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Vince Mayle and many of the top senior prospects for this year's NFL Draft kicked off Senior Bowl festivities yesterday by stepping up to the stage and stripping down to be measured and examined by scouts and the twitterverse before their first practice.
Unlike Deone Bucannon in last year's Senior Bowl, Mayle checked in about an inch shorter than his listed height that WSU posts in the media guide, although the weight was spot on:
Senior Bowl Measurements: WR Vince Mayle, Washington State 6'2.0", 219 pds, 9.0 hands, 31.8" arms
— R.C. Fischer (@CFBMetrics) January 20, 2015
It appears that the Jason Loscalzo's strength and conditioning program paid off for Mayle in the same way it did for Bucannon, as several folks were impressed with his physique, saying that Mayle passes the eye test for an NFL receiver.
Vince mayle sure looks the part
— Another Draftguy (@AnotherDraftguy) January 20, 2015
Vince Mayle is absolutely shredded.
— Ethan Hammerman (@Ethanhamm) January 20, 2015
However, impressions were mixed on his measurements as his arm length and hand size came in a little below ideal for the WR position.
Vince Mayle is only 6020, 219, hands are only 8 7/8 and 9 flat (L vs R), 31 7/8 arms (no thanks)
— DAVIS HSU (@DavisHsuSeattle) January 20, 2015
@NussCoug hands 9 or under is small
— DAVIS HSU (@DavisHsuSeattle) January 20, 2015
Interestingly enough, Mayle compares favorably to some of the pre-draft measurements of current Seattle Seahawks receiver and 2014 Senior Bowl MVP Kevin Norwood. Both check in at 6-2, but Mayle is 21 pounds heavier than Norwood, with similar arm length, but much smaller hands (10 vs 9 inches).
A few of us were emailing while the measurements were being posted and Jeff Nusser brought up an interesting point: If his hands weren't on the small side, his drops this year would likely be chalked up to focus or some other ambiguous factor; Mayle is currently projected to go in the 3rd or 4th round, but if the narrative gets going that the drops this year were due to small hands, it could cause Mayle to slip to the later rounds.
The conversation reminded me of another Seattle Seahawk who had to deal with the dropsies narrative while in college: Jermaine Kearse.
Puppy Chow - UW Dawg Pound: Will Jermaine Kearse find a cure for the dropsies in 2011?UW Dawg Pound http://t.co/BbvUuhS
— Sadie (@puppydogstuff) August 16, 2011
Mayle compares well to the measurements of Kearse, with near identical arm length and hand size.
Fortunately for Mayle, once practice started he shined, getting compliments from Mike Mayock and some twitter love from several journalists covering the first practice.
Like Mayock touting WR Vince Mayle. #WSU asst Dennis Simmons deserves a lot of credit for finding & developing the raw former hoops player.
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) January 20, 2015
Mimicking others on this, but Washington State WR Vince Mayle looks sharp. Plucks the ball like someone is handing it off to him.
— Chris Burke (@ChrisBurke_SI) January 20, 2015
Washington State WR Vince Mayle made a nice sideline grab right in front of me. I used my nimble feet to get out the way. #SeniorBowl
— James Walker (@JamesWalkerNFL) January 20, 2015
Wazzu WR Vince Mayle stood out w/his posing frame at North practice. That guy among South team WRs? UNLV's Devante Davis. #SeniorBowl
— Luke Easterling (@LukeEasterling) January 20, 2015
Mayle's stellar day one performance could be credited to his hard work and plethora of football skills, or my other theory, the fact that he went with the white Coug helmet.
Vince Mayle WR Washington St pic.twitter.com/T0v64sz2sh
— TURRON DAVENPORT (@TDavenport_PPI) January 20, 2015
You can tune in to the NFL Network on January 24th to watch Mayle compete for Team North. He'll be wearing number 15.