Reese's Senior Bowl
The first stage of the 2023 NFL draft process is complete, with another Reese’s Senior Bowl in the books.
More than 100 of the top senior-eligible college football players in the country have spent the last week in Mobile, showing their stuff for NFL scouts and talent evaluators through three days of practice. Players have also had opportunities for one-on-one meetings with representatives of professional clubs, another part of the “getting-to-know-you” process of what amounts to a week-long job interview.
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So who made the biggest impressions during Senior Bowl 2023 week? With the caveat that it’s very difficult for a player to hurt his stock at the Senior Bowl, here are a few of the players who shined in Mobile (listed in alphabetical order):
Despite his tongue-twister of a name (for the record, it’s add-E-TOMMY-wah add-E-BAR-e), Adebawore’s name has been on everyone’s lips this week after his dominant showing in practice. Though he skipped the game, “Double-A” was a 6-foot-2, 284-pound wrecking ball in one-on-one drills against much bigger offensive linemen.
National tight end Payne Durham of Purdue (87) catches a pass for a tow point conversion against American team during the first half of the Senior Bowl NCAA college football game, Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023, in Mobile, Ala.. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)AP
The tight end group was excellent at the Senior Bowl for the second straight year, and Durham had a nice week of practice and a solid showing in the game with two catches and a two-point conversion. He had what might have been the play of the week in practice Thursday, when an early arriving defender knocked his helmet off, but he still caught the ball for a touchdown.
3. Jake Haener, QB, Fresno State — Everyone who was asked all week long said this was one of the weaker quarterback groups in recent Senior Bowl history, but the 6-foot Haener was solid in practice and the best of the bunch in the game. It’s worth remembering that last year’s game had only one first-round QB (Pittsburgh’s Kenny Pickett), but four others wound up starting at least one game as rookies.
National team OL Dawand Jones of Ohio State, right, practices for the Reese's Senior Bowl on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023, at Hancock Whitney Stadium in Mobile, Ala. (Mike Kittrell/AL.com)
4. Dawand Jones, OL, Ohio State — Jones wowed everyone at the weigh-in, checking in at 6-8, 375 with a Senior Bowl-record 89.5-inch wingspan. He got in only one day of practice before suffering concussion-like symptoms that kept him out of the game, but had showed enough by then he might wind up a first-round pick.
5. Luke Musgrave, TE, Oregon State — The highest-rated pass-catcher coming into the week, Musgrave did nothing to take away from that status during Senior Bowl practices. At 6-5 and 255 pounds, he’s been compared to Travis Kelce and Dalton Schultz, which is high praise indeed.
National team LB Ivan Pace of Cincinnati practices for the Reese's Senior Bowl on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023, at Hancock Whitney Stadium in Mobile, Ala. (Mike Kittrell/AL.com)
6. Ivan Pace, LB, Cincinnati — Pace, a unanimous All-American and the AAC Defensive Player of the Year in 2022, was a tackling and blitzing machine all week during practice. He had a rock-solid performance in the game, leading all players with 10 tackles. His height (officially 5-foot-10 ¼ at the Senior Bowl weigh-in) might be the only knock against him.
7. Jayden Reed, WR, Michigan State — It wasn’t a stellar year for Senior Bowl receivers, but Reed battled Stanford’s Michael Wilson for the honor of best of the bunch during the week of practice based on his speed and ability to separate. He caught just one pass for 25 yards in the game, but had a touchdown catch called back by penalty.
National team LB Cam Jones of Indiana tackles American team RB Tyjae Spears of Tulane during the first half of the Reese's Senior Bowl on Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023, at Hancock Whitney Stadium in Mobile, Ala. (Mike Kittrell/AL.com)
8. Tyjae Spears, RB, Tulane — Spears was the hands-down best player of the week during Senior Bowl practices, picking up right where he left off in his star-making performance vs. USC in the Cotton Bowl. It was a very good year for Senior Bowl running backs, with the elusive and lightning-quick Spears the best of a loaded group that also included Illinois’ Chase Brown, Oklahoma’s Eric Gray, Northwestern’s Evan Hull and Kentucky’s Chris Rodriguez.
9. O’Cyrus Torrence, OL, Florida — The Senior Bowl consistently cranks out elite offensive linemen, and Torrence was the best of the interior group during the week. He easily made the leap from the Sun Belt at Louisiana to the SEC, and after slimming down a good bit to 337 pounds could be the rare guard that goes in the first round of the NFL draft.
American team of OL Darnell Wright Tennesseee (58) and of LB Eku Leota of Auburn practice for the Reese's Senior Bowl on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023, at Hancock Whitney Stadium in Mobile, Ala. (Mike Kittrell/AL.com)
10. Darnell Wright, OL, Tennessee — Jones might have wowed people with his size at the weigh-in, but Wright had the most-consistent week of a very good group of Senior Bowl tackles. A five-star recruit out of high school and a 3-year starter with the Volunteers, the 6-5, 342-pound Wright continued to play up to his potential while in Mobile.
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