Practices for the East-West Shrine Bowl continued on Saturday in Frisco, TX.
Here’s who stood out on the defensive side of the ball on the second day of practice.
S Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, Texas Tech
The Chargers will be in the market for defensive backs this offseason, and one that could draw their interest is Taylor-Demerson, who’s had two days of good practices so far. On Saturday, he had a pick-6. While he is on the smaller side, Taylor-Demerson possesses the intelligence, range and physicality that would translate to the next level.
Overthrow from Kedon Slovis leads to a pick-6 for @TexasTechFB S Dadrion Taylor-Demerson.
He’s been impressive for two straight days. Good pre-snap communicator, and one of the few DBs who was able to lock down Malik Washington yesterday in 1-on-1s pic.twitter.com/135FtReZUK
— Trevor Sikkema (@TampaBayTre) January 28, 2024
CB Qwan'tez Stiggers, Toronto Argonauts
Stiggers has a unique story. He never played college football. Instead, Stiggers played in the Fan Controlled Football league out of Atlanta before going to the Canadian Football League (CFL) and winning CFL Rookie of the Year in 2023. Stiggers has been one of the best players here. He continued to show out with two passes defended on Sunday. While he’s raw, Stiggers has legit tools that could carry over to the next level.
Qwan’tez Stiggers has been super impressive at first glance. Two PBUs in team and 7v7 pic.twitter.com/k88vnJQRXr
— Billy M (@BillyM_91) January 28, 2024
EDGE Mo Kamara, Colorado State
Kamara will be one of the first players taken from this year’s all-star game. He led the Mountain West in sacks (13) and tackles for loss (18). Those numbers were reflective here of how dominant he is at rushing the passer and defending the run. Kamara was unblockable, recording what would be three sacks and a tackle for loss during team drills.
Mo Kamara’s – EDGE Colorado State – power and ability to chain moves together has been impressive during Sunday’s @ShrineBowl practice. pic.twitter.com/OZcBYOGpcp
— Matt Lane (@Matty_KCSN) January 28, 2024
DT Fabien Lovett, Florida State
The Chargers will be upgrading the interior part of the defensive line this offseason, and Lovett could be a target. Lovett was a mainstay of the backfield, showing off the upfield quickness to penetrate and some stack and shed ability by tossing offensive linemen around. He also demonstrated the lateral strength and mobility to get down the line of scrimmage.
Here is the first play during the East team portion of practice.
Florida State defensive lineman Fabien Lovett got in the backfield and threw down the running back.
Lovett had himself a day. pic.twitter.com/qotMyjSQ5f
— Nicholas Moreano (@NicholasMoreano) January 28, 2024
LB Easton Gibbs, Wyoming
I mentioned how the Chargers need more linebackers that can cover. Yesterday, it was Ohio State’s Steele Chambers. Today, it was Gibbs, the former high school safety. In the red zone drill, he jumped a route and took it back for what would have been a pick-six. In his final season at Wyoming, Gibbs broke up six passes and had an interception.
.@wyo_football LB Easton Gibbs with a good read of the eyes for a pick in the red zone period. Leary didn’t see him pic.twitter.com/d037cR718B
— Trevor Sikkema (@TampaBayTre) January 28, 2024
