Senior Bowl 2015: Biggest Winners and Losers
After a week of practices, media events, psychological tests and interviews with scouts, about 100 of college football's elite seniors and graduated juniors finally hit the field on Saturday for the main event, the annual Senior Bowl.
Senior Bowl week had already made a huge impact on several players’ draft stock long before the game had been played. But this slideshow will focus exclusively on what the players did during game-time action on Saturday at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
This year, it was the running backs who stole the show, but one in particular stood above the rest. Cornerbacks also left their mark in this game before they begin their challenging transition to the NFL.
The North team won the game 34-13, but the contest was competitive throughout. Here are some of the winners and losers from the 2015 Senior Bowl.
Winner: Ameer Abdullah, RB, Nebraska
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Ameer Abdullah is a small player, at just 5’8” and 198 pounds. Though undersized for the NFL, he is strong and explosive for his size. On Saturday he made some amazing cuts in the Senior Bowl, showing good effort and changing direction with suddenness, despite dealing with a sore hamstring.
On the day he had seven carries and led all running backs in the game with 73 yards, with his highlight-reel moment coming on a 25-yard run that showed off his great balance. He also added 40 receiving yards to his total.
After the game he was awarded Senior Bowl Player of the Game honors.
"It was a fun game against some of the best players in college football with a lot of talent and guys you'll see make a lot of money one day in the NFL," Abdullah said in an interview after the game. "I left Alabama for Nebraska, and now I played my last college game here."
Loser: Bryce Petty, QB, Baylor
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Bryce Petty was inaccurate on most of his passes in the first quarter. He also threw an interception. He has had way too many balls fall into defenders' hands.
Despite having decent numbers in the box score (9-of-13 for 123 YDS, 0 TD, 1 INT), Petty had most of his success finding checkdown targets. His throws downfield displayed an alarming lack of accuracy and timing. In the final seconds of the first quarter, he missed a wide-open receiver in the end zone.
As far as awareness is concerned, he made an odd decision to run out of bounds for a one-yard loss instead of throwing it away.
Ultimately, the perceptions of Petty as it relates to his NFL projection should digress from being a project QB with questions about his scheme, to worries about his accuracy, pocket awareness and poise. These things could all be connected, but he certainly didn’t help himself out Saturday.
Winner: Gabe Wright, DL, Auburn
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Gabe Wright was certainly impressive Saturday, but the story of his career has been defined by inconsistency and underachievement. He showed a similar pattern during his week at the Senior Bowl and also in this weekend's game. But when Wright decided to turn it up, he really flashed the dominant traits you look for from a 3-technique defensive lineman.
Wright used his impressive strength and lateral quickness to make some big tackles and may end up being one of the most explosive interior defenders in this draft class.
Early in the first half, he showed the ability to hustle and track a ball-carrier downfield and finish with a tackle.
In the third quarter he made his most impressive play of the day when he physically dominated the offensive guard, bulldozing him into the backfield right into the running back for a huge tackle for a loss.
Wright finished the game strong with a nice tackle at the line of scrimmage to cement a solid outing in Mobile.
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Loser: Josh Shaw, CB, USC
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After being called for pass interference, cornerback Josh Shaw made a nice play against wide receiver Sammie Coates. However, his day was defined more by his struggles to locate the ball, which led to him giving up some big plays both early and late in the game.
On the positive side, Shaw did show the skills you look for in a cornerback with his ability to shadow his man and stay in his hip-pocket, but his finishing ability was severely lacking. It seemed as though Shaw and Steven Nelson were challenged more than any other corners on the day, and Shaw’s result was far less ideal in comparison to Nelson.
Shaw was also close to becoming the victim of what should have been a beautiful TD catch by Coates, but he forgot to put his second foot down.
His performance on the day could end up neutralizing much of the praise he received for playing well during the East-West Shrine Game.
Winner: Garrett Grayson, QB, Colorado St
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Garrett Grayson came into this game as the most polished pro-style quarterback in Mobile, and it really showed.
On one particular play early on, Grayson showed off some serious NFL talent with his legs, arm strength and technique. During a bootleg to his left, the former Colorado St. QB showed great skill and awareness to square his shoulders and deliver an accurate pass with outstanding zip, all while on the move and being chased by defenders.
