MOBILE, Ala. — The first day of practice at the Senior Bowl was a real treat as I attended the North team practice. There were a number of solid performances turned in by the prospects starting with Michigan QB Chad Henne.

The 6-2, 225-pound gunslinger caught the scouts' attention with his strong arm, accuracy, decision-making and timing.

Henne had a pretty good day throwing the ball. He demonstrated good command over the offense and showed pinpoint accuracy hitting receivers in stride. Henne zipped the ball around the field rather effortlessly with great velocity.

He threw a nice deep ball with touch and was by far the best quarterback on display for the North.

Ohio State OT Kirk Barton didn't fare as well in his first day. Barton had a difficult time handling speed rushers off the edge and was constantly being pushed back on his heels. He showed that he's a much better run blocker than he is a pass blocker.

Barton did not anchor well and showed limited athletic ability.

CB Jamar Adams was another Michigan player who got into the act of making plays.

During a run play Adam came up from his corner position and laid a thunderous hit on West Virginia's hard-nose FB Owen Schmitt that sent his helmet flying off. It was quite an impressive shot considering Schmitt out weighs Adams by 41 pounds.

Oklahoma State WR Adarius Bowman, who is considered one of the top receivers in the draft, had a bad case of the drops. He showed signs of greatness early, but faded as practice went on and couldn't catch a cold.

With a chance to solidify their top-ranked billing, Boston College QB Matt Ryan, Louisville QB Brian Brohm and South Florida star CB Mike Jenkins backed out on playing in the Senior Bowl after accepting invites. The news came just days before the event was set to kickoff.

These last minute decisions to pull out of the event could prove costly for all three players and will certainly raise a red flag with NFL scouts much like it did last year when Pretty Boy Floyd QB Brandy Quinn backed out at the last minute and then sank like the Titanic on draft day. Scouts were very disappointed when Quinn opted out.

The player who I believe that could be hurt most by this decision is Brohm. I have Brohm rated as the No. 1 quarterback in this year's draft. However, there are many experts and some teams who have him listed as No. 2 behind Ryan.

Needless to say, this would have been the perfect opportunity for Brohm to establish himself as the top quarterback in this year's class.

I've learned that the Miami Dolphins who own the first overall pick of the draft will indeed be keeping a close eye on the quarterbacks in Mobile. According to a team source, the Dolphins will bring in a quarterback during the off-season in free agency or the draft. It is no secret that the team is looking for a franchise quarterback and Cleo Lemons and John Beck are not it.

With both Ryan and Brohm M.I.A this will give quarterbacks Henne, Andre Woodson and John David Booty a chance to make a statement.

Speaking of the Dolphins, whispers are that the organization is close to hiring former Carolina Panthers coach Dan Henning as their new offensive coordinator.

According to a league source, Henning has emerged as the favorite for the job over former Cleveland Browns coach Chris Palmer.

No organization worked the Senior Bowl like the Cleveland Browns scouts did yesterday. I mean they interviewed anyone wearing a uniform, QB Joe Flacco, CB Jamar Adams, DL Cliff Avril, LB Shawn Crable and 5-foot-6 inch kicker Alexis Serna. At one point, I thought I saw a one of the scouts conversing with the ball boy.

It appears that the Browns are ready to prove to the world that their 10-6 season was no fluke.