East-West Shrine Game 2017: Game time, prospects to watch, more

You might have noticed a theme in our first week of prospect profiles. Other than the opening profile of Leonard Fournette to whet your appetite, the prospects we’ve taken a look at have been under the radar, and likely to be drafted in the later rounds.

The reason for that is Saturday’s East-West Shrine Game. Rather than flood our story stream with the obvious, highly-touted prospects right off the bat, we decided to bring to your attention players who will be on the field this Saturday (and, as you may have surmised, next Saturday at the Senior Bowl).

This week we’ve profiled:

Leonard Fournette (RB, LSU)

Stacy Coley (WR, Miami)

Erik Magnuson (RT/G, Michigan)

Fabian Moreau (CB, UCLA)

Sam Tevi (RT, Utah)

When it comes to the post-season All-Star games like the Shrine Game and Senior Bowl, the week of practices are generally held to be much more important than a prospect’s play in the game itself. The thought is that while a player can distinguish himself in the game, ultimately the years of tape on their college team is much more important than a bad performance on a team thrown together in less than a week. Instead, scouts look to see which players take well to coaching and improve over the course of the week. So then, which players have stood out in Shrine Game practices?

Prospects Who Stood Out

Eric Saubert (TE, Drake) - The athletic tight end from Drake has has drawn rave reviews from every source in each of the East’s three practices. He has also impressed with better-than-anticipated blocking

Trey Hendrickson (DE, Florida Atlantic) - By all accounts, Hendrickson had a strong week of practice, using his quickness and active hands to win nearly every rep, regardless of the tackle he was matched up against.

Fabian Moreau (CB, UCLA) - Moreau might not possess eye-popping measurables, but he seems to be the best defensive back on the West squad. He reportedly showed good awareness and comfort in both man and zone coverage, and punctuated reliability with several “terrific” plays.

Elijah McGuire (RB, Louisiana-Lafayette) - McGuire reportedly made waves this week in practice. He might not be a bell-cow back at the next level, but his quickness and receiving ability will could make him a dangerous change of pace at the next level.

Giants’ Interviews

We also know that New York Giants general manager Jerry Reese was in attendance this week, which usually means the Giants have significant interest in someone on the premises.

Gerhig Dieter (WR, Alabama)

Dieugot Joseph (OT, Florida International)

Fabian Moreau (CB, UCLA)

Joseph Williams (RB, Utah)

Tedric Thompson (S, Colorado)

Josh Tupou (NT, Colorado)

Game Details

When: Saturday, Jan. 21

Game time: 3 p.m. ET

TV: NFL Network