Senior Bowl 2014: Roster Breakdowns, Top Invites and Watch List

Senior Bowl week is well underway in Mobile, Ala. Both the North and South teams began practicing Monday, and will continue to do so through Thursday, in advance of Saturday’s game (3 p.m. CT, NFL Network) at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.

Senior Bowl executive director Phil Savage announced Monday, per Dane Brugler of CBSSports.com, that nine of the 2014 NFL draft’s top senior prospects opted out of the game voluntarily and 19 more invited seniors are out of the game due to injuries. Even so, this year’s Senior Bowl rosters remain full of talent and include plenty of potential early-round picks.

There might not be any first-round locks at this year’s Senior Bowl but there are a number of seniors with a great shot to end up in Round 1 if they continue to perform well throughout the week. There are also many prospects who might not yet be household names but whose skill sets should catch the eyes of both NFL teams and fans watching the game at home.

North Roster

G.M. ANDREWS/Associated Press

Pittsburgh's Aaron Donald and Baylor's Cyril Richardson are among the players going at it for the North team in this year's Senior Bowl.

Name	Pos	School	Ht	Wt (lbs)
Jared Abbrederis	WR	Wisconsin	6' 7/8"	189
Chris Borland	ILB	Wisconsin	5'11 3/8"	245
Chris Boswell	K	Rice	6'2"	183
Tajh Boyd	QB	Clemson	6' 3/4"	222
Jonathan Brown	LB	Illinois	6' 1/2"	224
Deone Bucannon	SS	Washington State	6' 7/8"	216
Michael Campanaro	WR	Wake Forest	5'9 3/8"	191
Will Clarke	DE	West Virginia	6'6 1/8"	271
Kain Colter	WR	Northwestern	5' 10 3/4"	199
Pierre Desir	CB	Lindenwood	6'1 1/8"	195
Ahmad Dixon	SS	Baylor	5' 11 1/2"	205
Aaron Donald	DT	Pittsburgh	6' 7/8"	288
Kadeem Edwards	G	Tennessee State	6'4 1/8"	309
Shaq Evans	WR	UCLA	6' 3/4"	210
C.J. Fiedorowicz	TE	Iowa	6'5 5/8"	262
David Fluellen	RB	Toledo	5'11 1/4"	226
James Gayle	DE	Virginia Tech	6'3 5/8"	255
Ra'Shede Hageman	DT	Minnesota	6'6"	318
Seantrel Henderson	OT	Miami (Fla.)	6'6 7/8"	331
Robert Herron	WR	Wyoming	5'8 7/8"	193
Ryan Hewitt	FB	Stanford	6'4"	246
Gator Hoskins	TE	Marshall	6'1 1/8"	244
Josh Huff	WR	Oregon	5'11"	210
Marqueston Huff	FS	Wyoming	5'11"	198
Jeff Janis	WR	Saginaw Valley State	6'2 1/4"	212
Stanley Jean-Baptiste	CB	Nebraska	6'2 3/8"	215
Dontae Johnson	CB	North Carolina State	6'2"	199
DaQuan Jones	DT	Penn State	6'3 1/2"	323
Christian Kirksey	LB	Iowa	6'1 3/4"	234
Tyler Larsen	C	Utah State	6'3 1/2"	317
Nevin Lawson	CB	Utah State	5'9 7/8"	184
Isaiah Lewis	SS	Michigan State	5'10"	205
Brandon Linder	G	Miami (Fla.)	6'5 3/8"	316
Kareem Martin	DE	North Carolina	6'5 7/8"	272
Zack Martin	OT	Notre Dame	6'4 1/8"	305
Jack Mewhort	OT	Ohio State	6'5 5/8"	306
Stephen Morris	QB	Miami	6'1 3/4"	208
Trent Murphy	DE	Stanford	6'5 3/8"	252
Tyler Ott	LS	Harvard	6'2 3/4"	252
Jake Pedersen	TE	Wisconsin	6'3 1/8"	242
Cyril Richardson	G	Baylor	6'4 1/2"	343
Weston Richburg	C	Colorado State	6'3 1/2"	300
Michael Sam	OLB	Missouri	6'1 5/8"	260
Michael Schofield	G	Michigan	6'6 5/8"	303
Charles Sims	RB	West Virginia	5'11 7/8"	214
Marcus Smith	OLB	Louisville	6'3 1/2"	258
Dez Southward	CB	Wisconsin	6' 1/8"	206
Shamar Stephen	DT	Connecticut	6'4 5/8"	308
Brandon Thomas	OT	Clemson	6'3 1/2"	316
Logan Thomas	QB	Virginia Tech	6'5 3/4"	250
Kirby Van Der Kamp	P	Iowa State	6'3 3/4"	202
Jimmie Ward	S	Northern Illinois	5' 10 3/8"	191
James White	RB	Wisconsin	5'9 3/4"	206
Jordan Zumwalt	LB	UCLA	6'4"	231

All heights and weights were obtained by the author during Monday's Senior Bowl weigh-in.

