With Brian living in Mobile, Alabama, the Senior Bowl has been a big part of what Draft Countdown does. Not only that, but it is an event where most players increase their draft stocks and work with NFL staffs. Just like we did last year, we will predict what players will get invited and some runners up who could be replacements. Brian has made his offensive predictions here.
With there being a ton of older players in college football this season, it is a difficult choice to pair these lists down appropriately. Also, players may return to school, not accept the invite, etc. Add in that the Shrine Game this year will have NFL coaching staffs, and it could be a mix of which game players attend. For this list, I am assuming the Senior Bowl will continue to get their top choice of players.
This is also a prediction and not who I personally would choose if I were running the Senior Bowl. Each list would look different if based on my personal evaluations and who I think is the “best” at each position. The Senior Bowl generally does a great job of balancing that with potential draft capital and what players NFL teams are interested in seeing.
In many cases, I would squeeze a small school player in here and there, but it was a tough fit for all players deserving to go. Take a look and let me know who I missed out on!
Defensive Line (22 Total)
Andre Carter II, Army (EDGE)
Habakkuk Baldonado, Pittsburgh (EDGE)
Keondre Coburn, Texas (DL)
Tyler Davis, Clemson (DL)
Isaiah Foskey, Notre Dame (EDGE)
Ali Gaye, LSU (EDGE)
Derick Hall, Auburn (EDGE)
Zach Harrison, Ohio State (EDGE)
KJ Henry, Clemson (EDGE)
Siaki Ika, Baylor (DL)
Tyler Lacy, Oklahoma State (DL)
Eku Leota, Auburn (EDGE)
Mike Morris, Michigan (DL)
Caleb Murphy, Ferris State (EDGE)
Moro Ojomo, Texas (DL)
Zacch Pickens, South Carolina (DL)
Jalen Redmond, Oklahoma (DL)
Zion Tupuola-Fetui, Washington (EDGE)
Kobie Turner, Wake Forest (DL)
Keion White, Georgia Tech (EDGE)
Tyree Wilson, Texas Tech (EDGE)
Jared Verse, Florida State (EDGE)
Defensive Line was a tough choice. There are a ton of good EDGE players who could play DE or OLB and be classified as such to get the best players to Mobile. Carter and Foskey would be the top gets along with Wilson and Verse. There have been some emerging EDGe players like White, Murphy, and Henry who are very deserving. Ultimately, I leaned on players who had the better year this season as options. Baldonado is probably my least confident choice as he has been dealing with an injury this season, but picked up his play recently.
The interior line is a bit weak in this class for eligible players, so I went light on the choices. The Texas duo could turn into a trio if Sweat is also added. Top players like Ika and Pickens seem likely, while emerging DL like Turner, Morris, and Lacy played their way in this year.
Runners Up
Adetomiwa Adebawore, Northwestern
Jerrod Clark, Coastal Carolina
Robert Cooper, Florida State
Brandon Dorlus, Oregon
Ikenna Enechukwu, Rice
Dylan Horton, TCU
Tre’mon Morris-Brash, UCF
T’Vondre Sweat, Texas
Xavier Thomas, Clemson
Linebacker (14 Total)
Jack Campbell, Iowa
Brenton Cox, Florida
Nick Hampton, Appalachian State
Daiyan Henley, Washington State
Shaka Heyward, Duke
DJ Johnson, Oregon
Carlton Martial, Troy
Will McDonald, Iowa State
Ventrell Miller, Florida
Owen Pappoe, Auburn
Nolan Smith, Georgia
DeMarvion Overshown, Texas
Henry To’o To’o, Alabama
Byron Young, Tennessee
There are a lot more deserving LBs, especially OLBs, then made my list. It would not be surprising to find a few extra added to the list (like Beal, Jones, or Thomas). There are some downright studs on this list in Smith, Campbell, and Henley. McDonald and Hampton are EDGE players who produce week in and week out. Overshown got an invite last year and went back to school, so he is in. To’o To’o and Pappoe have stepped up their play this season as well. Martial is a Mobile native, so he was included, but maybe should be passed over for others.
