senior Bowl content here on MTD.

However, there has been more coverage of the Senior Bowl this year than ever before. As such, some players received an incredible amount of press. See who after the jump.

Cameron Jordan pumps up his draft stock
Arguably no player had a better Senior Bowl week than California defensive end Cameron Jordan. In an odd turn, coaches had to ask Jordan to ratchet down his effort on pass rushes. Jordan displayed better quickness than most expected and reportedly looked better than any other player in Mobile. A great week of practice may have vaulted Jordan into the top 10 picks of the draft.

Leonard Hankerson emerges from the nether

A playmaker few talked about all college football season was on Miami wide receiver Leonard Hankerson. Despite catching 72 passes for 1,156 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2010, Hankerson has never been mentioned even with the likes of Pittsburgh's Jon Baldwin. He probably changed that after catching almost every pass thrown his direction in Mobile. Hankerson doesn't have great agility to get himself open, but he has the height and sure hands to profile as a good No. 2 receiver in the right system. We'll have more on Hankerson in an in-depth scouting report going up next week.

Danny Watkins looks unmovable as a guard

There were some questions whether or not Baylor left tackle Danny Watkins would transition well to the pros. He's a little heavy in the legs and doesn't slide to the outside with any amount of ease. But during practices this week he lined up mostly at guard and looked good. Watkins was anchoring better than any guard written about this week and may be right up there with Rodney Hudson and Mike Pouncey as this year's best guard.

Quarterbacks disappoint and confuse

Much like Locker, there was conflicting reports all week on the play of TCU's Andy Dalton and Nevada's Colin Kaepernick. Some talk about both securing a spot somewhere in the second round. Other writers have said both look like sixth-round picks. Like I've said most of the season, both probably project somewhere in the middle. Kaepernick is too thin and too much of a project to chance an early pick on. Dalton doesn't have great natural attributes and needs to have his footwork refined. I'm not sure a player like is worth a pick in the top 100. Iowa's Ricky Stanzi reportedly struggled all week. Florida State's Christian Ponder looked good in stretches and poor in others.

Luke Stocker rises stock

The Tennessee tight end probably locked himself in the second overall tight end spot with a good week in Mobile. He'll still be behind Notre Dame's Kyle Rudolph, but don't be surprised if Stocker is off the board by the end of the second round. The combine will be vital for Stocker.

Mason Foster all-around linebacker

Foster was the defensive version of Stocker this week. The Washington outside linebacker reportedly looked good dropping back in coverage, covering the run and rushing the pocket. Like Stocker, Foster could be gone by the end of the second round.

We'll have more on the Senior Bowl tomorrow and an open thread that will probably go up around 2 p.m.