Thursday marked the final day of practice at the Reese's Senior Bowl. Here's my breakdown of the players who finished strong, and the ones who'll enter Saturday's game on a disappointing note.
Buzz-worthy players
Nate Orchard, DE, Utah
Orchard generated a ton of buzz during his senior season, finishing with 18.5 sacks, including five games with two sacks or more. Orchard came to Utah as a wide receiver but quickly moved to the defensive side of the ball, and he has steadily grown into his 255-pound frame over the last few years. Orchard is going to face questions about whether he is physical enough against the run, but he more than held his own against powerful tackles such as Rob Havenstein of Wisconsin and T.J. Clemmings of Pitt in run-blocking drills, and he also flashed the pass-rushing ability that helped him produce so many sacks during the 2014 season.
Max Garcia, C, Florida
After Andy Gallik of Boston College, Hroniss Grasu of Oregon and Cameron Erving of Florida State had to pull out of the Senior Bowl because of injury concerns, there was a mad scramble to fill those slots with serviceable centers. Garcia got the call and made the most of his opportunity with a steady week of practice reps. His strength at the point of attack against Washington's Danny Shelton and Iowa's Carl Davis caught the eyes of scouts and could force them to go back and take a closer look at him once again.
Garrett Grayson, QB, Colorado State
Grayson was up and down at this week's practices, which is generally the case for quarterbacks, but he had scouts buzzing in the stands with some of his throws Thursday afternoon. Grayson threw a couple of poor interceptions -- to TCU's Kevin White and Norfolk State's Lynden Trail -- but made up for it with impressive touch on deep throws and with fade routes in the end zone. Grayson is a polarizing prospect in scouting circles but had a solid day.
Antwan Goodley, WR, Baylor
There are personnel men who continue to get caught up in Goodley's body type. At 5-foot-10, 220 pounds, he has been likened to a running back. But his deep speed was on display Thursday, and Goodley got off of press coverage with ease for most of the morning. Goodley was a vertical threat at Baylor and was used as a running back on some zone-read plays, but one scout said Goodley had an eye-opening week showing off his potential outside of the Baylor scheme.
Clive Walford, TE, Miami
Despite missing Miami's bowl game after having surgery for a knee injury, Walford suited up and played well at this week's practices. Several scouts believe he will be one of the top two tight ends off the board in this year's draft. Walford showed he's healthy and continues to gain momentum following an impressive regular season. Walford was adequate as a blocker and looked athletic this week.
Buzz-kill players
Ben Koyack, TE, Notre Dame
Koyack came into the week with mixed reviews from scouts, but it's hard to find many personnel men who have anything positive to say about his week of practice. Koyack struggled in one-on-one blocking drills Thursday and looked stiff and slow in his routes, according to several scouts. While Walford solidified his draft standing, Koyack appears to have hurt his stock.
Reese Dismukes, C, Auburn
Dismukes was a highly decorated SEC center as part of Auburn's explosive offense, but his physical shortcomings were accentuated in practice. Dismukes struggled to consistently anchor up in one-on-one drills on Thursday and was unable to sway scouts that question his ability to block on the move and play with consistent functional strength.
Follow Lance Zierlein on Twitter @LanceZierlein.
