The Senior Bowl was loaded with talent this year. Some of the players did not play in the game after practicing throughout the week, but overall there was still a pretty good showing from prospects. A lot of the standout players were not featured in our Senior Bowl Players to Watch article(although if we named every player we wanted to watch that would’ve been an extremely long article), and some of the ones we wanted to see disappointed. It’s all part of the process and we were excited to see some of the surprises. Here’s our 2023 Senior Bowl Recap!
Player of the Game:
Michael Wilson, WR, Stanford
- Jake Haener got the MVP of the game, but his stats are misleading. His 44 yard touchdown was very underthrown and took a great adjustment by Michael Wilson to catch it and turn it into a score. On top of this, he showed great route running and potential to result in 4 catches for 76 yards. He turned a strong week of practices into a great bowl performance.
Best Positional Group:
Running Backs
- Most of the running backs flashed. A couple showed pass catching abilities as well as power and good vision. Do not be surprised if most of the backs at the Senior Bowl end up getting drafted.
Worst Positional Groups:
Quarterbacks
- This was not a strong quarterback group to begin with, and they did not look great as a whole. Haener looked capable at times, but folded when the pressure got to him. Otherwise no one even flashed.
Whole Defense
- A few decent performances of the defensive side of the ball, but no real standouts. I’d argue it was a much more star studded group than the offense, and they completely disappointed as a whole.
Players Who Shined:
Evan Hull, RB, Northwestern
- Hull started off the game with a bang on the first play with a 24 yard run. He continued to carry the ball well, ending up with 74 yards on 10 carries. He showed good vision and power to go along with two catches.
Payne Durham, TE, Purdue
- Durham only had two catches (three if you count the two point conversion), but made the most of them. He high pointed a contested catch and was inches away from a touchdown. Definitely improved his stock.
Will Mallory, TE, Miami
- Someone I had heard was a tight end only in name, Mallory showed he has receiving upside at the next level. He measured in well at 6”5, 245 and erupted in the final quarter with five catches for 46 yards. Good testing at the combine could have his stock way up.
Players Who Flashed:
Eric Gray, RB, Oklahoma
- Looked to have good elusiveness and power, as well as soft hands.
Chris Rodriguez, RB, Kentucky
- Showed there was good vision and some burst to go along with his power. Could be a sleeper running back come draft time.
Jalen Wayne, WR, South Alabama
- Had eight catches, but only for 50 yards. Good involvement but did not seem to be anything special.
Cameron Latu, TE, Alabama
- More involved in the first quarter than ever was at Alabama. All jokes aside he showed receiving upside.
Byron Young, EDGE, Tennessee
- Caused the pick six on Malik Cunningham by pushing his blocker into the quarterback
Ali Gaye, EDGE, LSU
- Exploded off the end for his sack, just would have liked to see more than one play.
Lonnie Phelps Jr., DL/EDGE, Kansas
- Phelps had a pretty strong showing, and probably had his name called more than any of the other DL/EDGE players. He had a forced fumble, and I believe had a sack and TFL as well, but can’t confirm due to a lack of a defensive box score from the game.
Isaiah Land, LB, Florida A&M
- Land to me was probably the best small school prospect of the game. For some reason, Land is a name that has been in my head since I saw his draft declaration post on instagram. I haven’t even heard anything about him yet his name stuck with me, and will definitely stick with me after a fairly strong performance. He is now definitely on my list of backers to scout.
Daiyan Henley, LB, Washington State
- Henley is a linebacker prospect with a decent amount of buzz around him right now. I thought he flashed on a couple plays, but not at all what I would’ve thought based on what I’ve heard.
Ivan Pace Jr., LB, Cincinnati
- While watching NFL Network after the Senior Bowl, I found out that Pace had 10 tackles which led all defensive players. Based on what I saw I did not think he had that many. I thought he looked good, but not as good as his stats suggest.
Riley Moss, CB, Iowa
- Moss was probably the best CB at the Senior Bowl. He looked strong in coverage and I believe was only targeted once.
Tyrique Stevenson, CB, Miami
- Stevenson played okay defensively, his biggest play of the day though was probably the punt he helped down at the 1 yard line. I can kind of see why some people are high on him though.
Jason Taylor II, S, Oklahoma State
- Taylor was our Defensive Player of the Game in last week’s NFLPA Collegiate Bowl. Didn’t know he was a late invite to this game, but we were excited to see him play. He didn’t stand out today, but he showed versatility as he played a ton of LB today, and continued to show his high motor play.
Players Who Disappointed:
Max Duggan, QB, TCU
- He was horrible, just no way around it. His downward trend continues that started around halfway through the college season.
Tyson Bagent, QB, Shepherd
- I wish he would have put on a show, I really do. I wanted to love what I saw, but I just did not. He was super safe with check downs, did not run when he needed to, and threw a brutal pass in the end zone that should have been picked.
Kenny McIntosh, RB, Georgia
- Really wished he was more involved in this game, but the drop was a killer and he did not really get a chance to redeem himself. We still like his upside, but it was a disappointing game for sure.
Tyjae Spears, RB, Tulane
- Being labeled the MVP of practice this week set the bar high for Spears in this game, and he just did not excite. The three catches are nice but he did not show any special traits.
Xavier Hutchinson, WR, Iowa State
- He was just not involved, I believe we saw one target and it was not even a catch.
Luke Musgrave, TE, Oregon State
- For as much as you heard Daniel Jeremiah mention him, you would think Musgrave would have had an insane day. Unfortunately, the analysts do this every year where they just do not stop talking about a certain prospect, hype him up to unbelievable standards, and he just does not match the hype. DJ calling him a first round talent is a joke, and Musgrave did nothing to prove this at the Senior Bowl.
Davis Allen, TE, Clemson
- This may be more of a not getting targeted issue, but he did not make any plays for a guy who is a popular day three sleeper by most.
Andre Carter, EDGE, Army
- For a guy who’s being talked about as a first round talent and made headlines for potentially not being able to pursue a football career until after his military commitment, Carter was quiet today. He had an opportunity to sack Duggan on a play action boot and whiffed.
KJ Henry, EDGE, Clemson
- He is a sleeper of ours, based on potential alone. We really hoped he would make a wow play or two to help his draft stock and he did not.
Kyu Blu Kelly, CB, Stanford
- A lot of people seem to like Kelly, but he did not really show anything to like today. Maybe his Stanford film will show something, but we will see.
Christopher Smith II, S, Georgia
- As a huge Smith supporter it hurts me to put him here. However, I’ve watched a lot of Smith tape, and this is by far the worst game I’ve seen him play. He missed several tackles that he would’ve made during the season. He looked good in coverage which is his strength, but overall he did not live up to the hype today.
Notable Players Who Didn’t Play:
Jaren Hall, QB, BYU
Roschon Johnson, RB, Texas
Rashee Rice, WR, SMU
Nathaniel Dell, WR, Houston
Puka Nacua, WR, BYU
Zacch Pickens, DL, South Carolina
Will McDonald IV, DL/EDGE, Iowa State
Isaiah Foskey, DL/EDGE, Notre Dame
DeMarvion Overshown, LB, Texas
Dee Winters, LB, TCU
Carlton Martial, LB, Troy
- Martial is a small school prospect and small linebacker prospect. I was hoping he would play in the game to show teams what he is capable of in game situations. Not quite sure what the thinking was in not playing.