Senior Bowl 2015: Full Team Rosters and Most Intriguing NFL Prospects to Watch
The 2015 Senior Bowl is upon us, which means NFL types will get a valuable early look at some of the top prospects entering the upcoming draft.
Of course, all 32 teams have done extensive scouting work throughout the college football season and have hammered down short lists of prospects to look out for. But without fail, there appears to be significant movement at the top of draft boards in the pre-draft season every year.
Players can either play their way from late-round afterthoughts to early-round sleepers or do the exact opposite. For some of the top seniors in the land, the Senior Bowl is the first chance to set the tone.
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.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Bleacher Report NFL Analysts Matt Miller and Matt Bowen highlighted their top performers from Day 1 in the following video:
While there are can't-miss prospects in the draft, such as offensive tackles La'el Collins (LSU) and Tyler Sambrailo (Colorado State), let's focus on some of the more polarizing and intriguing players below after a quick look at the team rosters.
| QB Bryce Petty (Baylor) | CB Quandre Diggs (Texas) |
| QB Sean Mannion (Oregon St.) | CB Doran Grant (Ohio State) |
| QB Shane Carden (East Carolina) | CB Quinten Rollins (Miami Oh.) |
| RB Ameer Abdullah (Nebraska) | CB Eric Rowe (Utah) |
| RB David Cobb (Minnesota) | CB Steven Nelson (Oregon St.) |
| RB Jeremy Langford (Michigan State) | CB Josh Shaw (USC) |
| FB Tyler Varga (Yale) | S Damarious Randall (Arizona St.) |
| TE Casey Pierce (Kent State) | S Adrian Amos (Penn St.) |
| TE Ben Koyack (Notre Dame) | S Ibraheim Campbell (Northwestern) |
| TE Nick Boyle (Delaware) | S Kurtis Drummond (Michigan St.) |
| WR Antwan Goodley (Baylor) | DE Henry Anderson (Stanford) |
| WR Vince Mayle (Washington State) | DE Deion Barnes (Penn St.) |
| WR Tony Lippett (Michigan State) | DE Hau'oli Kikaha (Washington) |
| WR Ty Montgomery (Stanford) | DE Marcus Hardison (Arizona St.) |
| WR Devin Smith (Ohio State) | DE Za'Darius Smith (Kentucky) |
| WR Jamison Crowder (Duke) | DE Nate Orchard (Utah) |
| WR Justin Hardy (East Carolina) | DT Carl Davis (Iowa) |
| OT Ali Marpet (Hobart) | DT Louis Trinca-Pasat (Iowa) |
| OT Trenton Brown (Florida) | DT Danny Shelton (Washington) |
| OT Rob Havenstein (Wisconsin) | ILB Hayes Pullard (USC) |
| OT T.J. Clemmings (Pittsburgh) | ILB Jeff Luc (Cincinnati) |
| OT Jamil Douglas (Arizona State) | OLB Zack Hodges (Harvard) |
| OT Donovan Smith (Penn State) | OLB Mike Hull (Penn St.) |
| C Max Garcia (Florida) | OLB Jordan Hicks (Texas) |
| C Chris Jasperse (Marshall) | PK Tom Obarski (Concordia-St. Paul) |
| G Laken Tomlinson (Duke) | PT Kyle Loomis (Portland State) |
| G Robert Myers (Tennessee St.) | LS Joe Cardona (Navy) |
| QB Garrett Grayson (Colorado St.) | CB Lardarius Gunter (Miami) |
| QB Blake Sims (Alabama) | CB JaCorey Shepherd (Kansas) |
| QB Nick Marshall (Auburn) | CB Kevin White (TCU) |
| RB Cameron Artis-Payne (Auburn) | CB Senquez Golson (Ole Miss) |
| RB David johnson (Northern Iowa) | CB Imoan Claiborne (Northwestern St.) |
| FB Jalston Fowler (Alabama) | CB D'Joun Smith (Florida Atlantic) |
| FB Connor Neighbors (LSU) | S Clayton Geathers (Central Florida) |
| TE C.J. Uzomah (Auburn) | S Cody Prewitt (Ole Miss) |
| TE Clive Walford (Miami) | S Anthony Jefferson (UCLA) |
| TE Devin Mahina (BYU) | S Jaquiski Tartt (Samford) |
| WR Phillip Dorsett (MIami) | DE Markus Golden (Missouri) |
| WR Devante Davis (UNLV) | DE Preston Smith (Mississippi State) |
| WR Josh Harper (Fresno St.) | DE Trey Flowers (Arkansas) |
| WR Tyler Lockett (Kansas St.) | DE Owamagbe Odighizuwa (UCLA) |
| WR Sammie Coates (Auburn) | DT Joey Mbu (Houston) |
| WR Donatella Luckett (Harding) | DT Grady Jarrettt (Clemson) |
| WR Dezmin Lewis (Central Arkansas) | DT Kaleb Eulls (Mississippi State) |
| WR Rannell Hall (Central Florida) | DT Gabe Wright (Auburn) |
| OT Tayo Fabuluje (TCU) | ILB Amarlo Herrera (Georgia) |
| OT Daryl Williams (Oklahoma) | ILB Stepohone Anthony (Clemson) |
| OT Austin Shepherd (Alabama) | ILB Denzel Perryman (Miami) |
| OT Ty Sambrailo (Colorado St.) | OLB Martell Spaight (Arkansas) |
| OT La'el Collins (LSU) | OLB Lorenzo Mauldin (Louisville) |
| C Reese Dismukes (Auburn) | OLB Lyndel Trail (Norfolk State) |
| C Dillon Day (Mississippi State) | LS Andrew East (Vanderbilt) |
| G Arie Kouandjio (Alabama) | PK Justin Manton (Louisiana Monroe) |
| G Shaq Mason (Georgia Tech) | - |
| G Tre Jackson (Florida State) | - |
Note: Team rosters are courtesy of the Senior Bowl official website.
