Senior Bowl 2015: Rosters, Top Prospects for College All-Star Game
The 2015 Senior Bowl game doesn't take place until Saturday, but the most valuable action takes place in the many practices leading up, as NFL scouts get an up-close look at every single prospect.
What these players do during Saturday's game obviously will have a lasting impact, but the first and second impressions are already being made for top prospects and sleeper picks alike. The predraft season is a crazy time in which prospects see their stocks plummet and soar in the span of a few months, and it all begins with college all-star events such as the Senior Bowl.
Bleacher Report's NFL analysts Matt Miller and Matt Bowen are on hand in Mobile, Alabama, and shared a few names who haven't quite impressed early on:
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This year's roster includes some notable players who move the needle, but they may have trouble translating to the NFL—such as Alabama quarterback Blake Sims or Auburn quarterback Nick Marshall. But for now, let's look at some of the top prospects in the game who should be destined for early Round 1 selections.
2015 Senior Bowl Information
When: Saturday, January 24 at 4 p.m. ET
Where: Ladd-Peebles Stadium, Mobile, Alabama
TV: NFL Network
| 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 Zach 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 Ladarius 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 Jarrett (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 Stephone Anthony (Clemson) |
| OT Austin Shepherd (Alabama) | ILB Denzel Perryman (Miami) |
| OT Ty Sambrailo (Colorado St.) | OLB Martrell Spaight (Arkansas) |
| OT La'el Collins (LSU) | OLB Lorenzo Mauldin (Louisville) |
| C Reese Dismukes (Auburn) | OLB Lynden 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 courtesy of the Senior Bowl official site.
Senior Bowl Top Prospects
La'el Collins, OT, LSU
One of the later risers among another loaded crop of offensive linemen, LSU's La'el Collins has a golden opportunity to distance himself from some fringe first-round players at his position in Mobile.
After a star-studded senior year with the Tigers that had him pancaking the SEC's best edge-rushers down after down, Collins already emerged as Miller's second-best offensive tackle on his big board and the No. 14 overall prospect. But a pair of other standout linemen in Pittsburgh's T.J. Clemmings and Colorado State's Ty Sambrailo got early second-round grades from Miller and could steal the spotlight if Collins struggles.
That's not to be expected, however. In fact, Miller noted how Collins has already gotten started dominating the field:
Seeing a player with as high of a draft stock as Collins in the Senior Bowl is truly a rare occurrence, but Mike Loyko of NEPatriotsDraft.com noted how it's certainly not hurting the LSU product's case:
Already looking the part of a can't-miss prospect, Collins just might give Iowa offensive tackle Brandon Scherff a run for his money for the top spot at their position if he shows up the competition in Mobile.
Danny Shelton, DT, Washington
Danny Shelton just continues to make more and more fans as he looks to stake his claim as perhaps the best interior defensive tackle in the draft class.
OK, that title may be all but secured by USC junior Leonard Williams. But nobody in Mobile can touch Shelton's impact, and he's having no problem wowing folks heading into the Senior Bowl.
The first and most striking statement Shelton made in Mobile this week was on the weight scales, weighing in at a behemoth-sized 343 pounds, as Sports Illustrated's Andy Staples noted:
Teams that have one know it, and teams that don't know it even more, but one thing is apparent in today's NFL—you need an impact nose tackle, if not a pair of impact defensive tackles, to succeed in the trenches. We see players carve out a role simply due to their size, but they don't last in the league unless they can move along with it.
Shelton certainly can move, with noticeably quick feet that make him impossible to guard one-on-one. He may not make an impact on every down, but he can surely plug up the run as Daniel Jeremiah of NFL Network noted:
With every tip of the weight scales and jaw-dropping rep, Shelton is seemingly moving his way into the first half of Round 1.
Denzel Perryman, ILB, Miami
Thanks to a weak crop of inside linebackers in this draft class and his own emergence, Miami linebacker Denzel Perryman is bound to start shooting up draft boards.
Miller only has one inside linebacker with a Round 1 grade, but Perryman comes in not far behind as the No. 3 overall player at his position and No. 43 overall. Not bad for a 5'11" player, noticeably undersized for his position.
But while he'll never be mistaken for tall, his instinct-driven play and aggressive nature coming downhill to stop the run make him a no-brainer to translate well to the next level. He tends to make people notice him often with his hard-hitting style, as told by Sports Illustrated's Chris Burke, who is on hand in Mobile:
"Midway through the South practice, the crowd in attendance let out a collective cheer, leading to this exchange between two scouts in front of me:
'What happened? I missed it.'
'Perryman blew somebody up. Probably happens a lot.'
"
For those doubting Perryman's size, look no further than a similar player selected in last year's draft—49ers linebacker Chris Borland. Also 5'11", Borland was a third-round pick in 2014 and surprised many, and he absolutely exploded as a rookie with 107 tackles despite starting the season buried on the bench.
Don't be shocked if Perryman—almost identical in size and playing style—follows in Borland's footsteps wherever he lands.
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