South Roster

Stacy Revere/Getty Images

Vanderbilt wide receiver Jordan Matthews is a playmaker for the South squad.

Name	Pos	School	Ht	Wt (lbs)
Walt Aikens	CB	Liberty	6' 5/8"	205
Antonio Andrews	RB	Western Kentucky	5'10 1/8"	225
Jeremiah Attaochu	OLB	Georgia Tech	6'3 1/4"	252
Lamin Barrow	ILB	LSU	6'1 1/4"	229
Joel Bitonio	OG	Nevada	6'4"	307
Terrence Brooks	FS	Florida State	5'11"	197
Derek Carr	QB	Fresno State	6'2 1/8"	215
Deandre Coleman	DT	California	6'5"	315
Aaron Colvin	CB	Oklahoma	5'11 3/8"	186
Chris Davis	CB	Auburn	5'9 3/4"	201
Mike Davis	WR	Texas	6' 1/4"	193
Justin Ellis	DT	Louisiana Tech	6'1 7/8"	342
David Fales	QB	San Jose State	6'1 3/8"	220
Dee Ford	DE	Auburn	6'2 1/8"	243
Jimmy Garoppolo	QB	Eastern Illinois	6'2 1/4"	219
Ryan Grant	WR	Tulane	6' 1/4"	197
Jon Halapio	G	Florida	6'3 1/2"	320
Cody Hoffman	WR	Brigham Young	6'3 7/8"	218
Adrian Hubbard	OLB	Alabama	6'5 7/8"	255
Gabe Ikard	C	Oklahoma	6'3 1/4"	302
Gabe Jackson	G	Mississippi State	6'3 3/8"	339
Ja'Wuan James	OT	Tennessee	6'6 1/8"	315
Marcel Jensen	TE	Florida State	6'5 3/8"	264
Wesley Johnson	OT	Vanderbilt	6'5 1/4"	290
Christian Jones	OLB	Florida State	6'3 3/8"	234
Kenny Ladler	FS	Vanderbilt	6' 1/8"	200
Craig Loston	SS	LSU	6' 3/8"	214
Arthur Lynch	TE	Georgia	6'4 1/2"	258
Cody Mandell	P	Alabama	6'2 1/4"	216
Jordan Matthews	WR	Vanderbilt	6'2 5/8"	209
Daniel McCullers	DT	Tennessee	6'6 7/8"	348
Keith McGill	CB	Utah	6'3"	214
Jerick McKinnon	RB	Georgia Southern	5'9"	209
Morgan Moses	OT	Virginia	6'6 1/8"	325
Aaron Murray	QB	Georgia	6' 3/8"	201
Kevin Norwood	WR	Alabama	6'2"	197
Cody Parkey	K	Auburn	6' 1/4"	189
Solomon Patton	WR	Florida	5'8 1/2"	179
Jay Prosch	FB	Auburn	6' 3/4"	256
Caraun Reid	DT	Princeton	6'2 1/8"	301
Jalen Saunders	WR	Oklahoma	5'8 3/4"	164
Chris Smith	DE	Arkansas	6'1 1/8"	266
Telvin Smith	LB	Florida State	6'2 7/8"	218
Ed Stinson	DE	Alabama	6'3 1/8"	292
Bryan Stork	C	Florida State	6'3 1/2"	306
Will Sutton	DT	Arizona State	6' 3/4"	315
Travis Swanson	C	Arkansas	6'5"	310
Lorenzo Taliaferro	RB	Coastal Carolina	6' 3/8"	210
Jemea Thomas	CB	Georgia Tech	5'9 1/2"	190
Jordie Tripp	OLB	Montana	6'2 3/4"	237
Billy Turner	OT	North Dakota State	6'5"	316
Brent Urban	DE	Virginia	6'6 3/4"	298
Kyle Van Noy	OLB	Brigham Young	6'3 1/4"	244
Jaylen Watkins	CB	Florida	5'11 3/8"	194
Lavelle Westbrooks	CB	Georgia Southern	5'11 3/8"	195
Marcus Woodside-Heit	LS	Kansas State	6'2 5/8"	252

All heights and weights were obtained by the author during Monday's Senior Bowl weigh-in.

Note: Aaron Murray is unable to play football this week while recovering from a torn ACL suffered in November, but he is attending the Senior Bowl this week to participate in team meetings, weigh-in and other non-playing activities.

Top Players

Lenny Ignelzi/Associated Press

Kyle Van Noy is the most complete player at this week's Senior Bowl.

1. Kyle Van Noy, OLB, Brigham Young

One of the most complete players in the entire 2014 draft class, Kyle Van Noy isn’t far off from being this year’s top outside linebacker prospect. He is not a tremendously explosive athlete, but he can make plays all over the field.

