For two days, Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith was the talk at the Senior Bowl, but teammate and defensive tackle David Patterson is quietly creating a buzz of his own among NFL scouts.

Patterson is having a solid week of practice and has been a force in the middle of the defensive line for the North Team. He is showing teams his versatility at tackle by pressuring the quarterback and stuffing the middle in run situations.

On one play this week, Patterson was so quick off the snap that he was in the backfield to take the handoff from the quarterback. His ability to get after the quarterback has caught the eyes of scouts, and someone once projected as a Day 2 guy in the draft, may be off the board in the early rounds.

What's up with that?

I have sensed some bitterness from NFL scouts that top-rated passer Brady Quinn of Notre Dame and top-rated offensive tackle Joe Thomas of Wisconsin pulled out of the Senior Bowl. I think the bitterness, however, is directed at Quinn more than Thomas.

Quinn accepted an invitation to play in the All-Star event in December, but backed out just days before he was due to arrive in Mobile with a mysterious knee injury. There were no reports of a knee injury after the thrashing LSU put on Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl.

Did I mention that it was junior QB JaMarcus Russell, who has become the top passer on some draft boards since turning pro, who outdueled Quinn at the Sugar Bowl? One would think that this would be incentive enough for Quinn to show up. Believe me, this little incident has raised some eyebrows with scouts.