Senior Bowl 2014 Roster: Top Players Worth Following in Mobile

A handful of the top 2014 NFL draft prospects will take the field in Mobile, Ala. this weekend, site of the 2014 Senior Bowl.

While several elite non-senior prospects, including South Carolina's Jadeveon Clowney and Texas A&M's Johnny Manziel will be nowhere to be found, the pre-draft showcase will allow not only coaches and scouts, but also fans to catch a glimpse of the future of the sport.

Here we'll run down the rosters for both the North and South and highlight a trio of stars worth following on Saturday afternoon.

Date: Saturday, January 25, 2014

Start Time: 4 p.m. ET

Where: Ladd-Peebles Stadium, Mobile, Ala.

Watch: NFL Network

Live Stream: NFL.com

Senior Bowl Rosters

Name	Pos.	School	Height	Weight
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

Player	Pos.	School	Height	Weight
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

Dee Ford, DE, Auburn, South

Stephen Dunn/Getty Images

Auburn pass-rusher Dee Ford, who was named Most Outstanding Defensive Lineman during Senior Bowl practice, is one of the top defensive ends who will be available this coming spring. 

Ford isn't going to wow you with his height and weight (6'2", 240 pounds), but his elite pass-rushing skills, versatility as an end or a linebacker and overall instincts make him a coveted prospect. He ranked 12th in the nation with 10.5 sacks last season and finished the year with 14.5 tackles for a loss and two forced fumbles. 

Jacksonville Jaguars head coach and Senior Bowl coach Gus Bradley had high praise for Ford during the week of practice leading up to Saturday's game, per NFL.com's Chase Goodbread:

"

Dee is exciting. I really like his personality. I like his spirit. He loves the game. He showcases that on the practice field. Any time a guy can come off the edge and show his ability to rush, it really stands out. For us in our scheme, the Leo spot, that's what we have it designed for -- guys like that.

"

Bradley isn't the only one gushing over Ford's abilities, though. Scouts seem to love him too, per Goodbread: "Said one scout of Ford: 'I haven't seen anyone block him all week.'"

But despite the attention he's garnered with his practice play, Ford isn't the least bit surprised about where he stands ahead of the 2014 NFL draft, per BuffaloBills.com: 

"Any time I get success, I think about all the work I put into it. Y'all have seen me grow from that little guy in 2009 to now. This is what I expected to do at this level, on this stage. It's what I expected."

After recording two sacks on Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston in the BCS National Championship Game, Ford will look to pick up where he left off in the 2014 Senior Bowl this weekend. 

Aaron Donald, DT, Pittsburgh, North

Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

There's no shortage of talent to watch for on the defensive side of the ball. For the North squad, Pittsburgh's Aaron Donald stands out as a player worth following in Mobile, Ala. 

Although he's a bit undersized at 6-foot, 288 pounds, the run-stuffing, pass-rushing monster has caught the attention of NFL scouts and coaches thanks to his lightning-quick hands and feet and relentless motor. 

Vaughn McClure, who covers the Atlanta Falcons for ESPN.com, reports that a "respected" group of scouts named Donald the Most Outstanding Overall Practice Player and says "Donald's motor is as impressive as any defensive tackle you'll see."

Atlanta Falcons head coach and Senior Bowl coach Mike Smith breaks down how Donald is able to overcome is lack of size, per Goodbread:

"

Donald is a very quick, athletic defensive tackle. He plays with great leverage and great hands. It's a low-man-wins mentality when you're playing offensive and defensive line. He does a great job playing with his hands inside the frame of the body.

"

Falcons defensive coordinator Mike Nolan is also high on Donald, who recorded a shade under 30 sacks during his time with the Panthers, per McClure: "He's extremely hard to block. He's very quick. He's an intelligent kid; uses his hands well. He's a playmaker." 

Jimmy Garoppolo, QB, Eastern Illinois, South

STEPHEN HAAS/Associated Press

If you didn't watch a ton of FCS football in 2013, you'll want to pay close attention to South quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo this weekend. The reigning Walter Payton Award winner (essentially the FCS version of the Heisman Trophy) is coming off a stellar performance in the 2014 East-West Shrine Game on Jan. 18., in which he completed 9 of 14 passes for 100 yards and a touchdown. 

The Eastern Illinois signal-caller is rated as the sixth-best quarterback available in 2014, according to ESPN's insider rankings, and is coming off a season in which he threw for 5,050 yards and 53 touchdowns. 

At 6'2", 219 pounds, Garoppolo has the size and build to develop into a successful quarterback at the next level. And once you factor in his durability, poise, mobility, accuracy and arm strength, you'd be hard-pressed to find a better prospect under center. 

His lack of exposure has kept him under the radar thus far, but NFL scouts are certainly aware of his potential.

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