Most Intriguing Prospects
South QB Nick Marshall (Auburn)
Perhaps the seemingly inevitable position switch for Auburn quarterback Nick Marshall as he looks to find a place in the NFL won't be happening after all—not officially at the Senior Bowl, at least.
Marshall is bound to get his first valuable repetitions in front of NFL scouts outside of the Auburn offense he was so comfortable in. He made the cut at quarterback for the South team, although even Phil Savage—the head director of the Senior Bowl—seemed to prefer his inclusion as a defensive back.
John Zenor of The Associated Press reported as much:
Brandon Marcello of AL.com added more criticism from Savage: "If he stays at quarterback it will limit the number of teams that will really have a sincere interest in him. It's just my own take on it coming into the week, so we'll see if he can increase that."
Despite leading Auburn to the doorstep of a national championship in 2013, he needed to make big strides as a passer to show the running threat could make the jump to the pros. Marshall did just that, throwing for 2,532 yards and 20 touchdowns while showcasing much-improved accuracy and arm power.
Marshall didn't want to play defensive back at Georgia, and it helped lead him to the greener pastures of The Plains. If he hopes to follow suit heading into the NFL, a standout performance at the Senior Bowl would be well-received.
North DE Nate Orchard (Utah)
If you're going simply by the numbers, Utah defensive end Nate Orchard might be one of the hottest names in the 2015 draft class. Unfortunately for him, that's not always the case.
The Utes' star pass-rusher wreaked absolute havoc on the Pac-12 his senior season, amassing a nation-leading 1.46 sacks per game—18 on the season. He also ranked second on the team in tackles with 81 (51 solo).
But questions remain about how the 6'4", 255-pound edge-rusher would fit into that same position in an NFL scheme. It's also apparent to many around the league, per NFL.com's Albert Breer, that his immense production might be a bit overstated:
"The way one NFC GM sees it, "He may go late Friday night (on draft weekend) if a 3-4 team approves, but he's more likely to go sometime Saturday. Better production than traits that project to the NFL." An AFC college scouting director added, "He's a solid athlete, he runs well, and he's an effort player from a standup OLB or DE position -- and a good rusher. He'll be a (nickel) rusher and special teams player that can work his way into being a full-time starter."
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There's no questioning Orchard's impact in college football, not after Pac-12 offensive linemen voted him the conference's best pass-rusher. But he'll enter the Senior Bowl with more than his fair share of critics who doubt he will come close to copying that impact in the NFL.
South TE Nick O'Leary (Florida State)
Florida State tight end Nick O'Leary has more than college exposure and a world-famous grandfather on his side as he enters the Senior Bowl and the 2015 draft.
Yes, O'Leary benefited greatly from playing in the Seminoles' high-powered offensive attack led by Jameis Winston. It also doesn't hurt that he's a close relative of Jack Nicklaus. But that's only the start of what O'Leary brings to the table.
His accomplishments—nearly 1,200 yards and 13 touchdowns over the last two seasons, a BCS title, the Mackey Award—pale in comparison to what he could bring to an NFL roster. Along with an athletic skill set that can make plays down the field, O'Leary is also an intelligent player capable of making an impact wherever need be—whether it's special teams, run blocking out of the backfield or protecting the passer.
Count Bleacher Report's Matt Miller among those who are high on O'Leary's potential:
Playing in a potent system can catapult a player above his potential, but that's not the case with O'Leary. While he benefited from going under the radar in 2013, he was arguably Winston's favorite target in 2014 and made an impact despite being a focal point of the scouting report.
Making the jump to the NFL is an impossibly difficult task, but O'Leary seems up for the challenge.
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