In the first quarter Grayson consistently showed strong movement skills in the pocket whether he was buying time or scrambling when the play broke down.
Later on in the fourth quarter when he returned to action, he continued to impress with his pocket awareness and ball placement, even with some pressure in his face.
He finished the day completing just eight of 15 passes for 118 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions. Those numbers are a bit misleading, however. Grayson looked comfortable in the pocket and pushing the ball downfield. He had to deal with a few dropped passes as well.
Loser: Sammie Coates, WR, Auburn
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A 6’2”, 213-pound wideout with terrific speed, Sammie Coates has clear potential, but his game seems to be lacking some key elements. He plays stiff and overtly displays the aforementioned skill deficiencies. Leaving the game with an injury was the icing on the cake for a day of disappointments and missed opportunities.
Coates was called for offensive pass interference in the first quarter and dropped a potential touchdown. Hands had been a concern for him heading into this game.
He later made a nice catch in the end zone, but he couldn't get his second foot down in bounds, nullifying the play.
In the second quarter, Coates failed to win a jump ball down the sideline that was defended well. Even though the corner on that play was all over him, these are the missed opportunities where a player can really make a name for himself against elite prospects. He failed to do that Saturday.
Coates had one reception for 13 yards, although he was targeted more than most receivers in this game.
Winner: Tyler Varga, RB/FB, Yale
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The Ivy League running back scored his second touchdown of the game from seven yards out with a nice display of power and the ability to shed tacklers. The score capped an eight-play, 76-yard drive to give the North a 34-13 lead with 1:46 left in the game.
Tyler Varga was asked to convert to fullback often during the week and switched back and forth between that and running back Saturday. He is one player who certainly made the most of every opportunity by showing he could deliver key blocks, catch the football and break tackles against NFL prospects. In short, this kid flashed the versatility and toughness that generally will make an NFL roster as member of the special teams.
Varga was the only player to score twice on the day. He finished with four carries for 31 yards and three catches for 39 yards—not to mention the two rushing touchdowns.
Loser: T.J. Clemmings, OT, Pittsburgh
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T.J. Clemmings has arguably the most potential of any offensive tackle in this year’s draft class, but that potential seems far from being realized at this point.
Throughout the game, NFL Network’s Mike Mayock could be heard singing Clemmings' praises whenever he possibly could; however, when you watch him in pass protection, his inexperience was very apparent.
In this area of his game, Clemmings looked like he didn’t belong in the Senior Bowl, considering the way he was beaten both inside and outside. In addition, there were a few plays where defensive ends were able to drive Clemmings back into the pocket with power.
Clemmings showed his inability to react to shifty pass-rushers or to anchor against the bull rush.
Having said that, his NFL potential is apparent, but there is serious risk involved in drafting him too early.
Winner: Quinten Rollins, CB, Miami (Ohio)
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Quinten Rollins was quiet early on, but for a cornerback, that’s usually a good sign. During one pass along the sideline, Rollins almost had a pick, but instead he was credited with the pass breakup.
He later made the most impressive defensive play of the game with a stellar interception where he leaped into the air and snagged a ball that appeared destined for the proper target.
The play showed the type of strong ball skills which led to him recording seven interceptions for Miami of Ohio this year.
There were no receivers that got the best of Rollins on Saturday. This was about as good of a game as a cornerback could ask for in this type of environment.
Rollins appears to be following in a long line of talented NFL corners who looked good down in Mobile during the Senior Bowl.
Loser: Jamison Crowder, WR/KR, Duke
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Jamison Crowder has been touted as a great specialist and return man, but he muffed his first chance to return a punt. Some returners in the NFL have been cut from the roster as a result of simply muffing a kick or punt in a preseason game. This is by far the most important skill in being a reliable return man.
The call on the field was eventually called fair-catch interference.
In addition, Crowder only had five punt-return yards on two attempts.
Crowder was touted as one of the most impressive receivers during the week, showing off amazing quickness, top-end speed and route-running ability. Unfortunately for him, none of that was on display during the game that might have helped him redeem himself after the muffed punt. He only had one catch for six yards on the day.
Ryan Riddle is a former NFL player who writes for Bleacher Report.
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