5 Takeaways from Day 1 of Senior Bowl Practices

by Zachary Somma

The 2025 Reese’s Senior Bowl officially got underway on Tuesday hosted in Mobile, Alabama at the University of South Alabama. The first practice session saw the National team roster take the field, before the American team roster finished off the day. Here are 5 takeaways from the first day of practice at the 2025 Reese’s Senior Bowl.

1.) Lots of notable late withdrawals

As with the East-West Shrine Bowl, there were a number of late withdrawals from the Senior Bowl that I do want to make a note of. While it is very disappointing to see these players miss this event, for some it can be understandable. All of the players from Ohio State, and a few from Notre Dame withdrew from the event due to their deep playoff runs. This included QB Will Howard, OT/OG Donovan Jackson, DT Ty Hamilton, EDGE Jack Sawyer, and S Xavier Watts. Some other late withdrawals include fan-favorite Arizona State RB Cam Skattebo, Michigan RB Kalel Mullings, Stanford WR Elic Ayomanor, Texas TE Gunnar Helm, UConn OT Chase Lundt, Georgia C Jared Wilson, Texas A&M defensive linemen Shemar Turner and Nic Scourton, and Texas S Andrew Mukuba.

As with previous years, we could also see some players leave early if they feel like they proved enough throughout the week, or if an injury arises. One player to watch is Missouri OT Armand Membou, who didn’t get out on the field today due to a reported illness and is reportedly TBD for the rest of the week.

2.) Could be a long week for the QBs

As for the players who are in Mobile for the week, a lot of eyes will be on the QB position. While the projected first rounders Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders are not present, QB3 could potentially be here at the Senior Bowl. The biggest name of the bunch is Alabama QB Jalen Milroe, a bit of a surprise entrant into the NFL Draft this year. He’s incredibly raw but is oozing with athletic talent and potential. One of his biggest issues this year was consistency, and that was very apparent today in practice, as his accuracy was all over the place. Ole Miss QB Jaxon Dart is another player people think can rise into that QB3 spot in the draft, but he too had a poor start to his week in Mobile. He notably has next to no experience under center in his collegiate career, and that was quite visible given his 3 fumbled snaps under center today. Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel probably had the most consistent day of any QB here, but his measurables and overall arm talent leave much to be desired. Notre Dame QB Riley Leonard did not opt out of the event and is practicing, and he did well enough given the circumstances. The real wildcard of the week is Taylor Elgersma, from Wilfrid Laurier University in Canada. He’s got a lot going against him, as there are loads of differences between American and Canadian football, but he’s got scouts interested given his 6' 4" frame and lively arm. He was a bit erratic in his accuracy today but flashed some true potential despite the missteps.

3.) The DL groups will be must-watch TV this year

As expected, the group of interior defensive tackles and EDGE rushers look to be the stars of the show this year. Both rosters are loaded with guys who should find their way into the top 3 rounds of the Draft. On the National team, all eyes will be on Marshall EDGE rusher Mike Green, whose movement skills, bend and explosiveness should have him find his way into Round 1. He already cleared one of his biggest hurdles in his measurements, as there was some fear he could be too light for some teams. Not to worry, Green came in at 251 pounds, though the arm length is a bit shorter than anticipated at just over 32 inches.

But some other guys got off to strong starts next to him during drills. Oregon DT Jamaree Caldwell, the heaviest DL player at the Senior Bowl this year at 342 pounds, looked like he had the burst of somebody 50 pounds lighter. He was incredibly explosive off the ball and had some nice wins in one-on-ones. Keep an eye on Central Arkansas EDGE David Walker too. Despite being a small school player, he’s been on the draft radar for 2 seasons now and had a good day.

The American roster has some true athletic freaks on their side of things. Texas A&M EDGE Shemar Stewart and Ole Miss DT Walter Nolen certainly look the part of future first round picks. Despite both players being at 281 and 293 pounds respectively, they move differently from everybody else around them, and both had dominant days for the most part in pass rush drills. Kentucky DT Deone Walker shocked people as he measured taller than he was listed at, coming in at 6' 7", 340 pounds. He’s a bit of a work in progress in terms of technique and having a pass rush plan, but the athletic tools are so impressive to watch.

4.) Don’t count out the OL in the OL vs DL one-on-ones

Despite the abundance of talent on the DL side of things this year, it was the offensive line that ended up having a stronger day, at least in the one-on-one period. The National team had fantastic performances from multiple players, including Boston College OT Ozzy Trapilo, Miami OT/OG Jalen Rivers, NC State OT Anthony Belton, and USC G/C Jonah Monheim. But the star of the day, probably the MVP of the day from either team, was North Dakota State OL Grey Zabel. He gets the rare “OL” tag for not only playing at both guard spots and center today but legitimately dominating at all 3 positions. His ability to re-anchor after initial contact was out of this world, and nobody who tried could find a way around him today.

On the American side of things, it was the small school players who got off to the best starts. Arkansas State C Jacob Bayer had some nice wins across the one-on-one period. Jacksonville State guard Clay Webb was also very impressive today, the highlight of his day came in a one-on-one rep against Deone Walker, where he was able to hold his ground very well against the big man. But it might have been Alabama A&M tackle Carson Vinson taking home the crown as the biggest surprise of the Senior Bowl so far. The HBCU product had an awesome day in one-on-one drills, even getting the best of probable 1st Round pick Shemar Stewart in a tense matchup to help his team avoid having to do pushups at the end of practice.

5.) Receivers, TEs flashing early

For the skill positions, it was a good start on the offensive side of the ball. Multiple receivers, especially for the National squad, got their Senior Bowl week off to a good start. Some of the quickest and best route runners in the class, such as Oregon’s Tez Johnson and Miami’s Xavier Restrepo unsurprisingly had a great time in the one-on-ones. Iowa State WR Jayden Higgins, much more physically imposing at 6’3 than most of the receivers around him, used his size to his advantage multiple times.

For the American team, I thought TCU’s Jack Bech had a nice day, which included a nice, contested grab during the team period, as well as Maryland’s Tai Felton. Felton had multiple

grabs across the team period of the day and is certainly an intriguing enough athlete to rise up the board if he keeps this up. Maybe with an even more impressive day though were 2 of the tight ends; Miami’s Elijah Arroyo and LSU’s Mason Taylor. Arroyo is a true vertical receiving TE and was consistently winning against LBs and safeties with ease. Taylor is a bit more well-rounded, but had some impressive concentration catches to start his week off strong.