Runners Up
Jeremy Banks, Tennessee
Robert Beal Jr, Georgia
Tatum Bethune, Florida State
Troy Brown, Mississippi
SirVocea Dennis, Pittsburgh
Tommy Eichenberg, Ohio State
Mikel Jones, Syracuse
Isaiah Land, Florida A&M
Darius Muasau, UCLA
John Morgan III, Pittsburgh
Charlie Thomas, Georgia Tech
Jacoby Windmon, Michigan State
Cornerback (14 Total)
Jakorian Bennett, Maryland
Kyu Blu Kelly, Stanford
Cameron Brown, Ohio State
Kei’Trel Clark, Louisville
Chamarri Conner, Virginia Tech
Tre’vius Hodges-Tomlinson, TCU
Darrell Luter, South Alabama
Riley Moss, Iowa
Joey Porter Jr., Penn State
Cam Smith, South Carolina
Nehemiah Pritchett, Auburn
Darius Rush, South Carolina
Devon Witherspoon, Illinois
Rezjohn Wright, Oregon State
Loads of talented corners in this class. Potential first round picks like Porter Jr. and Smith would be awesome gets for the Senior Bowl. The easy choices were Mobile Native Bennett and USA’s Luter who both are potential Day 2 prospects. Moss had an invite last year and returned, while Blu Kelly and Clark are decently touted. Some great play this season will get in Witherspoon, Pritchett, and Conner. Wright, Brown and Rush are my last three in and could be replaced with some talented corners who didn’t make the cut.
Runners Up
Julius Brents, Kansas State
Storm Duck, North Carolina
Justin Ford, Montana
Keenan Isaac, Alabama State
D’Shawn Jamison, Texas
Anthony Johnson, Iowa State
Tyrique Stevenson, Miami (FL)
Quavian White, Georgia State
Garrett Williams, Syracuse
Safeties (10 Total)
Jordan Battle, Alabama
Ji’Ayir Brown, Penn State
AJ Finley, Mississippi
Demarco Hellams, Alabama
Brandon Joseph, Notre Dame
Kaevon Merriweather, Iowa
Jammie Robinson, Florida State
Daniel Scott, Cal
JL Skinner, Boise State
Chris Smith II, Georgia
There are some good high profile safeties in this group with Battle, Joseph, and Skinner all as potential Top 50 picks. Brown, Robinson, and Merriweather have had great years so far. Smith and Hellams are SEC stalwarts that make sense. Scott is underrated, but he deserved a spot. Finley is the last in, but a Mobile native who could be a nice addition.
Runners Up
Demani Richardson, Texas A&M
Trey Dean, Florida
Anthony Johnson, Virginia
Patrick McMorris, San Diego State
Otis Reese, Mississippi
Benny Sapp, Northern Iowa
Jay Ward, LSU
Kicker (2 Total)
Jake Moody, Michigan
Will Reichard, Alabama
Moody is one of the best kickers in the nation consistently. It would be hard to not include an eligible Alabama player, so Reichard gets the spot. Ryland should be there instead and will be tough to leave off the roster.
Runners Up
Chad Ryland, Maryland
Noah Ruggles, Ohio State
Andre Szmyt, Syracuse
Jack Podlesny, Georgia
Punter (2 Total)
Adam Korsak, Rutgers
Michael Turk, Oklahoma
Hard year for Punters who are eligible. Korsak has had a solid career and Turk is battle tested. Both should come up. The runners up may be able to make it if they declare.
Runners Up
Austin McNamara, Texas Tech
Kyle Ostendorp, Arizona
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Long Snapper (2 Total)
Alex Ward, UCF
Bradley Robinson, Ohio State
Ward might be the easiest lock of the entire roster having accepted an invite late year and returning to school. Robinson has longevity at Ohio State and may get the Buckeye nod.
Runners Up
Payne Walker, Georgia
Matt Hembrough, Oklahoma State
See more from Shane on Twitter @ShanePHallam and on Draft Countdown here