Van Noy is an instinctive player who is a very sound tackler and active run defender. His value is really bolstered by his pass defense versatility, however, as he is both skilled in rushing the passer off the edge and a playmaker when he drops back into coverage.

2. Billy Turner, OT, North Dakota State

Billy Turner is frequently overlooked because of his small-school background, but the left tackle of the three-time consecutive national champion North Dakota State Bison has a real NFL skill set.

Turner has the frame of an NFL left tackle while he possesses both very good feet and a strong power punch. He can drive defenders back off the line of scrimmage while he is also very good at pass-blocking out on the edge and at getting to the second level as a run-blocker.

3. Ra’Shede Hageman, DT, Minnesota

Though his game is still technically raw, Minnesota defensive tackle Ra’Shede Hageman’s upside should make him a first-round pick. He has an ideal combination of size and athleticism for an NFL defensive tackle, and he puts it to good use on the football field by exploding off the snap.

Hageman has the versatility to play multiple spots on any NFL defensive line, but he needs to become a more consistent player in terms of leverage and hand usage. Nonetheless, he shows the ability to dominate blockers and make big plays in the backfield, and he could develop into a star.

4. Trent Murphy, DE/OLB, Stanford

Murphy’s measurables aren’t as impressive as many of the top edge defenders in this year’s draft class, but he has a very well-rounded game. He is an instinctive player and sound tackler who does a great job crashing in against the run but also has the athletic fluidity to make plays out in space.

Murphy is also an explosive pass-rusher who possesses the ability to drop into coverage. He is a versatile three-down player who could find a role in any defensive scheme, but he is best suited to be an outside linebacker in a 3-4 defense.

5. Derek Carr, QB, Fresno State

The best quarterback at this year’s Senior Bowl, Derek Carr could potentially be the first player drafted among those playing in Mobile because of the value of the position he plays.

Carr has some issues with his mechanics and decision-making, especially under pressure, but he is coming off an excellent senior season and has the physical tools to be an excellent pocket passer. He has a strong arm and the ability to fit throws with accuracy and velocity to all levels of the field.

Players to Watch

Duane Burleson/Associated Press

Saginaw Valley State's Jeff Janis is a sleeper to watch in Mobile.

The following five players have greater questions left to prove than the top five, but if they do so, they have the potential to rise high in this year’s draft.

Aaron Donald, DT, Pittsburgh

Already drawing rave reviews from many onlookers including Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller after just one day of practice, Aaron Donald appears to be continuing the momentum of an outstanding senior season at Pittsburgh.

Donald is an undersized defensive tackle, but he has great explosion off the line of scrimmage. His ability to generate power through leverage is impressive considering his size deficiencies, and his skilled hand play makes him tough to keep blocked.

Travis Swanson, C, Arkansas

While the top prospects at every other position in this year’s draft class are either underclassmen or not at the Senior Bowl, Arkansas’ Travis Swanson might be the best center in this year’s draft pool.

A four-year starter at Arkansas, Swanson is a well-rounded interior lineman who blocks intelligently, packs a strong punch and moves his feet well for his size. He isn’t the only center to watch in Mobile, however: He could be challenged for the top spot by Colorado State’s Weston Richburg, Oklahoma’s Gabe Ikard or Florida State’s Bryan Stork, all of whom are also competing in Mobile.

Jimmie Ward, S, Northern Illinois

He is no household name out of Northern Illinois, but he is arguably the third-best safety in this year’s draft class. Though he proved undersized for the position at Monday’s weigh-in, he has enough athleticism, instinctiveness and playmaking ability to make up for it.

Ward has good ball skills on the back end, and he is a rangy playmaker who is usually in position and makes sound tackles all over the field. He has an opportunity to establish himself as a Day 2 draft pick this week.

Jeff Janis, WR, Saginaw Valley State

Looking to become just the fourth-ever draft pick out of Saginaw Valley State, Division II wide receiver Jeff Janis wasn’t invited to the Senior Bowl as a courtesy. A big, strong receiver with solid athleticism for his size, Janis has real potential as a Day 3 sleeper to end up developing into a solid NFL outside wide receiver.

There are few prospects who need a strong week as badly as Janis, as a week of struggles would raise the doubts about his ability to make the jump in level of competition from Division II to the NFL. Yet if he makes big plays in Mobile all week, he has the chance to really rise up boards, as he had very good production in his collegiate career and shows the ability to make tough plays.

Keith McGill, CB, Utah

An impressive athlete for his 6’3” frame, Utah’s Keith McGill is a potential target for NFL teams looking for the next Richard Sherman-like tall cornerback. He needs to continue to prove himself after only one significantly productive season for the Utes, but he has the ball skills and enough technical prowess to emerge as a potential early-round pick.

Size cannot be taught, but McGill needs to prove on the field this week he can utilize that size to potentially develop in a star cornerback.

Dan Hope is an NFL/NFL draft Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report.

Follow @Dan_Hope