It struck me that those of you with social lives - what's that like? - may not have had three and half hours to spend on the Senior Bowl on Saturday. So I took copious notes, especially when it came to players who might be good fits at the 49ers' high-need positions - quarterback, outside linebacker and cornerback.

Generally speaking, defenses tend to have the advantage in college all-star games because it takes longer for an offense to develop cohesion, especially when many of the players were in a spread offense in college. That situation was even more pronounced on Saturday because it is such a good year for defensive linemen and linebackers.

The North team's offensive line may have received more publicity during the week of practice, but the North's defensive line starters ended up being much better on Saturday. Cal's Cameron Jordan, Stanford's Sione Fua, Purdue's Ryan Kerrigan and Iowa's Christian Ballard all made plays at various points in the game.

Early in the broadcast, NFL Net's Mike Mayock noted that Jordan, Kerrigan and Ballard were all potential first-round picks. But it was Fua, in my opinion, who had the best game or at least was the most consistent. He hardly ever took a step backward and often used his quickness to disrupt inside running plays. Once again, if the 49ers are looking to add a nose tackle in the draft, Fua seems like a nice fit, especially considering that he is already familiar with defensive coordinator Vic Fangio's style.

Kerrigan has drawn comparisons to Chris Long, the second overall pick in the 2008 draft. In the run-up to the draft, some teams thought Long could be a 3-4 outside linebacker. The Rams, however, use the 272-pound Long as a 4-3 defensive end. Kerrigan, at 255 pounds, is lighter than Long, but he is raising the same question - is he a 3-4 linebacker or a 4-3 defensive end?

The South's defensive linemen also jumped out, especially Arizona's Brooks Reed and Texas' Sam Acho, both of whom were around the ball all day. Both are college defensive ends who played defensive end on Saturday but who are in the 250-pound range and who likely are best suited as 3-4 linebackers. Reed had a sack Saturday while rushing from a two-point stance off the edge. Acho also had a sack.

Von Miller, meanwhile, was a defensive end at Texas A&M - actually, he played the jack-of-all-trades "Joker" position at the school - put played outside linebacker for the South in the Senior Bowl. He lived up to his practice-week hype by making several open-field tackles, including one on the North's opening position in which he and Reed stopped the running back for a two-yard loss. Of all the Senior Bowl players, Miller seemed the most worthy of the 49ers' seventh overall pick because of his pass-rush ability - 27 ½ sacks in the last two seasons - and his versatility.

It was hard to judge the quarterbacks considering that all six played and none ever had the chance to find a rhythm. Florida State's Christian Ponder looked the best, threw two touchdown passes and won the game's MVP award. Alabama's Greg McElroy looked smooth but hurt his hand when, following through on a pass, it struck the helmet of an offensive lineman.

TCU's Andy Dalton underthrew two deep passes, including a sure touchdown at the end of the half. Dalton also was shaken up after being sacked from behind (the defensive end was clearly off sides) in the third quarter. Washington's Jake Locker showed nice athleticism. But the knock on him has been his accuracy, and he allowed two throws to sail on him Saturday.

Nevada's Colin Kaepernick had some nice throws and showed great moves on the run. I was a little perplexed, however, that the North coaches had him run the ball so much, at least twice on designed plays. The NFL scouts know he can run. What they and everyone else wanted to see Saturday, was Kaepernick throw the ball. He was 4-9 for 53 yards and an interception that wasn't his fault.

Others who stood out:

* Miami inside linebacker Colin McCarthy blended in during the week of practice but was a maniac on Saturday. He looked like he was shot out of a cannon and made tackles all over the field.

* Like Fua, Baylor nose tackle Phil Taylor never took a step backward Saturday and did a great job of collapsing the pocket. At 337 pounds, Taylor is more of a traditional nose tackle than Fua, who weighed 307 pounds.

* Of the running backs, I liked Derrick Locke, who rushed 11 times for 47 yards. Locke is small at 5-8, 186 pounds, but he showed great acceleration and burst when he found a rare hole in the defensive line.